The Lathe of Heaven

Spooky Action Theater and the Georgetown University Theater & Performance Studies Program present The Lathe of Heaven, based on the 1971 award-winning science fiction novel by Ursula K. Le Guin, as part of Washington’s 2018 Women’s Voices Theater Festival.

Adapted and directed by Natsu Onoda Power, Associate Professor of Theater and Performance Studies and Artistic Director of the Davis Performing Arts Center at Georgetown University, the production features a blended cast of Washington professionals and GU student actors. The production previews for one weekend at Georgetown (Jan. 25-27, 2018), followed by a four week run at Spooky Action Theater (Feb. 15 –March 11, 2018).

Author Ursula K Le Guin has received a host of awards for her work, including Hugo, Nebula and  National Book Awards, PEN-Malamud, and the National Book Foundation Medal. Her recently published book “No Time to Spare: Thinking About What Matters” is a set of engaging personal essays that has won over a wide range of readers.

The Boston Globe calls the work of “singular playwright-director” Natsu Onoda Power “bracingly original and head-spinning,” and The Washington Post applauds her style as “breathtakingly imaginative, eye-delighting.”

Onoda Power’s projects as director have been seen in the Washington region at Studio Theatre, Mosaic Theater, Theatre J and Center Stage Baltimore, in addition to many productions at Georgetown University.  Spooky Action Artistic Director Richard Henrich is excited by Onoda Power’s “unique style, which includes hands-on contributions in set, props and puppetry design in addition to directorial oversight. Natsu brings a thoroughly integrated artistic vision to a complex, highly imaginative story.”

The Lathe of Heaven takes place in a future world racked by violence and environmental catastrophe, in which George Orr wakes up one day to discover that his dreams, over which he has no control, effectively alter reality. He seeks help from Dr. William Haber, a dream psychologist who immediately grasps the potential power George wields. Soon George must preserve reality itself, as Dr. Haber warms to the task of manipulating George’s dreams to transform the world.

Director Onoda Power says, “The book is deeply resonant now when all of our nightmares are becoming reality, every day.  Though written over forty years ago, the fundamental hopes and fears of the characters land right on target.  Working on this project is a great opportunity for us to explore how the past imagined the ‘future’ – and how that future is our present today.”

The Cast is led by veteran Washington actors Matthew Marcus, Erica Chamblee and Matthew Vaky, supported by an ensemble of Georgetown University theater students – Mark Camilli, Vanessa Chapoy, Jonathan Compo, Michaela Farrell, Kate Ginna, Maddy Rice and Adrian Iglesias.
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The Lathe of Heaven Production Team includes Lighting Designer Adam Bacigalupo, Sound Designer Roc Lee, Costume Designer Debra Kim Sivigny, Props Designer Caolan Overman Eder and Projection Designer Danny Carr.

THE LATHE OF HEAVEN
Adapted and Directed by Natsu Onoda Power
based on the novel by Ursula K. Le Guin
 
Previews Jan 25 – 27, 2018 
Georgetown University
Davis Performing Arts Center
37th and O Streets, NW in Washington, DC 20057.
Purchase tickets online or call 202-687-ARTS (2787)

Continuing Feb 15 – Mar 11, 2018
Spooky Action Theater Performing at
The Universalist National Memorial Church
1810 16th St. NW. Washington, DC  20009
Purchase tickets online or call 202-248-0301

Presented with generous support from DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities,
The Share Fund, The Paul M Angell Foundation and the JR & VW Oishei Foundation