September 4, 7:00 pm on The Barnett Theatre Stage

The Department of Theatre/Dance at UW-Whitewater is excited to host the Br!NK New Play Festival reading of Wisconsin female playwright Karen Saari’s ‘RAIN ON FIRE, 2019’. The performance is a staged reading on Wednesday, September 4, 2019 at 7:00 p.m. on The Barnett Theatre Stage in the Greenhill Center of the Arts, 950 West Main Street, Whitewater, WI 53190. No tickets are necessary but donations will be accepted at the door. Following the staged reading there will be a question and answer session and an opportunity to talk with the playwright, dramaturge, director, artistic director and helpers.  A moderator will accept questions and critique about the performance; this is one of the most important aspects of the event.

Playwright Bio: Karen Saari’s IN A CLEARING premiered at Magnetic Theatre Company (Asheville, NC) in 2018 following development via Last Frontier Theatre Conference and Wisconsin Wrights New Play Festival and was an O’Neill Conference semi-finalist. Her one-acts have been performed across the country. Her comedy, BAD IN BED (A Fairy Tale), premiered with Acadiana Rep (Lafayette, LA) in 2018. She is a member of Dramatists Guild and Playwrights Center.

‘RAIN ON FIRE Synopsis: Marie, a failed musician, returns home to plan her pill addict mother Lorraine’s funeral. She discovers “Rain,” a closet poet, left a surprising final request for Marie to carry out with her cousin Caleb. Caleb is a meth user that cared for ‘Rain in her final months. They must compose a song out of one of Lorraine’s poems to perform at her funeral in this sometimes funny, sometimes painful look at the opiate crisis in Michigan’s north woods.

Directed by: Libby Amato

Cast: Maddie Wakely, Carrie Hitchcock, Shayne Steliga, Jim Gallagher, among others TBA

The Br!NK New Play Festival is an engaging theater-going experience suitable for anyone who loves live theater, supports women, and is interested in new works. Audiences are encouraged to give feedback and mix and mingle with the cast and playwright following the reading. These are new plays in various stages of development presented as staged readings. This is to allow the play to stand on its own without the added production elements of a set, costumes, lights, etc.

Now in its sixth season, Br!NK is Renaissance Theaterworks New Play Development Series designed to advance the works of Midwestern women playwrights.

Each year, Renaissance Theaterworks puts a call out for Midwestern women playwrights to submit their work. Two playwrights are selected to receive the Br!NK Residency Award to develop and advance their scripts. The Br!NK Resident Playwrights spend a week with a professional director, cast, and dramaturg workshopping their play. Following the workshop week, the plays are presented as staged-readings for the public at the week-long Br!NK New Play Festival (Touring September 3-6 and at NŌ Studios September 7-8, 2019).

More information about Br!NK can be found at http://r-t-w.com/br!nk-festival.html