Riot Act, Inc. is thrilled to announce its 2015/2016 production schedule which brings drama, comedy and our annual series of shorts back to Jackson stages for the theater company’s 13th season.
The season kicks off Oct.. 29-31 & Nov. 5-7, 2015 with Red Herring by Michael Hollinger. Part love story, part murder mystery, part espionage plot this 1950s style noir comedy will delight audiences. Maggie, a Boston detective, must solve the murder of the dead guy in the harbor or miss her Havana honeymoon. “A blunt-nosed, sharp-eyed look at love and tying (and untying, and retying) the knot.” ~ Samuel French.
Next up, Riot Act presents Tribes by Nina Raine Feb. 18-20 & 25-27, 2016. Deaf Billy has grown up in a unconventional hearing family who all refuse to learn sign language. Out of necessity, Billy has become a expert lip reader but has never learned sign. He meets Sylvia, a young woman from a deaf family who is slowing losing her hearing. Billy finally learns to sign and belonging in the deaf community. Talk-back sessions with local experts will be held after performances to discuss deafness in today’s world.
4000 Miles by Amy Herzog finds its way on stage April 28-30 & May 5-7, 2016. After enduring a major tragedy during his cross-country bicycle trip, Leo holes up with his grandmother, Vera, in her NYC West Village apartment. During his month long stay, Leo and Vera learn from and help each other cope with how they each fit in today’s world.
Finally, Riot Act will close the season with its longstanding and popular series of Short Plays and our third annual New Play Festival. Always a community favorite, Shorts offers a sort of theatrical hors d’oeuvre for artists and audiences with multiple one-act plays sharing the bill. In the past, Riot Act has produced not only well known plays, but several original works by local playwrights, all while providing new actors and directors a chance to stretch their creative legs. In the 2013/14 season the New Play Festival was introduced as a way for playwrights to submit work and get it produced. Shorts is scheduled for June 8-11, 2016. Entries for the New Play Festival will open January 2016 and close March 1, 2016.
Riot Act was founded in 2002 to provide opportunities for local actors, directors, designers and playwrights to bring innovative, thought-provoking, challenging theater to the Jackson stage. Riot Act will continue to collaborate with dancers, musicians, videographers, visual artists, and other local non-profits to create great stories for our adventurous audience.
Please join us at the performances!