WHAT'S NEXT? Geva's Plays in Progress Series Concludes with Prince of Air by Jim Knable

2009-11-23

Media Contact: Dawn Kellogg
Communications Manager
(585) 232-1366 ext. 3059
dkellogg@gevatheatre.org

Rochester, N.Y., November 20, 2009 - Geva Theatre Center continues its Plays in Progress series of new play readings on Monday, November 30, 2009 at 7:00 p.m. in the Nextstage: Prince of Air by Jim Knable.



The play will be presented in an informal reading format and is followed by a discussion with the playwright. In its 16th year, Plays in Progress (formerly known as American Voices) is part of Geva Theatre Center’s ongoing commitment to developing and producing new work for the American theatre.

Admission to Plays in Progress readings is free, but reservations are required. Call the Geva Theatre Center Box Office at 585-232-Geva (4382) or reserve online at www.gevatheatre.org for tickets. Play readings sell out quickly, but tickets often become available the night of the performance. Patron discretion is advised: Prince of Air contains adult subject matter and some strong language.


Jim Knable's playwriting career started at the age of 14 when he saw a poster for the California Young Playwrights Contest and wrote an agit-prop play called The Jesus Scheme, which was selected as a contest winner, giving Jim his first professional production as a playwright. He won this contest two more times and the National Young Playwrights Contest twice. Songwriting was a hobby that developed into a serious habit as Jim continued writing and producing plays in college (Yale). He developed his songwriting craft through various coffee-house and bar gigs in New Haven and eventually New York.

Jim went to NYU Tisch's Dramatic Writing Program for further playwriting and screenwriting training and practice. He continued his performing as a singer/songwriter, developing a following. At NYU, he received productions and awards, such as being selected for the NYU New Play Festival, Screenplay Festival and receiving the Sloan Prize for full-length screenplay.

In the spring of 2000, Jim went to Germany (Dresden) to participate in a German-American theater collaboration. While there, he found many opportunities to perform his songs for German audiences and worked his songwriting and performing up to a professional level. He also founded an underground self-expressionist movement called the Soul Kebab at this time. Upon returning to New York, Jim recorded his first CD- Miles, a fourteen song representation of the best work Jim had done so far. Miles sold respectably and was (and still is) played on radio stations in Germany, France, England, Belgium, the Netherlands, Slovenia, Australia, Indiana, Texas and California.

Meanwhile, Jim’s play Spain found its way to the Woolly Mammoth Theatre in Washington D.C., scoring Jim his first regional theatre production in December of 2001. Spain was subsequently produced at several other regional theatres. Other plays by Jim (Saltimbanques, True and Solid Ground, Othamlet, Green Man) started to get readings and productions at reputable companies like Soho Rep, Geva Theatre Center, the River Stage, and the Judith Shakespeare Company. Jim received four commissions (from the Hangar Theatre and Playwrights Project) to write plays for young audiences while he continued to work on his grown-up plays.

Meanwhile, the Randy Bandits formed almost by accident and definitely by kismet in 2002. Jim found himself amongst amazingly talented musicians who helped him bring his songs to the next level in front of a broader audience. The Randy Bandits released The Woman or the Blues EP in 2003 and Redbeard, a full-length album, in 2006. They play all over New York and surrounding states and have managed to attract fans nationally and internationally thanks to the wonders of the internet.

In 2007, Jim saw Spain produced at MCC Theatre with an amazing cast including Annabella Sciorra, Veanne Cox, Michael Aronov, Lisa Kron and Erik Jensen. Spain was produced at the New York Summer Play Festival in 2006. 2008 began with the release of The Randy Bandits' Live At Otto's Shrunken Head CD, continued with workshops of Green Man at Ars Nova and Emerson High at NYU's Behind the Scenes showcase. 2009 has seen the release of the critically praised new Randy Bandits studio album Golden Arrow and the development of a new play (actually two new plays) commissioned by Firefly Theatre. Songs from Green Man, a Jim Knable with the Randy Bandits studio album, is currently under construction, merging Jim's plays and songs at last; also, along those lines, Jim and his composer brother (and Randy Bandits drummer) Sunny are hammering out at least one musical!

Emerson High was produced this month at Half Moon Theatre with Jeremy Dobrish directing.

GEVA THEATRE CENTER

Geva Theatre Center is Rochester's leading professional theatre and the most attended regional theatre in New York State. Founded in 1972, Geva attracts over 160,000 patrons annually, including more than 16,000 students. The 552-seat Elaine P. Wilson Mainstage offers a wide variety of shows, from musicals to American and world classics.

The 180-seat Ron & Donna Fielding Nextstage is home to Geva's own series of cutting-edge drama, comedy and musical theatre; Geva Comedy Improv; Geva's New Play Reading Series and the Hornet's Nest - an innovative play-reading series facilitating community-wide discussion on controversial topics. The Nextstage also hosts visiting companies of both local and international renown.

Geva Theatre Center offers a wide variety of educational, outreach and literary programs, nurturing audiences and artists alike. For the past fourteen years the organization has been led by Artistic Director Mark Cuddy.