June 29, 2009 at 7:00 p.m.
by Lydia Diamond
Directed by Ronee Penoi
LYDIA DIAMOND’S HARRIET JACOBS TO REPLACE TAZEWELL THOMPSON’S
MARY T. & LIZZY K. IN ARENA’S DOWNSTAIRS READING SERIES MONDAY
(Washington, D.C.) Arena Stage’s scheduled reading of Mary T. & Lizzy K. by Tazewell Thompson Monday, June 29 at 7:00pm at Arena Stage in Crystal City has been replaced with Lydia Diamond’s compelling new play Harriet Jacobs. Accompanied by the rich musical traditions of slave spirituals, Harriet Jacobs is an inspiring look at a young woman’s fascinating journey from slavery to freedom. In her book “Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl,” Jacobs describes with brutal honesty the hardships she endures under slavery, including the extraordinary choices she makes to be near her children. To survive, she escapes into her imagination and through writing, discovers hope for a better life. Harriet Jacobs recently received a premiere at Steppenwolf Theatre Company.
The Arena Stage’s Downstairs Series, produced by Literary Manager Janine Sobeck, is committed to supporting playwrights in the process of creating new work. This season, the Downstairs has presented readings of Seamus Sullivan’s Harlan at the Rockpile, and Psalmayene 24’s Journey to the Door of No Return: A Hip-Hop Odyssey.
“Plays often develop on their own idiosyncratic schedules and Tazewell Thompson’s Mary T. & Lizzy K. has surprised us all, with new discoveries that are not yet fully ready for the Downstairs process,” says Sobeck. “We are moving the reading back to a time that will be more beneficial to Taz and the play. After collaborating with Diamond in the Downstairs series previously on The Bluest Eye and with her work Stick Fly being featured in Part Two of Arena Restaged, Arena welcomes this opportunity to further support her work on this exciting new play.”
Lydia Diamond’s plays include: The Gift Horse, The Bluest Eye, Voyeurs de Venus, Company One, Stick Fly, Harriet Jacobs, Stage Blackand The Inside. Diamond is one of several playwrights commissioned by Actors Theatre Co./Humana ‘09 to collaborate on The Anthology Project. She has been commissioned by: The McCarter, Victory Gardens/Humana, The Huntington, Steppenwolf, and Roundabout Theatre Co. The Bluest Eye, The Gift Horse, and Stage Black are published by Dramatic Publishing. The Gift Horse is anthologized in Northwestern University Press’ 7 Black Plays, ed. Chuck Smith. Stick Fly, published ‘09, Northwestern University Press. Lydia holds a B.S. in Performance Studies from Northwestern University, is a resident playwright at Chicago Dramatists, a 2006-2007 Huntington Playwright Fellow, an ’07/’08 TCG/NEA playwright in residence at The Steppenwolf, and is a TCG Board Member. Diamond is on faculty at Boston University, where she teaches playwriting.
All performances will take place at the Crystal City Theater, located at 1800 S. Bell St. Arlington, VA 22202. Tickets to the Downstairs New Play Reading Series are free but must be reserved by calling the Arena Stage Sales Office at (202) 488-3300 or in person at Arena Stage in Crystal City (1800 S. Bell St. Arlington, VA 22202).
