Ensemble Studio Theatre will kick off its 2019–2020 season with the world premiere of GEORGIA MERTCHING IS DEAD, a new play by Agnes playwright Catya McMullen, followed by a yet-to-be-announced production in partnership with the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, and a spring premiere of Redwood by Brittany K. Allen.
GEORGIA MERTCHING IS DEAD, which had been previously scheduled to be a part of last season, will begin performances October 2. Directed by Giovanna Sardelli (Describe the Night), the new play sees three women, friends since adolescence, set off on a road trip to celebrate and mourn a figure from their past.
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The cast of the world premiere will feature Quincy Dunn-Baker (The Wayside Motor Inn), Layla Khoshnoudi (Dance Nation), Diana Oh (mylingerieplay), Claire Siebers (Agnes), and JD Taylor (Sundown, Yellow Moon).
GEORGIA MERTCHING IS DEAD is scheduled to run through October 27 with an October 10 opening night.
In February 2020, EST and The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation will present a new play (to be announced) as part of its ongoing partnership. The season will conclude in April 2020, when EST and Radio Drama Network present Allen's new comedy Redwood, directed by Mikhaela Mahony (Dido of Idaho).
In Redwood, Meg and Drew are a young interracial couple, very much in love and moving in together. But when Meg’s Uncle Stevie sets out to chart his ancestry online, he unwittingly discovers that Meg’s family was owned by Drew’s in the antebellum South. Love and politics collide, and time bounces between the past and the present while Meg and Drew are forced to confront themselves, and their families, in a dark new light.
Full cast and creative team will be announced at a later date. The run is set for April 15–May 10.
All performances will take place in EST's Curt Dempster Theater. Tickets can be purchased at EnsembleStudioTheatre.org.
