More revolutionary theater, much of it from a female perspective. That’s what 7 Stages has planned for its 2015-16 season, one that includes a new Lauren Gunderson comedy; global exchanges with the Netherlands, Israel, Belgium and Serbia; a co-presentation with Atlanta’s French-language Théâtre du Rêve; and a rich lineup for its Home Brew developmental series.
7 Stages, a company that focuses on the social, political and spiritual values of contemporary culture, is led by artistic director Heidi S. Howard, co-artistic director Michael Haverty and managing director Mack Headrick. Its theater is on Euclid Avenue in Little Five Points.
The season begins Aug. 28 with the world premiere of Previously Blue, a 7 Stages-DAH Theatre (Serbia)-Café Antarsia Ensemble collaboration led by 7 Stages’ co-founders Del Hamilton and Faye Allen that looks at the resilience of human beings. It ends May 8 with Inside I, the life story of an autistic boy, written and directed by Haverty. Here’s a closer look.
MAIN SEASON
Previously Blue. AUG. 28-30. Explores humanity’s resilience and beauty in the face of an environmental tragedy. Directed by Dijana Milosevic, DAH’s co-founder and artistic director. With a text by Ruth Margraff, a playwright, performing artist and associate professor at the Art Institute of Chicago.
Celles d’en Haut (Women on Top). SEPT. 10-20. This co-presentation with Théâtre du Rêve asks “who are we when we are removed from the context of our lives.” This commission, set in an “establishment” on an isolated mountaintop, celebrates women of all ages and the dynamics in their relationships with a wicked sense of humor. Includes artists from Atlanta, Brussels, Chicago and Montreal. Developed in part through 7 Stages’ Home Brew Series. The script is by Quebec playwright Oliver Kemeid.
Curious (Literary) Encounters. OCT. 1-4. Seven of Atlanta’s best artists/ensembles create original, interactive work based on such literary giants as The Great Gatsby, The Joy Luck Club and The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter. Join Haverty, Imperial OPA Circus, Found Stages, the Artizen Company, choreographer Erik Thurmond, playwright-actor Johnny Drago and others in exploring art pieces tucked into the nooks and crannies of the 7 Stages building.
Krampus Xmas. DEC. 17-19. 7 Stages’ signature nod to the holiday season is Atlanta’s untraditional tradition. Join the Little Five Points Rockstar Orchestra, burlesque dancers, stilt walkers, aerialists and others in a weekend of sexy comedy madness.
The Missing Generation. FEB. 4-7, 2016. San Francisco’s Sean Dorsey Dance performs this new dance-theater piece that looks at the impact of losing much of a generation of gay and transgender people to AIDS in the 1980s and ‘90s. This piece was created over two years through oral history interviews with survivors in six cities, including Atlanta.
The Revolutionists. APRIL 21-MAY 8, 2016. A brutal comedic quartet about four very real women who lived boldly in France during the French Revolution’s Reign of Terror, taking on gender inequality, racial tension and violent radicalism. The script is by Decatur-bred, San Francisco-based playwright Lauren Gunderson. Note the word “comedic.”
Inside I. APRIL 21-MAY 8, 2016. Tells the life story, from birth to age 18, of a boy on the autism spectrum and his obsession with the movies. Told with puppetry and live-feed video. Written and directed by Haverty and New York director Erwin Maas.
7 Stages Passports, on sale now for $111, let you see any 7 Stages show as often as you’d like. That’s $16 per show, less if you see something more than once. Plus, if you bring a friend, they save 25 percent on their ticket, too. There’s more. Passports are good one year from the date of purchase and entitle you to discounted tickets at Actor’s Express, Horizon Theatre and Synchronicity Theatre (excluding opening nights and subject to availability). Single tickets will be on sale any day.
HOME BREW SERIES
Home Brew is 7 Stages’ developmental reading and presentation series for metro artists.
OCT. 24: Playwright/actor Johnny Drago and Blood for Blood.
DEC. 12: Director Richard Garner, playwright Lee Nowell and The Commission.
JAN. 16, 2016: Playwright Theroun d’Arcy Patterson and Red Summer.
FEB. 25, 2016: Haverty and artists Ofir Nahari, Margaret Baldwin, Ismail ibn Connor and The Followers at Kennesaw State University.
MARCH 19, 2016: Howard, actor Tara Ochs and White Woman in Progress.
APRIL 30, 2016: The Pacha Mamas and A Touch of Goddesspell.
MAY 14, 2016: Howard, performance poet Theresa Davis, vocalist Jed Drummond, artist Dorothy Bell and Fahrenheit 451.
