New Theatre Company Forge Repertory Announces Inaugural Season
By: Julie Musbach Aug. 20, 2019
Kansas City theatrical artists Elaine Clifford, Coleman Crenshaw, Ryan Fortney, Todd Lanker, and Bailey Rose announce the formation of Forge Repertory Theatre a new theatre company dedicated to creating and revitalizing work through collaborative storytelling by partnering emerging artists with established KC talent.
The board of directors have laid out the following mission for Forge Repertory Theatre:
A professional community of artists creating and revitalizing work through collaborative storytelling. They are committed to:
- building theatrical sustainability through a repertory approach
- breathing life into stories of all shapes and sizes
- igniting conversations which value diverse perspectives and experiences
- fostering a welcoming environment that is accessible to all
Forge Repertory Theatre will bring light to new perspectives, pair established talent with emerging artists to inspire growth, and create theatre that reflects our diverse city. Emerging Artists will be considered both for specific shows and the seasonal repertory company. The repertory company will be made up of actors performing in each show of the season alongside established KC artists.
The inaugural season will feature three diverse plays, kicking-off this December with Eric Overmyer's On the Verge or The Geography of Yearning a witty, heart-filled, and hysterical tale of three Victorian female explorers who find themselves in Terra Incognito, an unchartered land where they mysteriously start to travel through time. On the Verge will be followed in March by Mary Zimmerman's The Secret in the Wings a magical fugue into story, identity, and the nature of otherness. The season will close with John Steinbeck's timeless masterpiece The Grapes of Wrath adapted by Frank Galati. In this Tony Award winning play, Galati effortlessly captures the beauty and tragedy of Steinbeck's original novel and doubles down on the heart and fear portrayed in the 1940 classic film. Full show descriptions are available at ForgeRep.org. The Secret in the Wings will be directed by Todd Lanker; Ryan Fortney will be directing both On the Verge and The Grapes of Wrath. All shows will be performed at the The Blackbox Theatre at Fishtank. Auditions will be announced shortly.
Coleman Crenshaw and Todd Lanker will serve as co-artistic directors:
"What Forge Rep brings to KC is something unique: a place to incubate young artists and artists that haven't necessarily had opportunities... we're keeping an eye on telling stories of all shapes and sizes, and telling stories both of and with diversity and inclusivity."
-Todd Lanker
"We want it to be accessible to everyone, that includes artist, but also from an audience perspective. The stories of the community are important to us, so we want to find those stories that have been overlooked."
Forge Repertory Theatre is a pending 501c3 nonprofit funded by the generosity of its fans.
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