Playwright Jonathan Norton. Photo courtesy Jonathan Norton

Five New Plays Will Receive Their World Premieres

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For over four decades, Actors Theatre of Louisville has been a driving force in new play development, introducing more than 450 plays into the American theatre repertoire and representing the work of more than 400 playwrights and ensembles. The internationally acclaimed Humana Festival is recognized as a crucial incubator for new work and a launchpad for myriad subsequent productions around the country and the world. Plays that have recently premiered at Actors Theatre—including Liliana Padilla’s How to Defend Yourself, Molly Smith Metzler’s Cry it Out, Leah Nanako Winkler’s God Said This, Jen Silverman’sThe Roommate, Lucas Hnath’s The Christians and The Thin Place, and Colman Domingo’s Dot—have continued to be produced on stages far and wide.

Actors Theatre celebrates the 44th Humana Festival with underwriter the Humana Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Humana, Inc. Additional support is provided by the National Endowment for the Arts and The Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust.

This year’s lineup of plays will be performed in rotating repertory in three theatres located in Actors Theatre’s downtown Louisville complex: the 633-seat Pamela Brown Auditorium, 318-seat Bingham Theatre and 159-seat Victor Jory Theatre. The 2020 Humana Festival schedule also offers a weekend of enrichment events for college students and features special weekend packages for theatre lovers and practitioners alike. These weekends are packed with discussions, networking opportunities and parties, making Louisville an exciting destination for the American theatre this spring.

THE LINEUP

Introducing the work featured in the 44th Humana Festival of New American Plays:

Nicole Clark is Having a Baby
written and directed by Morgan Gould
March 6—April 12
in the Bingham Theatre

A deeply felt, unapologetic comedy about mothers, daughters, and the trauma of fatphobia.

Where the Mountain Meets the Sea
by Jeff Augustin
music by The Bengsons
directed by Joshua Kahan Brody
commissioned by Actors Theatre of Louisville
March 11—April 12
in the Victor Jory Theatre

This music-filled play traces a Haitian immigrant and his son’s complicated bond, and their life-changing journeys across America.

FLEX
by Candrice Jones
directed by Delicia Turner Sonnenberg
March 18—April 11
in the Bingham Theatre

A powerful new play about swagger, strength and sticking together.

Grace
by Nolan Williams, Jr.
directed by Robert Barry Fleming
March 25—April 12
in the Pamela Brown Auditorium

A soaring musical celebration of family, faith and African-American food traditions.

Gab Reisman

Are You There?
by Vivian Barnes, Jonathan Norton and Gab Reisman
directed by Robert Barry Fleming
performed by the actors of the 2019–2020 Professional Training Company
commissioned by Actors Theatre of Louisville
March 1—April 12
in the Bingham Theatre

Communication is as easy as a push of the button—but are we truly connecting?