Vassar College has announced the lineup for their 38th annual Powerhouse Theater Season. The summer program unites influential theatrical voices and the next generation of artists through their renowned Powerhouse Theater Training Program.
This year's group of artists will include Drew Droege (Titanique) and his new comedy Messy White Gays, directed by Mike Donahue (The Legend of Georgia McBride); Jocelyn Kuritsky (KPOP), presenting in-progress episodes from her Webby Award-honored podcast A Simple Herstory, in collaboration with The Tank and directed by Meghan Finn; writing team Dorie Clark and Marie Incontrera with their lesbian spy thriller musical Absolute Zero, directed by Powerhouse alum Ellie Heyman (The Great Work Begins); Sean Gao, Alan Goodson, and Joyce Hill Stoner with Shanghai Sonatas, a new musical based on the memoirs of Jewish refugee musicians who escaped Nazi Germany and found refuge in Shanghai in the 1930s and ’40s, directed by Chongren Fan (The Dragon King’s Daughter); and lastly, Liz Dahmen returning for the second installment of Performing Art at the Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center.
Rounding out the season will be free readings of new works written and directed by Gloria Majule and Shariffa Ali, Savon Bartley and Adam Coy, C.J Baer and Judson Jones, Max Reuben, and Kaela Mei-Shing Garvin.
“The 38th Powerhouse Season offers our audiences the opportunity to journey across the world, from a Hell’s Kitchen loft in Messy White Gays to a bumpy Tanzanian road trip in Gloria Majule’s Possessed; from a (possibly) haunted house in Max Reuben’s new play to the haven and challenges of Shanghai during the rise of the Nazis,” shared Producing Director Michael Sheehan in a statement. “As always, at the foundation of the Powerhouse program is the Training Company. We are delighted to welcome a new cohort of dedicated aspiring-artists, who come from all over the country to study, create, and perform alongside our world-class faculty and professional artists."
Since 1985, Powerhouse has welcomed artists and students of the highest caliber to the Vassar College campus, including Lynn Nottage, John Patrick Shanley, Taylor Mac, Sarah DeLappe, and more.
Additional projects and casting will be announced at a later date. For more information on this years training company, and their programming, Visit Vassar.edu.
