Public Theater Announces Two New Productions for Sixth Public Studio Season

The Public Theater has announced its sixth season of Public Studio, which will present pared-down productions of new work at the Shiva Theater.

First, it will present the first act of The Loophole (February 20-22), a musical-in-progress by Public Theater #BARS alumnae Zeniba Britt and Jay Adana, directed by Awoye Timpo, and starring Britt, Adana, Cherrye J. Davis, Antwayn Hopper, Daniel Jenkins, Danny Rothman, and Jason Veasey. It is described as "a folk/rap alternative history of a still resonant civil war."

Then, it will present Cullud Wattah (March 7-10) by Erika Dickerson-Despenza, directed by Candis C. Jones, and starring Deonna Bouye, Alana Raquel Bowers, Caroline Stefanie Clay, Nikiya Mathis, and Kara Young. According to a press release, the play is "about three generations of Black women living through the current water crisis in Flint, Michigan."

Public Studio is a performance series dedicated exclusively to developing the work of emerging writers. In a laboratory environment, writers rehearse with actors and a director, incorporate bare-bones design elements, and open the process to an audience over a series of performances. More than a reading or workshop, but not a full production, this middle step affords early-career writers the important opportunity to deepen their experience of working collaboratively over an extended rehearsal period and to see their work staged in front of an audience.