LINDA REVILLE EISENBERG: STILL

Installation view of Linda Reville Eisenberg: Still, November 17, 2024 – January 5, 2025. Guild Hall, East Hampton. Photo: Gary Mamay

Event Series: John Drew Theater Lab

JDT Lab: Kingdom of the Spirits by JZ Holden

Directed by Amanda Kate Joshi

KINGDOM OF THE SPIRITS is about a Jewish nightclub owner in Berlin between 1938 and 1945. Her longtime lover Heinz, who is now a powerful Nazi General, comes to her club one evening in 1938 to tell her that she must leave Berlin, that he can no longer protect her, but that he has created a plan for her escape and survival.

She agrees to go along with it only if he will promise to protect her family and guarantee that no harm will come to them. He agrees, and a deal with the devil is struck. The political climate of war and its psychological landscape is the place where Kingdom of the Spirits takes place, misinformation is rife, collaboration and collusion are temptations too difficult to dismiss and death is one poor decision away.

Kingdom of the Spirits is a story about the price we pay for forbidden love, betrayal, political complicity, and ultimately survival.

JDT Lab: The Tragedie of King John Falstaff by Michael C. O’Day

Defeated by the forces of Henry IV, the fearsome Welsh sorcerer seeks his revenge by magically shunting England into a terrifying alternate timeline.  In this parallel-universe version of Shakespeare’s Henriad, Prince Hal is reduced to a mere footnote, and it’s Sir John Falstaff – fat, drunken, boastful, cowardly, irrepressible Falstaff – who becomes king of England.  Can the Lord of Misrule overcome his innumerable vices to lead his nation, and put things back to rights?  And if he can’t – or won’t – then is there anybody who can?

JDT Lab: Ball of Redemption by Ellen Dolan

Directed by Tina Jones.
Featuring Ellen Dolan, Josh Gladstone, Kate Mueth, Trevor Vaughn, Charlie Westfal, and Valerie diLorenzo.

A workshop production of a new dark family comedy by As the World Turns star Ellen Dolan.
When Ronnie agrees to attend a very unusual family reunion, she and her two siblings Olivia and Dave are forced to confront issues that have plagued them since childhood – all while Hurricane Sandy rages and they are trapped indoors with a mysterious stranger.

JDT Lab: The Violin Maker

Music, Story, Lyrics by Stephen Dickman
Book by Patricia Noonan
Musical Direction by Greg Pliska
Directed by Amanda Kate Joshi

A workshop production of a new musical by East Hampton composer Stephen Dickman.
Come with us and enter a town not found on any map, where the magical sound of the violin fills the air every day.
A young woman’s passion for the music leads us along a surprising path of complexity and intrigue.

Narrator – Morgan Cowling
Louisa – Hannah Bradley
Hugo – Bill Youmans
Anna – Joy Hermalyn
Jonas – Alex Stewart
Jacob – Matt Faucher
Nic – Laura Woyasz
Oscar – Jake Swain
Felix – Jeffrey Johnson II
Townsfolk – Michael Yeshion, Brittany Baratz, Manna Nichols, Matt Deitchman, Alexandra Palkovic and Will Porter

JDT Lab: The Daerie Queene by Savannah Hankinson

A workshop production of a new play. Cara Sullivan and her flaky brother, Pete, try to navigate the uncharted task of planning their father’s funeral. Along the way they are met by an unruly cast of characters: the ex-lover, the hot Tinder date, and the overly optimistic funeral director. The Daerie Queene explores the hilarity in grief and promises to keep the audience laughing to the bitter end.

Cast:
Zoë Laiz (Julie)
Trevor Strader (Pete)
Holly Linneman (Rachel)
Omar Ezat (Jay)

Directed by Daniel Rattner

JDT Lab: Waiting for Nothing

Two college freshmen, stuck living life through social media in this day and age, struggle in a changing society – dealing with their own inner demons while seeking love. The two students meet and unexpectedly build a remarkable bond that later leads to a challenging moment in their lives – fearing the feeling of love and causing them to mask their true identities. However, in time, someone’s healing and joy becomes someone else’s inner pain, revealing truths for better and worse.

In February 2014, Guild Hall debuted the John Drew Theater Lab (JDTLab), a workshop devoted to fostering East End performing artists and cultivating audiences for their work. The mission of JDTLab is to support actively-engaged performing artists by providing the helpful resources of the John Drew Theater to further them along on the journey of their creative process. Participants in the JDTLab receive access to the theater and its rehearsal rooms as well as the support of Guild Hall’s administrative and production staff to present a one-night showcase of their work. Artists selected for the series will also receive a modest honorarium and a travel stipend to help bring in out-of-town collaborators.