10
th th
Anniversary Season Captivating Stories. Powerful Voices. Unexpected Perspectives.
2009-2010
AZUKA
T H E A T R E
Ten years is a long time, and Azuka Theatre has come a long way. We’ve gone from producing our first show in the basement
of a community center to receiving our first Barrymore Award last year. We’ve grown into one of the most respected theater companies in Philadelphia having produced 18 shows in these past ten years, working with some of the most accomplished theater professionals in town. In all this time we have remained focused on producing theater that allows our audiences a glimpse into lives they may not normally encounter. Our mission states that “Azuka Theatre strengthens the connection and shared humanity among its diverse audiences by giving voice to the people whose stories go unheard.” We strive to bring to the stage stories that may not normally be noticed, whether it’s the quiet desperation of a family teetering on the edge, or the halting steps of two strangers stumbling toward love, these are the tales that allow us all a glimpse into the lives that are being lived right next to us. What’s happening in the car next to you? What are the hopes and dreams of the people at the next table? The plays we produce give our audiences a window into these lives allowing us all to hear a story longing to be told. We begin our tenth full season as the company in residence at Drexel University. We’re thrilled that Azuka Theatre has been asked to participate in the Mandell Professionals in Residence Project (MPiRP) and are eager to work with the students at Drexel on our production of Pulitzer Prize winner Paula Vogel’s The Long Christmas Ride Home. In the spring we will produce Adam Szymkowicz’s Nerve at The Latvian Society. Along with readings in our Spotlight Series, Azuka Theatre will be presenting five different examples of the array of voices there are with stories to tell-- stories we hope to be sharing with you for years to come. We hope you will join us!
Kevin Glaccum, Producing Artistic Director
10th Anniversary
Philadelphia Premiere!
The Long Christmas Ride Home By Paula Vogel
Directed by Aaron Cromie Mandell Theater 33rd & Chestnut Streets Tickets $15-$25
October 30 – November 15, 2009
One snowy Christmas Eve three children and their parents take an ill-fated ride to grandmother’s house. In The Long Christmas Ride Home past and present collide in the back of the family sedan. The play offers brief, illuminating glimpses of the children’s future lives, but always comes back to that one fateful night, the claustrophobic car, and the moment a family shattered. Combining superb storytelling, music and puppetry The Long Christmas Ride Home explores the fragile and fraying bonds of family. “The Long Christmas Ride Home collapses time and space into moments of disarming, and affecting, beauty…it is somewhat like gazing at stars: We feel their inspiration, as well as their sad distance from earth.” - The New York Times
Contains adult themes and situations. Not suitable for children. The Long Christmas Ride Home is presented in association with the Antionette Westphal College’s Mandell Professionals in Residence Project (MPiRP). MPiRP is supported in part by a grant from the Samuel P. Mandell Foundation.
www.drexel.edu/westphal
Philadelphia Premiere!
Nerve
By Adam Szymkowicz Directed by Kevin Glaccum The Latvian Society 7th & Spring Garden Streets Tickets $15-$25
April 8 – May 2, 2010
One man + one woman @ bar = First Date. A simple equation, so what could go wrong? In Adam Szymkowicz’s Nerve, well just about everything! From a too soon declaration of love to far too much information about past relationships, this ‘wickedly entertaining and darkly comic romance’ (OffOffOnline.com) allows us to eavesdrop on the early stages of what may or may not end up being the real thing. Throw in some interpretive dance and a wise cracking puppet and you have a ‘laugh out loud funny’ (The Gothamist) evening. And this was going SO well on-line….
10th Anniversary
A presentation of scripts being considered for future development and production with Azuka.
7:00pm | Location: TBA | Free! October 20, 2009
March 9, 2010
May 11, 2010
Hope Street and Other Lonely Places
La Rue Des Faux: Street of Mistakes
Like Ink and Paper
By Genne Murphy
By Raelle Myrick-Hodges
By Adrienne Mackey, featuring Felicia Leicht
Hope Street and Other Lonely Places explores the stories of five Philadelphians bound together by loss and love, and searching for answers in the city which breathes and dreams and lives around them.
In honor of our 10th Anniversary we’re presenting a special reading of our inaugural production, an adaptation of James Baldwin’s Giovanni’s Room directed by Azuka founder and the current Artistic Director of Brava Theater in San Francisco, Raelle Myrick-Hodges
Inspired by the true story of Arabic feminist May Ziadah and her correspondence with world famous writer and poet Kahlil Gibran. The two fell in love writing letters while he was in America and she was in Egypt. Though they never met in person what transpired between them shaped both their lives.
A social fundraiser to help support future Azuka productions and events.
5pm-8pm | Woody’s Bar Dance Floor, 202 S. 13th Street | $10 December 8, 2009
February 9, 2010
June 8, 2010
Azuka’s Holiday Bash
I Love You/I Hate You
Season Closer & Birthday Roast
Join us as we celebrate the spirit (and spirits) of the season. Add a little jingle to your life, come in out of the cold, and warm-up with your friends at Azuka.
It’s back! Azuka’s anti-Valentine Valentine is better than ever as we bring more of those deliciously (melo)dramatic morsels from the City Paper’s perversely beloved column. Raise your glass to love… and hate!
We’re closing our 10th Anniversary season with a hot little event as some of Philadelphia’s best and brightest artists come out to poke the ribs of our very own Kevin Glaccum. Come for a cocktail and a big slab of cake in celebration of the past 10 years and many more to come!
The Long Christmas Ride Home
Nerve
By Paula Vogel | Directed by Aaron Cromie Mandell Theater | 33rd & Chestnut Streets
W
NOV
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2PM*
8
2PM*
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F S 30
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14**
Industry Performance
* Join us for a special post show event. Please visit our website for more information. ** Industry Performance is 2PM show only. Industry Performance $15 - Preview Tickets $16 Wednesday, Thursday & Sunday $20 - Opening, Friday & Saturday $25
14
7PM 8PM
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Tickets available through the Azuka Theatre Box Office at (215) 733-0255 or www.azukatheatre.org.
MAY
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Special 2 for 1 Night
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21
2PM* 2PM*
Opening Night
8PM
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2+8PM
15
Previews
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2PM*
2PM Pay-WhatYou-Can Preview
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APR
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OCT
S M
By Adam Szymkowicz | Directed by Kevin Glaccum The Latvian Society | 7th & Spring Garden Streets
Give $10 for our 10th Anniversary and help
us reach our goal of $10,000! In honor of our 10th Anniversary Season, we’re challenging ourselves to raise $10,000 in donations and asking you to help us make our goal by making a donation of $10. It’s an easy way to give us a boost and still be kind to your wallet. Need some incentive? For every $10 you give we’ll enter you into a raffle to win a package of tickets to Azuka and other theaters in Philadelphia. Give $20 – get 2 raffle entries, and so on. Want more? Donate $100 or more and you will automatically receive two (2) tickets to one of our shows this season as well as being entered into the raffle 10 times. More? Donate $200 or more and you’ll receive two (2) tickets to EACH of our shows this season as well as 20 entries into our raffle. Want to see how we’re doing? You’ll notice on our website that our logo has been emptied of all its color. The closer we get to our $10,000 goal the more our logo will fill up. Donations can be made online at www.azukatheatre.org.
SUPPORT
AZUKA I want to support Azuka with a tax-deductible donation of: $10 $50 $100 $200 $500 $1,000 $_________ We will contact donors of $100 or more for complimentary tickets.
Payment Method: Check enclosed VISA MasterCard Card Number____________________________ Expiration Date_________ Name_________________________________________________________ Address_______________________________________________________ City________________________ State___________ Zip_______________ Phone ______________________ E-mail ___________________________ Please make checks payable to “Azuka Theatre” 525 S. 4th Street, Suite 362 * Philadelphia, PA 19147
AZUKA
T H E A T R E
525 S. 4th Street Suite 362 Philadelphia, PA 19147
10th Anniversary
Photo Credits – Front Cover: Amanda Schoonover in Kid Simple (2008). Page 1: Kaleo Bird, Tina Brock and Amanda Schoonover in Laura’s Bush (2004). Luigi Sottile and Brian Cowden in Whisky Neat (2009). Zura Young and Kevin Meehan in Kid Simple (2008). Page 5: Maria Möller and Paul McElwee in Friends (2002). Sara Valentine in An Artist’s Workshop (2004). Amie Shaffer in Coney Island (2006). Brain McCann in Grand Dames (2004). Elena Bossler and Luigi Sottile in Whisky Neat (2009). Dito van Reigersberg and Kim Carson in Hedwig and the Angry Inch (2008). Sara Valentine in An Artist’s Workshop (2004). Chancellor Dean and Danielle Mebane in Four (2005). Design by Derek Carnegie