Online Courses Begin July 13, 2020
Season 13 Performances Begin in February of 2021
Keeping in mind the health and safety of our staff, performers, and patrons, 1st Stage has decided to begin its next season in February of 2021. Join 1st Stage in February, April, and May for three fantastic full-length productions, and in July 2021 for the return of the groundbreaking Logan Festival of Solo Performance.
In the meantime, 1st Stage is excited to announce the launch of its brand-new Virtual Classroom, beginning with six theatre education courses taught by experts in the field. Register today at www.1ststage.org.
About the Virtual Classroom
1st Stage Artistic Director, Alex Levy will be teaching “A Director Prepares.” This course will introduce students to the process of directing. It will focus on production, preparation, and conceptualization. It will also touch on concepts such as casting, talking to designers, and working with actors.
1st Stage Literary Manager, Laura Esti Miller will lead “Approaches to Script Analysis.” This course will introduce students to both classic and modern techniques to understanding characters, conflict, and action.
Deidra LaWan Starnes, a performer, teacher, and 1st Stage’s Associate Artistic Director will teach “Beginning Scene Study.” This course will introduce students to performing scripted scenes. They will analyze the scene text to create and develop believable characters in a real relationship using Given Circumstances, Setting (Time and Place), History, Objectives, Tactics, and Obstacles.
1st Stage Casting Director and long-time vocal coach, Jane Margulies Kalbfeld will be teaching “Beginning Voice Training.” This course will introduce students to healthy singing techniques, including warm-ups and cool downs, using vocal exercises, the importance of proper vocal hygiene, and simple songs.
Trained performer, teaching artist, and 1st Stage Director of Engagement, Heidi Fortune Picker will be teaching “Introduction to Improvisation.” This course will introduce students to basic principles of improvisation. It will focus on concepts such as “Yes, and…” and building on a story, as well as on activities to help students let go of their inner critic and rediscover play.
Playwright and 1st Stage family member, Bob Bartlett (playwright, Swimming with Whales) will be teaching “Introduction to Playwriting.” This course will introduce students to the basic principles of playwriting – dramatic action, character, and structure.
For more information about Virtual Classroom Instructors, visit www.1stStage.org.
About Season 13 Productions
In February, Alex Levy will direct The Waverly Gallery, written by Kenneth Lonergan. In this 2019 Tony Award nominee for Best Revival of a Play, Gladys, the elderly matriarch of the Green family is always irascible but now increasingly erratic, Gladys becomes a cause for concern to her family. “Deeply theatrical and often deeply funny,” raved The New York Times.
In April, Nick Olcott will direct The Nance, by Douglas Carter Beane. This witty, Tony Award-Nominated play, filled with music, dance, and comedy sketches, introduces us to Chauncey Miles, a gay burlesque performer at the Irving Place Theater. Chauncy specializes in playing the stock character of “the nance,” an extremely effeminate, blatantly homosexual staple of the 1930s stage. As New York’s Mayor LaGuardia cracks down on any kind of deviant or scandalous behavior onstage, Chauncey and the cast of The Irving Place Theater have to decide what they are willing to stand up for.
May-June will feature Mlima’s Tale, by Lynn Nottage, directed by José Carrasquillo. Pulitzer Prize Winner and Macarthur Genius Grant Winner, Nottage gives us the story of Mlima, an elderly “big tusker” elephant from a protected reserve in Kenya. When Mlima is poached for his glorious ivory tusks, those tusks begin a journey across the world, introducing us to a string of characters, each with their own goals and struggles surrounding the ivory trade. In every scene, Mlima’s own magnificent presence hovers in the background, lending the weight of his history to this beautiful story.
1st Stage will conclude its exciting 13th Season in July with The Logan Festival of Solo Performance, a festival of solo performances featuring national, award-winning performers.
Tickets and Flex Passes can be purchased online at www.1stStage.org or by calling the 1st Stage box office at 703-854-1856.
VIRTUAL CLASSROOM
Register today at www.1ststage.org!
Introduction to Playwriting
Teacher: Bob Bartlett
Mondays, July 13- August 17, 2020
5PM to 7PM
This course will introduce students to the basic principles of playwriting – dramatic action, character, and structure.
Beginning Scene Study
Teacher: Deidra LaWan Starnes
Tuesdays, July 14- August 18, 2020
2PM – 3PM
This course will introduce students to performing scripted scenes. They will analyze the text to create and develop believable characters in a real relationship using Given Circumstances, Setting (Time and Place), History, Objectives, Tactics, and Obstacles.
A Director Prepares
Teacher: Alex Levy
Wednesdays, July 15- August 19, 2020
3PM – 4 PM
This course will introduce students to the process of directing. It will focus on production, preparation, and conceptualization. It will also touch on concepts such as casting, talking to designers, and working with actors.
Beginning Voice Training
Teacher: Jane Margulies Kalbfeld
Fridays, July 17- August 21, 2020
11AM – 12PM
This course will introduce students to healthy singing techniques, including warm-ups and cool downs, using vocal exercises, the importance of proper vocal hygiene, and simple songs.
Approaches to Script Analysis
Teacher: Laura Esti Miller
Saturdays, July 18- August 22, 2020
12 PM – 1PM
This course will introduce students to both classic and modern techniques to understanding characters, conflict, and action.
Introduction to Improvisation
Teacher: Heidi Fortune Picker
Sundays, July 19- August 23, 2020
1PM to 2PM
This course will introduce students to basic principles of improvisation. It will focus on concepts such as “Yes, and…” and building on a story, as well as on activities to help students let go of their inner critic and rediscover play.
SEASON 13
The Waverly Gallery
by Kenneth Lonergan
Directed by Alex Levy
Feb 4 – Feb 28, 2021
In this 2019 Tony Award nominee for Best Revival of a Play, Gladys, the elderly matriarch of the Green family, has run an art gallery in a small Greenwich Village hotel for many years. The management wants to replace her less-than-thriving gallery with a coffee shop. Always irascible but now increasingly erratic, Gladys becomes a cause for concern to her family. By the Academy Award winning writer of Manchester by the Sea, this production is poignant, wacky, and heartrending.
“Deeply theatrical and often deeply funny.” -The New York Times
The Nance
by Douglas Carter Beane
April 1 – April 25, 2021
This witty, Tony Award-nominated play, filled with music, dance, and comedy sketches, introduces us to Chauncey Miles, a gay burlesque performer at the Irving Place Theater. Chauncy specializes in playing the stock character of “the nance,” an extremely effeminate, blatantly homosexual staple of the 1930s stage. As New York’s Mayor LaGuardia cracks down on any kind of deviant or scandalous behavior onstage, Chauncey and the cast of The Irving Place Theater have to decide what they are willing to stand up for.
“Beane’s funny but bittersweet portrait of a vanished era contains just enough warning about the guardians of “morality” who are always waiting in the wings to make ‘The Nance’ timely as well as nostalgic.” -The Chicago Tribune
Mlima’s Tale
by Lynn Nottage
May 20 – June 13, 2021
Pulitzer Prize Winner and Macarthur Genius Grant Winner Lynn Nottage gives us the story of Mlima, an elderly “big tusker” elephant from a protected reserve in Kenya. When Mlima is poached for his glorious ivory tusks, those tusks begin a journey across the world, introducing us to a string of characters, each with their own goals and struggles surrounding the ivory trade. In every scene, Mlima’s own magnificent presence hovers in the background, lending the weight of his history to this beautiful story.
“Ms. Nottage….[has] shaped this story with such theatrical inventiveness and discipline that it never feels sensational.” -The New York Times
The Logan Festival
July 15 – July 25, 2021
The Logan Festival will feature national, award-winning solo performers showcasing their impressive skills in some of the most groundbreaking solo pieces in recent years.
About 1st Stage
1st Stage Theatre is an award-winning professional theatre in the heart of Tysons, Virginia. The company serves as a cultural hub for the community producing first-rate theatrical productions as well as hosting professional musicians, orchestras, and visual artists, and providing educational opportunities for the community. In 2020, 1st Stage was nominated for 18 Helen Hayes Awards, including Outstanding Production of a Play (The Brothers Size). Other awards include the American Theatre Wing National Theatre Company award, Last year the company won 5 Helen Hayes Awards, including an Award for Outstanding Production of a Musical (Fly By Night). Additionally, 1st Stage is a member of the Catalogue for Philanthropy class of 2016-2017. In September 2016, The Wall Street Journal called 1st Stage “one of America’s most impressive smaller regional companies.”
For more information, visit 1st Stage online at www.1ststage.org or follow the theater on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram
