NEW WORKS IN ACTION Play Reading Series
Admission for New Works reading is FREE.
Admission for New Works reading is FREE.
Sun, April 28, 2024 at 7pm
EISENSTEIN Staged Reading
By Mikhail Durnenkov, Translated by Fedin Andrei
Directed by Yuri Kordonsky
Featuring Tonya Beckman*, Maboud Ebrahimzadeh*, Jonathan Holmes,
Alyssa Keegan*, Robert Bowen Smith, Dylan Arredondo (stage directions)
* member, Actors' Equity Association
RSVP to [email protected]
1941. USSR on the eve of World War II. This is the story of the great Soviet director Eisenstein, seen through the eyes of a young NKVD serviceman assigned to spy on the filmmaker when Stalin commissions a propaganda movie about the “just tyrant” Ivan the Terrible. A story about fighting the system and preserving the artist in yourself. A story about love that resists dehumanization. A story about how to defeat a tyrant in a seemingly hopeless situation.
“Eisenstein” was commissioned by the National Theater of Estonia in 2023 and premiered in March of 2024 in Talinn. Its English translation will be performed for the first time at Spooky Action Theater.
MIKHAIL DURNENKOV (Playwright) is a playwright, screenwriter, and drama teacher, based in Helsinki since 2022. He began writing for the theatre in 2000 and has been working professionally in the field since 2003. He is a member of the New Drama movement of contemporary Russian playwrights. His plays have been translated into fifteen languages and staged in over twenty countries. He is a frequent participant in playwriting seminars and workshops across Russia and abroad. He has lectured at the Russian State University for the Humanities and the Moscow Artistic School Studio and was the head of playwriting at Raikin’s School of Theater Arts. Since 2004, Mikhail has participated in the education program Class-Act as a teacher. Durnenkov was an art-director of the well-established young playwrights festival “Lubimovka” from 2012 to 2019. In 2022, persecuted by the Russian authorities for his anti-war statements, Durnenkov moved with his family to Finland. Since then, he has worked in Finland, Estonia, Austria, Germany, Bulgaria, Israel, and Kazakhstan. Durnenkov currently lectures at the University of Maryland.
YURI KORDONSKY (Director) currently serves as Associate Chair of Directing and Professor in the Practice of Directing at the David Geffen School of Drama at Yale. He was born in Odessa, Ukraine, and received his MFA degrees in Acting and Directing from the St. Petersburg State Academy of Theatre Arts, Russia, under the direction of Lev Dodin. In the period of 1989-2001, he was a resident actor and director at the renowned Maly Drama Theatre-Theatre of Europe in St. Petersburg. His directing credits include his original play “Disappearance” and “House of Bernarda Alba” by Lorca (Maly Drama Theatre, St. Petersburg, Russia); “Uncle Vanya” by Chekhov, “Crime and Punishment” by Dostoevsky, and “Zinc Boys” by Alexievich (Bulandra Theatre, Bucharest, Romania); “The Lower Depths” by M. Gorky and “The Cherry Orchard” by Chekhov (Hungarian Theatre, Cluj, Romania), “The Encounter” (UNESCO ITI congress, Manila, Philippines), “Fatherlessness” by Chekhov (Orkeny Szinhaz, Budapest), “The Seagull” by Chekhov and “Erendira” by Marquez (German National Theatre, Timisoara, Romania); “Romeo and Juliet” by Shakespeare (National Theatre, Bucharest), among others. Yura’s productions have won numerous international awards including Golden Light, Governor’s Award, and Bravo Award for the Best Production (Russia), Union of European Theatres’ Award for the Best Production (Italy), multiple UNITER Awards for Best Production and Best Director (Romania), and the Special Prize of the Romanian Ministry of Culture. As a performer and director, Yura has toured in more than twenty countries and taught acting and directing in the US, Russia, China, Germany, Spain, Italy, Philippines, and Romania.
EISENSTEIN Staged Reading
By Mikhail Durnenkov, Translated by Fedin Andrei
Directed by Yuri Kordonsky
Featuring Tonya Beckman*, Maboud Ebrahimzadeh*, Jonathan Holmes,
Alyssa Keegan*, Robert Bowen Smith, Dylan Arredondo (stage directions)
* member, Actors' Equity Association
RSVP to [email protected]
1941. USSR on the eve of World War II. This is the story of the great Soviet director Eisenstein, seen through the eyes of a young NKVD serviceman assigned to spy on the filmmaker when Stalin commissions a propaganda movie about the “just tyrant” Ivan the Terrible. A story about fighting the system and preserving the artist in yourself. A story about love that resists dehumanization. A story about how to defeat a tyrant in a seemingly hopeless situation.
“Eisenstein” was commissioned by the National Theater of Estonia in 2023 and premiered in March of 2024 in Talinn. Its English translation will be performed for the first time at Spooky Action Theater.
MIKHAIL DURNENKOV (Playwright) is a playwright, screenwriter, and drama teacher, based in Helsinki since 2022. He began writing for the theatre in 2000 and has been working professionally in the field since 2003. He is a member of the New Drama movement of contemporary Russian playwrights. His plays have been translated into fifteen languages and staged in over twenty countries. He is a frequent participant in playwriting seminars and workshops across Russia and abroad. He has lectured at the Russian State University for the Humanities and the Moscow Artistic School Studio and was the head of playwriting at Raikin’s School of Theater Arts. Since 2004, Mikhail has participated in the education program Class-Act as a teacher. Durnenkov was an art-director of the well-established young playwrights festival “Lubimovka” from 2012 to 2019. In 2022, persecuted by the Russian authorities for his anti-war statements, Durnenkov moved with his family to Finland. Since then, he has worked in Finland, Estonia, Austria, Germany, Bulgaria, Israel, and Kazakhstan. Durnenkov currently lectures at the University of Maryland.
YURI KORDONSKY (Director) currently serves as Associate Chair of Directing and Professor in the Practice of Directing at the David Geffen School of Drama at Yale. He was born in Odessa, Ukraine, and received his MFA degrees in Acting and Directing from the St. Petersburg State Academy of Theatre Arts, Russia, under the direction of Lev Dodin. In the period of 1989-2001, he was a resident actor and director at the renowned Maly Drama Theatre-Theatre of Europe in St. Petersburg. His directing credits include his original play “Disappearance” and “House of Bernarda Alba” by Lorca (Maly Drama Theatre, St. Petersburg, Russia); “Uncle Vanya” by Chekhov, “Crime and Punishment” by Dostoevsky, and “Zinc Boys” by Alexievich (Bulandra Theatre, Bucharest, Romania); “The Lower Depths” by M. Gorky and “The Cherry Orchard” by Chekhov (Hungarian Theatre, Cluj, Romania), “The Encounter” (UNESCO ITI congress, Manila, Philippines), “Fatherlessness” by Chekhov (Orkeny Szinhaz, Budapest), “The Seagull” by Chekhov and “Erendira” by Marquez (German National Theatre, Timisoara, Romania); “Romeo and Juliet” by Shakespeare (National Theatre, Bucharest), among others. Yura’s productions have won numerous international awards including Golden Light, Governor’s Award, and Bravo Award for the Best Production (Russia), Union of European Theatres’ Award for the Best Production (Italy), multiple UNITER Awards for Best Production and Best Director (Romania), and the Special Prize of the Romanian Ministry of Culture. As a performer and director, Yura has toured in more than twenty countries and taught acting and directing in the US, Russia, China, Germany, Spain, Italy, Philippines, and Romania.
February 2024 Workshop
CRACKING ZEUS
By Christopher Hampton
Directed by Reginald L. Douglas (Artistic Director, Mosaic Theater)
Featuring Tamieka Chavis*, DeJeanette Horne, Jamil Joseph, Karen Vincent*, and students from Howard University - Dupre Carter, Christina Daniels, Destiny Jennings, & James McClam
with dramaturgy by Divinia Shorter
* member, Actors' Equity Association
Synopsis: Hera, a goddess with a grudge to settle, has found her husband Zeus’s newest illegitimate child. On the outside, Baniaha is a pillar of his community: he helps his mother run her church while mentoring orphaned youth. On the inside, he is lost: the mystery of his paternity leaves him yearning for answers. When Hera arrives to exact her revenge with the help of Rufus, a homeless crack addict she thinks she can exploit, relationships are strained and faith is put to the test. This wildly inventive dark comedy is a present-day myth about religion, dependency, and redemption.
From the Artistic Director:
Have you ever considered what crack cocaine might do to the powers of a Greek god? And what would happen if Zeus’s newest illegitimate child was the son of a pastor? This outrageous provocation takes center stage in Christopher Hampton’s ingenious contemporary epic Cracking Zeus. When we select plays for development in our New Works in Action program, we look for three things: emotional resonance, urgent conversation, and theatrical innovation. And that extra special something that makes a play so unique and unusual that you could only see it at Spooky.
We’re thrilled to be developing this reality-bending, genre-defying new work in collaboration with the Kennedy Center’s Local Theatre Residency and Howard University’s Acting Program.
Christopher Hampton (Playwright) is an Atlanta based writer, performer, director, educator, and arts advocate. Cracking Zeus is his first full length play. His work has been presented nationally in theatres such as The Alliance Theatre, 7 Stages (Atlanta), The Red Cat, Company of Angels, Imagine us Free (L.A.). Chirstopher holds a BFA from the California Institute of the Arts and is an active board Member of Working Title Playwrights. When not in the theatre Christopher owns and manages The Point of Health Wellness Center (www.Healthatthepoint.com) with his wife who he loves dearly.
Reginald L. Douglas (Director) is dedicated to creating new work and supporting new voices and currently serves as the Artistic Director of Mosaic Theater Company of DC. He has directed at the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center, TheaterWorks Hartford, Contemporary American Theater Festival, Everyman Theatre, Weston Theater Company, La Jolla Playhouse, Audible, Bard at the Gate, Profile Theatre, Playwrights Realm, The Kennedy Center, Pittsburgh CLO, Arizona Theatre Company, Barrington Stage, Cape Cod Theatre Project, Negro Ensemble Company, TheatreSquared, Playwrights’ Center, McCarter Theatre Center, Florida Rep, The Lark, New York Theatre Workshop, City Theatre (where he served as Artistic Producer), Studio Theatre (where he served as Associate Artistic Director), and many other national companies. Reginald has developed and directed work by nationally recognized writers including Dominique Morisseau, Lynn Nottage, Suzan-Lori Parks, Psalmayene 24, Idris Goodwin, Cori Thomas, Angelica Chéri, Nikkole Salter, Dael Orlandersmith, Kemp Powers, Jen Silverman, Ngozi Anyanwu, R. Eric Thomas, Brian Quijada, Matt Schatz, Amy Evans, Zakiyyah Alexander, Imani Uzuri, Dave Harris, Francisca Da Silveira, Khalil Kain, Chisa Hutchinson, Tearrance Chisholm, Josh Wilder, Larry Powell, Kareem Fahmy, Harrison David Rivers, and Donja R. Love. A proud graduate of Georgetown University, Reginald is member of the Board of Directors of Theatre Washington and of the National New Play Network. He received the National Theatre Conference’s Emerging Professional Award in 2020 and the Georgetown University Legacy of a Dream Award in 2024.
CRACKING ZEUS
By Christopher Hampton
Directed by Reginald L. Douglas (Artistic Director, Mosaic Theater)
Featuring Tamieka Chavis*, DeJeanette Horne, Jamil Joseph, Karen Vincent*, and students from Howard University - Dupre Carter, Christina Daniels, Destiny Jennings, & James McClam
with dramaturgy by Divinia Shorter
* member, Actors' Equity Association
Synopsis: Hera, a goddess with a grudge to settle, has found her husband Zeus’s newest illegitimate child. On the outside, Baniaha is a pillar of his community: he helps his mother run her church while mentoring orphaned youth. On the inside, he is lost: the mystery of his paternity leaves him yearning for answers. When Hera arrives to exact her revenge with the help of Rufus, a homeless crack addict she thinks she can exploit, relationships are strained and faith is put to the test. This wildly inventive dark comedy is a present-day myth about religion, dependency, and redemption.
From the Artistic Director:
Have you ever considered what crack cocaine might do to the powers of a Greek god? And what would happen if Zeus’s newest illegitimate child was the son of a pastor? This outrageous provocation takes center stage in Christopher Hampton’s ingenious contemporary epic Cracking Zeus. When we select plays for development in our New Works in Action program, we look for three things: emotional resonance, urgent conversation, and theatrical innovation. And that extra special something that makes a play so unique and unusual that you could only see it at Spooky.
We’re thrilled to be developing this reality-bending, genre-defying new work in collaboration with the Kennedy Center’s Local Theatre Residency and Howard University’s Acting Program.
Christopher Hampton (Playwright) is an Atlanta based writer, performer, director, educator, and arts advocate. Cracking Zeus is his first full length play. His work has been presented nationally in theatres such as The Alliance Theatre, 7 Stages (Atlanta), The Red Cat, Company of Angels, Imagine us Free (L.A.). Chirstopher holds a BFA from the California Institute of the Arts and is an active board Member of Working Title Playwrights. When not in the theatre Christopher owns and manages The Point of Health Wellness Center (www.Healthatthepoint.com) with his wife who he loves dearly.
Reginald L. Douglas (Director) is dedicated to creating new work and supporting new voices and currently serves as the Artistic Director of Mosaic Theater Company of DC. He has directed at the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center, TheaterWorks Hartford, Contemporary American Theater Festival, Everyman Theatre, Weston Theater Company, La Jolla Playhouse, Audible, Bard at the Gate, Profile Theatre, Playwrights Realm, The Kennedy Center, Pittsburgh CLO, Arizona Theatre Company, Barrington Stage, Cape Cod Theatre Project, Negro Ensemble Company, TheatreSquared, Playwrights’ Center, McCarter Theatre Center, Florida Rep, The Lark, New York Theatre Workshop, City Theatre (where he served as Artistic Producer), Studio Theatre (where he served as Associate Artistic Director), and many other national companies. Reginald has developed and directed work by nationally recognized writers including Dominique Morisseau, Lynn Nottage, Suzan-Lori Parks, Psalmayene 24, Idris Goodwin, Cori Thomas, Angelica Chéri, Nikkole Salter, Dael Orlandersmith, Kemp Powers, Jen Silverman, Ngozi Anyanwu, R. Eric Thomas, Brian Quijada, Matt Schatz, Amy Evans, Zakiyyah Alexander, Imani Uzuri, Dave Harris, Francisca Da Silveira, Khalil Kain, Chisa Hutchinson, Tearrance Chisholm, Josh Wilder, Larry Powell, Kareem Fahmy, Harrison David Rivers, and Donja R. Love. A proud graduate of Georgetown University, Reginald is member of the Board of Directors of Theatre Washington and of the National New Play Network. He received the National Theatre Conference’s Emerging Professional Award in 2020 and the Georgetown University Legacy of a Dream Award in 2024.
The New Works in Action Program provides you the chance to see fresh new full-length plays that push the boundaries of reality and tell human stories in a magical way. Stories too big for the small screen, too lively for a living room, and too urgent to stay on the page. Bring your imaginations and enjoy some of Washington’s best artistic talent and freshest new voices!
New Works in Action is made possible in part through support from the DC Commission on the
Arts and Humanities, the Share Fund, the Dimick Foundation, the Dupont Circle Citizens Association, The Kennedy Center's Local Theatre Residency, and individual donors.
THANK YOU!
Admission is FREE.
New Works in Action is made possible in part through support from the DC Commission on the
Arts and Humanities, the Share Fund, the Dimick Foundation, the Dupont Circle Citizens Association, The Kennedy Center's Local Theatre Residency, and individual donors.
THANK YOU!
Admission is FREE.
