Acclaimed acting teacher, and former Yale, NYU, and Columbia faculty member Ron Van Lieu returns to The Actors Center in November for a teaching residency, exploring scene study with members of the Resident Company.
Company member Colby Minifie is in The Wasp, written by Morgan Lloyd Malcolm and directed by Rory McGregor, at Little Engine Theater. Heather and Carla haven’t spoken since school. Their lives could not be more different, one outwardly successful, the other struggling to stay afloat. When they meet again, what begins as a friendly reunion spirals into a tense and unsettling encounter, where long-buried secrets surface and dangerous possibilities take flight. Gripping, and razor-sharp, The Wasp is a psychological thriller that keeps audiences on edge from start to finish. Power, memory, and revenge collide in this electrifying two-hander. Performances take place at 16 Beaver Street in Manhattan through November 15.
Company member Dee Pelletier is in oh, Honey, written by Jeana Scotti and directed by Carsen Joenk, co-produced by Ugly Face Theatre and Thalia Sablon with support from New Light Theater. Four mothers meet at a diner on the first Monday of every month to complain about Real Housewives, their dietary restrictions, their server, and their college sons’ campus sexual assault allegations. oh, Honey is a site-specific production presented at the Brooklyn restaurant Little Egg, and each ticket comes with a mug of tomato soup! Performances run through November 7.
Company member Stephen McKinley Henderson is in feature film Good Fortune, written and directed by Aziz Ansari, and starring Ansari, Keanu Reeves, Seth Rogen, Sandra Oh, and Keke Palmer. The film follows an angel named Gabriel, whose failed attempt to show a struggling man that money doesn’t solve one’s problems—by body swapping him with his wealthy employer—results in Gabriel losing his wings, while the work he did as an angel begins to unravel around them. The film, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival earlier this year, is now screening in theaters nationwide. Watch trailer here.
Company member Tamilla Woodard directs Spunk by Zora Neale Hurston, with new songs, arrangements, and music supervision by Nehemiah Luckett, and choreographed by nicHi douglas, at Yale Repertory Theatre. A tall, handsome stranger strolls into town looking for work. With undeniable charisma and divine musicianship, Spunk sets tongues to wagging with admiration and envy. The laws of man, the power of hoodoo, and the divinity of love all collide when he locks eyes with Evalina, already married to the local conjurer’s son. A fable about the triumph of love, Zora Neale Hurston’s play reaches the stage for the first time, brimming with humor, romance, and music. Performances run through October 25 in New Haven, CT.
Company member Purva Bedi is in The Lucky Ones, written by Lia Romeo and directed by Katie Birenboim, presented by Boomerang Theatre Company. Vanessa is confronting a devastating illness. Janie is beginning a new romance. As lifelong best friends, they’ve shared everything—until their lives start to pull them in different directions. With wit, honesty, and deep compassion, Romeo examines what it means to show up for each other when the stakes are highest, and how societal expectations of women shape—and strain—even our closest bonds. Performances run through November 9 at TheaterLab.
Company member Molly Bernard is in feature film Damned If You Do, written by company member Ellen Adair and Eric Gilde, and directed by Jake Rubin and Evan Metzold. The film, starring Kate Siegel and Harvey Guillen, follows a group of friends who sold their souls to the devil years ago. The friends must reunite before their 25th high school reunion to try and escape Hell’s grasp before the contract’s deadline expires. Damned If You Do premiered at Screamfest in Los Angeles, CA earlier this month.
Andrea Haring, vocal coach, educator, and Executive Director of The Linklater Center for Voice and Language, and Scott Illingworth, director, educator, and faculty member at NYU Grad Acting, will join The Actors Center’s Resident Company this fall for development workshops exploring embodied imagery in voice and text and Physical Actioning technique.
Company member Willa Fitzgerald is in the feature film A House of Dynamite, directed by Kathryn Bigelow and starring Idris Elba and Rebecca Ferguson. When a single, unattributed missile is launched at the United States, a race begins to determine who is responsible and how to respond. The film, which premiered at this fall’s New York Film Festival, is showing in select theaters on October 10 and will be available to stream on Netflix on October 24. Watch trailer here.