For its 29th season of making theatre on the edge, Avant Bard proudly announces three mainstage productions featuring classic comedies by Shakespeare and Molière newly adapted for now, plus a contemporary classic by Suzan-Lori Parks. In keeping with the company’s core commitment to affordability and access to timeless classics, Avant Bard also announces a new policy making Pay What You Will tickets available for every performance.
Opening the season in October will be Illyria, or What You Will, freely adapted from Twelfth Night by Jonelle Walker and Mitchell Hébert, directed by Mitchell Hébert. Illyria reimagines Shakespeare’s crossed-signal love story in a downtown Manhattan ’80s dive bar, where the habitués are club kids of assorted genders and orientations who have come to the one place where they can be who they are. Walker’s play TAME., a feminist take on The Taming of the Shrew, was produced by Avant Bard in 2016 and received a Helen Hayes Award nomination. Hebért has received Helen Hayes Awards for both acting (After the Fall) and directing (Glengarry Glen Ross), in addition to other nominations as an actor and director.
* Illyria, or What You Will runs October 18 to November 19, 2018. Opening night is Tuesday, October 23, 2018, 7:30 pm.
Next up, in March 2019, is Topdog/Underdog, the Pulitzer Prize-winning contemporary classic by Suzan-Lori Parks. Parks, one of the most acclaimed playwrights in American theatre, is a MacArthur “Genius” Award recipient and in 2015 was awarded the prestigious Gish Prize for Excellence in the Arts. Topdog/Underdog is about two African American brothers, named Lincoln and Booth, whose names foreshadow their destiny as they engage in a deadly game of one-upmanship. Parks encapsulates 400 years of African American history in a Cain-and-Abel fable for our time. In June The New York Times named this tensely funny and dead serious tragicomedy the best American play of the last 25 years.
* Topdog/Underdog runs March 14 to April 14, 2019. Opening night is Tuesday, March 19, 2019, 7:30 pm.
Rounding out Season 29 in May 2019 is A Misanthrope, a new distillation of Molière’s classic comedy by Matt Minnicino. A Manhattan-based playwright, Minnicino has adapted more than a dozen classics from the Greeks to Genet. A Misanthrope is a brisk, biting comedy about a cynic who thinks insincerity is a sin–but the joke’s on him when he falls for an ingenue who’s more than his intellectual equal. Minnicino’s A Misanthrope is written in slang-filled rhyming couplets, one howler after another; hypocrisy has never been more hilarious.
* A Misanthrope runs May 30 to June 30, 2019. Opening/press night is Tuesday, June 4, 2019, 7:30 pm.
“Each of these plays fits squarely and adventurously in our wheelhouse: bold and provocative productions of time-tested and contemporary classics, up close and personal,” said Tom Prewitt, Artistic and Executive Director of Avant Bard. “We’ve got an amazing lineup this season, and we hope audiences will share our excitement about it.”
A limited number of Pay What You Will tickets will go on sale online beginning the Monday before. Patrons can make advance ticket purchases online for any mainstage production, with a flat top price of only $40. Advance Pay What You Will tickets for all previews are also available now online.
On top of three mainstage shows, Avant Bard’s Season 29 will feature two special events: a month-long series of free play readings and a benefit performance by celebrity couple Sheila Johnson and William T. Newman Jr.
Avant Bard’s signature play-reading series, the Scripts in Play Festival (“artistic hopefuls for future productions”) kicks off in February 2019 with a slate of scripts and projects now being curated. Among the works that started out as Scripts in Play readings and then went on to stagings by Avant Bard are the Helen Hayes Award-nominated TAME., Emilie: La Marquise Du Châtelet Defends
Her Life Tonight, and two-thirds of Season 29: Illyria, or What You Will and A Misanthrope. The free Scripts in Play Festival runs February 4 to 24, 2019, at Gunston Arts Center Theatre Two (dates and plays TBA).
And coming up in fall 2018 is a one-night-only benefit reading of Love Letters by A. R. Gurney (date, time, and venue TBA). This gently funny and deeply moving two-hander consists of letters exchanged over a lifetime between a couple who grew up together, went their separate ways, but continued to share confidences. Love Letters will star real-life married couple Sheila Johnson and William T. Newman Jr., who first met as actors in the Negro Ensemble Company. Johnson, co-founder of BET Network, is CEO of Salamander Hotels and Resorts and part owner of the Washington Mystics, Wizards, and Capitals. Avant Bard audiences will remember Newman as Preacher Oedipus in The Gospel at Colonus. In his day job, he is Arlington County Circuit Court Chief Judge.
“Avant Bard is all about discovery and connectivity,” said Prewitt. “We take what might be from then and make it mean now. We take what might be from not long ago and look at it anew. And we keep on the lookout for works that should have a life in seasons to come. In this way, we keep our hands on the pulse of the past, present, and future-all in hopes of reaching audiences who enjoy theatre on the edge.”
VENUE
All mainstage productions will be at Gunston Arts Center, Theatre Two, 2700 South Lang Street, Arlington, VA 22206.
PASSPORTS AND TICKETS
Subscriptions for Avant Bard’s 2018-2019 season (“Passports”) may be purchased online, through the box office at 703-418-4808, or by email at boxoffice@avantbard.org.
TICKET INFORMATION
Avant Bard tickets are $40 and available online or by calling 703-418-4808. For every Avant Bard performance, a limited number of tickets are Pay What You Will, which means you can name your price. You can reserve PWYW tickets online the Monday before each performance for a small service minimum, or at the door with no minimum. All Avant Bard tickets including PWYW are General Admission; seating is first-come-first-served.
The association of magic with love has a long and storied history. Love spells can be found in the literature of ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia. In ancient Greece the gods could make you fall in love with whomever they chose; it often proved to be an unlikely person. Women tended to use philia spells to keep their husbands faithful, because women in this period had little or no power. Men preferred eros spells to inspire desire in the opposite sex.
Eli Finkel, a social psychologist from Northwestern University, says, “We’ve known since the 1970s that if you encounter people under pleasant circumstances, you have a much higher chance of liking them than if you encounter them under unpleasant circumstances.” In his research on speed-dating, he has found that if study participants say they “like” someone they are almost always “attracted” as well.
Sophia Howes, a playwright and director, is a senior reviewer and columnist DC Metro Theater Arts. More about her playwriting and her writing about DC theater can be found 
Justin J. Bell (Caliban) is thrilled to be joining Avant Bard for this production. Justin is a teaching artist, director/movement director, playwright, and storyteller who focuses on comedy and physical theatre. He has taught with Gala Hispanic Theatre’s award-winning youth program, Paso Nuevo; in the Richmond Public School System through Art 180; and with Synetic Theater, where he has been a company member since 2015. Past and upcoming credits include Synetic Theater: Hansel and Gretel, The Taming of the Shrew, Dante’s Inferno, Alice in Wonderland, As You Like It, A Tale of Two Cities, Hamlet, Much Ado About Nothing, The Island of Dr. Moreau (Helen Hayes nominated); Arts on the Horizon: To the Clouds, Nutt and Bolt (Helen Hayes nominated); Iron Crow Theatre: BootyCandy (Movement Director); Atramental Arts: The Root of All Knowledge (Director); Constellation Theatre Company: Journey to the West; relEASE Physical Theatre: straight on til moUrning; The Conciliation Project: Genocide Trail, Uncle Tom: de-constructed. He would like to thank his support system, especially his mom, who has been his biggest champion.
Allyson Boate (Miranda) is ecstatic to work with such lovely people in her first production with Avant Bard. She recently moved to the DMV area after touring with the National Players in Hamlet, The Grapes of Wrath, and The Giver. Previous credits include Mercutio in Romeo and Juliet (Chesapeake Shakespeare Company), Meg in Crimes of the Heart (Fable Theatre), Varya in The Cherry Orchard, and Ophelia in Hamlet (Treasure House Theater). 
Frank Britton (Alonso), a nine-year Acting Company member, marks his 15th Avant Bard production with The Tempest. He most recently appeared in Jesus Hopped the ‘A’ Train (2018 Helen Hayes Award winner of the Robert Prosky Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Play – Helen, and the 2017 Broadway World Regional Award winner for Best Actor in a Play – Small Professional Theatre) and The Farnsworth Invention (both at 1st Stage). A native Washingtonian, he has appeared with many area theatres over the past sixteen years: Wig Out! (Studio Theatre); King Lear (Avant Bard); Back to Methuselah: As Far As Thought Can Reach (Washington Stage Guild); The Freshest Snow Whyte (Imagination Stage); and Black Nativity (Theater Alliance). Other area credits include Two Trains Running and One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (Round House Theatre); Passion Play: a cycle, The Last Days of Judas Iscariot (Forum Theatre); Kafka’s Metamorphosis (Synetic Theater), The Balcony and Mother Courage and Her Children (SCENA Theatre); and Orpheus Descending (Arena Stage). Many, many thanks to Tom, Laura, and the Cast and Crew.
Brian Crane (Gonzalo) last appeared with Avant Bard as Bernard in There Is a Happiness That Morning Is. Other Avant Bard credits include Foka in Les Justes, Edward IV in Richard III, Sigmund in Secret Obscenities (Capital Fringe Festival), Steve in Small Craft Warnings, War in Peace, LeGrue in Red Noses, Lepidus in Caligula, Lodowick in Edward III, and DeNizza and Manco in The Royal Hunt of the Sun. Roles with The American Century Theater include Juror 11 in Twelve Angry Men, Frank Elgin in Country Girl, Leslie in Seascape, Woodley in Happy Birthday, Wanda June, the Producer in Hellzapoppin’, the Egg of Head in MacBird!, Harris in Tea and Sympathy, and Felix/Williams in Paradise Lost. He has also appeared as Clotaldo in Life’s a Dream with Journeymen Theatre.
Miles Folley (Ferdinand), hailing from Washington, D.C., has been interested in acting since watching the cast of Homicide: Life on the Street eat crabs in a Baltimore seafood spot and make it look realistic. After his mentors from UDC told him to audition at AMDA (American Musical and Dramatic Academy) to learn more about the craft, his love for the artform has grown deeper. He is thankful to have attained more lessons about acting in plays such as In the Cut (DC Black Theatre Festival), Antony and Cleopatra (Virginia Shakespeare Festival), and The Very Last Days of the First Colored Circus (Restoration Stage). He is thankful and humbled to continue his growth in his debut performance at Avant Bard.
Emily H. Gilson (Ariel) is thrilled to make her Avant Bard debut! Local credits include Sister James in Doubt at SeeNoSun Onstage; workshop readings in Avant Bard’s Scripts in Play Festival, Page-to-Stage at Kennedy Center, Ari Roth’s 2011 staging of his Born Guilty Cycle (Theatre Lab/Theatre J), and Source Festival. Emily is also an accomplished devised performer and founding collaborator with DC’s TBD Immersive, originating roles in In Cabaret We Trust and the celebrated Cabaret Rising at Dupont Undergound. Her debut short film, Silent Sentinel, is currently playing at festivals. She holds a BA in Drama and Medieval Studies from SUNY Purchase and also trained with Studio Theatre, Signature (Arlington, VA), and Shakespeare & Company (Lenox, MA). Love forever to JRHR. 
Christopher Henley (Prospero) is a founding Ensemble Member of (as we were known then) Washington Shakespeare Company and was Artistic Director from 1996 until 2013. In our first Tempest (1993), he played Antonio; he directed our second Tempest (2004). He directed our first Lear (1994) and played The Fool and The King of France in last year’s King Lear. He also directed our productions of Hamlet, The Merchant of Venice, and the 2010 Richard III in addition to much else (including Caligula and Camille: a tearjerker). Other Shakespearean parts for us include Richard II, Falstaff, Henry IV, Lysander, Jacques, Horatio, Caska, Don John, Don Pedro, MacDuff, Son of MacDuff, Duncan, Donalbain, Cardinal Pandulph, and Antonio in The Two Gentlemen of Verona (Bard on Wheels version), in addition to many non-Shakespearean roles (most recently Truman Capote in Holiday Memories). Since retiring into the role of Artistic Director Emeritus at Avant Bard, he has been committing journalism as a Contributing Writer for 
Cam Magee (Antonia/Stephano) has appeared in and/or dramaturged 20 of Avant Bard’s Shakespeare productions. Her past credits include Gloucester in King Lear, Aurélie in The Madwoman of Chaillot, Eleanor/Pembroke in King John, Juno in Juno and the Paycock, and Hannah Jelkes in The Night of the Iguana. She has appeared at Arena Stage, Shakespeare Theatre Company, Folger Theatre, Theater J, Source Theatre, Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, and Washington Stage Guild (for which she received a Helen Hayes nomination playing Mrs. Cheveley in An Ideal Husband). She is a company member of Avant Bard, Rorschach Theatre, and Shakespeare for the Young (
Camille Pivetta (Ariel) is ecstatic to be working with an amazing team on Avant Bard’s production of The Tempest as her first professional show. She is currently a junior at Yorktown High School, and a part of their unique Theatre Arts Program, where she has obtained most of her training and has been exposed to experiences with companies such as Avant Bard, 
Reginald Richard (Ariel) is honored to be making his debut with Avant Bard. Just recently he was deemed runner-up in the winner-take-all actor competition, Monologue Madness. And weeks before he made his debut at Arena Stage in the political thrill ride, The Great Society. Aside from establishing himself as a fellow thespian, Reginald also teaches at the accredited National Conservatory of Dramatic Arts, where he received his training. His local stage credits include Exit, Pursued by a Bear (Barabbas Theatre); The Most Spectacularly Lamentable Trial of Miz Martha Washington (Ally Theatre Company); Ballast (Source Festival); and The Last Burlesque (Pinky Swear Productions). He would like to personally acknowledge his mother, Pamela Richard, Alan Sharpe, Doug Wilder, and Nan Ficca for their continuous support throughout his theatrical journey over the years.
Alyssa Sanders (Sebastia/Trinculo) as always is thrilled to be working with Avant Bard, where she was most recently seen as Goneril to Rick Foucheux’s Lear in King Lear. Other roles include Emilia in Avant Bard’s Othello and Beth in Peter’s Alley Theatre’s Dinner with Friends. Other local theaters she has worked for include Quotidian Theatre Company (Company Member), Lean & Hungry Theater (Company Member), Venus Theatre, Studio Theatre, Adventure Theatre. Training: American Academy of Dramatic Arts, Brandeis University, Studio Theatre Acting Conservatory. 
Tom Prewitt (Director), now in his sixth season as Artistic and Executive Director of Avant Bard, most recently staged King Lear, Holiday Memories, Othello, and the Helen Hayes Award-winning production of Visible Language. Other Avant Bard credits include celebrated productions of William Shakespeare’s King John, Six Characters in Search of an Author, and No Man’s Land. He has directed Off Broadway at The Public Theater, Drama Department, Jean Cocteau Rep, Castillo Theatre, and Blue Heron Theatre, as well as locally for Woolly Mammoth (eleven shows, including Cooking with Elvis, starring Rick Foucheux), Signature Theatre, Round House, Theater of the First Amendment, South Coast Rep, Portland Stage Company, Shakespeare Santa Cruz, Delaware Theatre Company, and New Mexico Rep. Prewitt’s production of Sins of Sor Juana by Karen Zacarias won the Charles MacArthur Award for Outstanding New Play (Theater of the First Amendment), and his staging of Ian Cohen’s Lenny and Lou received Helen Hayes Award nominations for Outstanding Resident Production and Outstanding New Play (Woolly Mammoth). His production of Nathan the Wise (also nominated for the MacArthur Award) was taped and broadcast by PBS affiliate WETA. He has taught acting, directing, playwriting, and theatre history at NYU, Manhattanville College, University of Maryland, and George Mason University. Prewitt’s abiding interest in education and theatre for social change continues this year through partnerships he helped to develop with HB Woodlawn Secondary School as well as Arlington-based 296 Project, which works with veterans and their families, using the arts to overcome effects of PTSD and traumatic brain injury. He currently serves on the Board of Governors for theatreWashington/Helen Hayes Awards, the Artistic Advisory Panel for the Mead Theatre Lab Program (CulturalDC), and Arlington County’s Four Mile Run Valley Working Group. Prewitt studied with Jerzy Grotowski at Columbia University, was awarded fellowships from Theatre Communications Group and the Drama League of New York, and received his undergraduate degree with honors from Harvard University, where he majored in English and Comparative Religions.
Greg Stevens (Set, Costume, and Props Designer) is a Helen Hayes Award nominee and has directed, designed, built, or painted sets or costumes for over 150 shows in DC, NYC, San Diego, and elsewhere. Favorite shows include Emilie: La Marquis du Châtelet Defends Her Life Tonight (set); Suddenly Last Summer (directed); Oldest Profession (set, costumes); The Amish Project (Helen Hayes nomination, set); The Cole Porter Project (co-wrote, directed, designed); Vampire Lesbians of Sodom (set, costumes); The Saint Plays (set, costumes); Boston Marriage (set). Founding company member of Helen Hayes Award–winning Factory 449.
Jos. B. Musumeci, Jr. (Lighting Designer) has designed the scenery for Othello, Nero/Pseudo, and King John with Avant Bard, and is excited to return as Lighting Designer for The Tempest. Other recent work includes scenery for Flying V’s Fights 3: The Secret History of the Unknown World and You, or Whatever I Can Get, and the lighting for Twelfth Night, Spring Awakening, and Beyond the Sunset at St. Mary’s College, where he has just completed his first year as Technical Director and Lighting Designer, after a decade and a half as the Director of Theatre and Events at the Bender JCC of Greater Washington.
Andrew Bellware (Composer) has designed sound and composed music for hundreds of productions. He was a founding member of the now-defunct off-off Broadway theater company Manhattan Theatresource in Greenwich Village. He has designed for the Wooster Group, worked for the New York Shakespeare Festival, and designed off-Broadway musicals Sidd and La Gioconda. With Avant Bard stage manager Laura Schlachtmeyer producing, he has directed more than a dozen science-fiction feature films, which have been distributed all over the world.
Ralph Derbyshire (Technical Director) is an Arlington native. He has worked throughout the DC region for the last 15 years, though most notably with The Smithsonian Folklife Festival (2002-08, 2010-15), GWU’s Lisner Auditorium (2007-12), as well as many local crewing companies setting up special events. He has held the titles Master Carpenter, Master Flyman, Assistant Stage Manager, and Shop Foreman. He also works and volunteers with the National Folk Festival as well as several other festivals locally and around the country. This is his first show with Avant Bard, and he is excited to bring his skills back to real theatre.
Inspired by the story in The Gospel at Colonus of an ancient city that welcomed an outcast refugee, Avant Bard’s Saturday afternoon Unscripted Afterchats will feature four special guests who, through their work, connect people by lifting them up in affirmation and esteem. These speakers come from a variety of disciplines and backgrounds, but all share in a spirit of community building that welcomes and unites the best in everyone.
Nina Tisara (Photographer of the “Converging Paths.” “United in the Spirit,” and “Sanctuary” series exhibited in the lobby during The Gospel at Colonus). Meet the heart behind the lens, and chat about what it’s like to bear witness to more than 70 places of worship, all in our own backyard.
Minister Marcellus Hartsfield (Founder of Anointed Hands Sign Interpreting Ministries). Meet the sign interpreter for 
Kenton Rogers (Singer Oedipus, ordained preacher, and gospel music recording artist). Meet one of the newest additions to The Gospel at Colonus cast, and chat about the intersection between theatre, theology, and uplifting song.
Jessa Marie Coleman (Ismene), a native of Ellicott City, MD, began her journey with music from early childhood. Graduating from Stevenson University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Film/Theatre/Video, she began performing professionally regionally at Toby’s Dinner Theatres in Columbia and Baltimore. Soon after, she joined Royal Caribbean cruise lines as a lead singer. In addition to travelling the world through song and dance, Jessa has performed as a backup dancer for the artist M.I.A at the 2010 Oktoberfest at Merriweather Post Pavilion. Also in 2016 she was featured in the FKA Twigs Baltimore dance documentary. Her credits include ArtsCentric: Sister Act (Michelle), Memphis (Ensemble, Felicia u/s), Snapshots (Natalie), For Colored Girls… (Yellow); Royal Caribbean: Majesty (Lead Vocalist), Grandeur (Lead Vocalist); Toby’s Dinner Theatre: The Color Purple (Nettie), Hairspray (Dynamite), Buddy Holly Story (Apollo Singer), Ragtime, All Shook Up, Beauty and the Beast, Cats (Syllabub), Phantom of the Opera, Sophisticated Ladies (Ensemble). Jessa is thrilled to be a part of such a talented cast and incredible project! She gives infinite thanks to her mother, father, Todd, and all those friends and family who have continued to support her toward her destiny! Shine on!
e’Marcus Harper-Short (Creon), who is also Musical Director of The Gospel at Colonus, is a performer with extensive recording, touring, and television credits. Among the artists he has worked with as keyboardist, vocalist, or conductor: Carlos Santana, MC Hammer, Lionel Richie, David Murray, Davey Yarborough, Walter Hawkins, Tramaine Hawkins, Li’l Richard, Aretha Franklin, Billy Preston, and Michael Jackson.
Ayana Reed (Antigone), a native Washingtonian, graduated from Duke Ellington School of the Arts and obtained her BM in Vocal Performance from George Mason University. Her versatility is showcased through performances such as an opera debut in Italy and a starring role in the Helen Hayes Awards nominated blues musical Blackberry Daze. She loves bringing meaningful stories to life on stage.
Kenton Rogers (Singer Oedipus), native of Paterson, NJ, presently residing in Baltimore, MD, is an accomplished recording artist, actor, and ordained preacher. He has performed Off-Broadway (in God’s Creation and Black Nativity) and on stages across America and internationally. Kenton made his recording debut on Melvin Williams’s project Live! In Living Color performing the duet “Time Is Running Out.” He then signed with Blackberry Records and released his freshman project, Just Look at Me, which yielded the classic and still popular “God Has Never Failed Me.” In addition, he released his sophomore project, Alive & Pressin’ On, featuring gospel superstars the Williams Brothers, Paul Porter, the late Willie Neal Johnson, and the late Albertina Walker, who blessed him with standout selections “Jesus Will Fix It,” “Hold to God’s Unchanging Hand,” “Help Me Lord,” “I Wanna Go,” and “God Is.”
Gregory K. Wright (Choragos), a native of Alexandria, VA, graduated from T. C. Williams High School, attended Howard University, and graduated from The University of the District of Columbia with a bachelor of arts degree. He teaches in the Special Education Department at Francis C. Hammond Middle School, coordinates Counselors in Training at Burgundy Farm Country Day School, and is director of music and fine arts at Woodlawn Faith United Methodist Church, all in Alexandria, VA. Married for 26 years, Gregory and Barbara M. Wright have three children, Michael, Marissa, and Matthew Wright. Gregory loves to sing and offer outreach services to those in need, and he is thankful for new opportunities to fellowship with others.
Clare Parker (Costume Designer) i
Jose Nunez (Properties Designer) is a native of the Maryland area. He recently graduated from Ohio University with an MFA in Production Technology, with a focus in Properties Design. He is excited to be working with Avant Bard!
