Margo Seibert, America Ferrera, and Taylor Mac Set for Sundance Institute Theatre Lab
(© David Gordon)
Sundance Institute has kicked off its 2015 Theatre Lab, under the supervision of artistic director Philip Himberg and producing director Christopher Hibma, in Sundance, Utah. The labs continue through July 26.
The Theatre Lab supports emerging and established theater makers developing new work for the stage, with a focus on assuring that the playwright’s deepest impulses and visions can be realized. For the three-week Lab, the Institute provides rehearsal space, dramaturgical support, and an acting company, creating an immersive environment where artists can experiment, see their work take shape, and collaborate with creative advisors, dramaturgs, and actors. The Lab culminates in a closed presentation of each project for Lab participants, followed by a collaborative feedback session.
This year’s acting participants include David Abeles (Once), America Ferrera (Ugly Betty), Forrest McClendon (The Scottsboro Boys), Tony Plana (Ugly Betty), Will Pullen (The Wayside Motor Inn), Stacey Sargeant (Big Love), and Margo Seibert (Ever After), among others. Creative advisers are playwright Ayad Akhtar (Disgraced) and Tricycle Theatre artistic director Indhu Rubasingham.
The list of productions include Phillip Howze's Abominable, directed by Mark Brokaw; Rachel Chavkin and Heather Christian's Annie Salem: An American Tale; Christopher Oscar Peña's Awe/Struck, directed by Lileana Blain-Cruz; Gabrielle Reisman's Catch the Wall, directed by Colette Robert; Len Jenkin's Jonah, directed by Katherine Owens; Sarah Jones' Sell/Buy/Date, directed by Carolyn Cantor; Amer Hlehl's Taha, directed by Chay Yew; Taylor Mac’s A 24-Decade History of Popular Music; and Susan Soon He Stanton's Today Is My Birthday, directed by Kip Fagan.
Past Sundance-supported plays and musicals include current Broadway Tony winners Fun Home and A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder, as well as Circle Mirror Transformation, Passing Strange, Spring Awakening, and The Laramie Project, among others.
