2. NON-PROFIT ORG.
U.S. POSTAGE
Cool Dog PAID
Interactive
ATLANTA, GA
PERMIT #2868
1105 Euclid Ave.
Atlanta, GA 30307 7 Stages’ 2004 – 2005 season sponsors also include the City of Atlanta Bureau
of Cultural Affairs, Fulton County Arts Council and the Georgia Council for the Arts.
All photos, unless otherwise indicated, by: Yvonne Boyd, Full Image Production – 404-584-9280
Cover art: Heather Starkel and Adam Fristoe in Iphigenia... a rave-fable, 2004.
Produced by: McGill Contract Services – 404.248.8015
Designer: Russ Bourré – 404.550.0088
3. Special Events ............................................................. 4
September 10, 2004
25th Anniversary Birthday Party
May 20, 2005
A Taste for Theatre
The 2004 – 2005 Season ........................................ 6
July 15 – 18, 2004
FIRST CONTACT A Special Pre-Season Event
Created by Cultural Odyssey
September 30 – October 24, 2004
MARIA KIZITO
By Erik Ehn
November 11 – 14, 2004
* LA CASA DE RIGOBERTA MIRA AL SUR
Created by Grupo Justo Rufino Garay
January 27 – February 20, 2005
SKINWALKERS
By Murray Mednick
February 24 – March 6, 2005
FLOP
Created by Pig Iron Theatre Company
March 10 – April 3, 2005
A NUMBER
By Caryl Churchill
April 7 – 10, 2005
* THIS JAZZ CENTURY
Created by Standard Deviation
May 5 - 29, 2005
WIZZER PIZZER
By Amy Wheeler
*Available only as part of a full 7-Play subscription package.
Theatre Education .............................................. 13
July 6 – August 8, 2004
Youth Creates Summer Theatre Training Program 2004
July 5 – August 7, 2005
Youth Creates Summer Theatre Training Program 2005
Available Year-Round
Residencies, Workshops, and Sch0ol Tours
Purchase tickets at www.7stages.org or 404-523-7647.
2
4. _ ongevity is not a straight line. It is the hallmark of
a beautiful, continuing journey.
At a quarter of a century, the longevity of 7 Stages in the
Atlanta community is itself a powerful statement — and not
just about the lasting legacy of the performing art we nurture
to life on stage, but also about you, our audience.
For twenty-five years, we have been quietly creating theatre which caused you to question,
which shocked you, which riveted you to your seats. We believe sincerely that theatre can
change the way you see the world, and that it is a delicate system that unites us all — no
matter what culture we come from. We think a community is defined in spirit as well as
by where it is located. That’s why our programming includes premieres created not only
by Atlanta artists, but also in collaboration with artists from around the world. Together,
it’s the future for American theatre that we are creating: a new global theatre not defined
by borders or countries.
Still located in eclectic and diverse Little 5 Points, 7 Stages has grown from the theatre
we founded in an old storefront, with only sixty-five seats, to a multi-purpose arts center
encompassing two fully renovated theaters, a visual arts gallery and a café. With morning
matinees, late night programming, and events of all kinds in between, there is always a
time to find something captivating and new being born here. Our education and internship
programs allow students young and old to gain invaluable theater experience.
Twenty-five years ago, we never imagined that the theatre we founded together would
grow to become a city-wide home for so many and enrich the lives of so many more.
This anniversary gives us a meaningful opportunity to look back at that impact, and it
spurs us on to strive deep into the future. After all, it’s only been twenty-five years. We’ve
got plenty more to go.
So this year, color outside the lines, dispel a few myths, break a few boundaries — and join
us as we continue the journey to discover where our longevity will take us next.
Thank you for your part in making these twenty-five years possible.
We look forward to seeing you this year at the theatre… often.
Del Hamilton and Faye Allen
Co-Founders
7 Stages’ Mission has remained the same for all of our EH years:
j e are a professional, non-profit theatre company devoted to engaging artists and
audiences by focusing on the social, political and spiritual values of contemporary culture.
We give primary emphasis to international work and the support and development of new
plays, new playwrights and new methods of collaboration.
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5. Our Plays aren’t the only way to
September 10, 2004
7 Stages’ 25th Anniversary Birthday Party
How could 7 Stages turn 25 and not throw a party? With a history as eclectic and
memorable as ours, we couldn’t find just one cake that did the trick. So we’ve called on
7 of Atlanta’s hottest chefs to each design a cake of their liking to make the party pop.
Each cake is an original design made especially for 7 Stages’ birthday.
It’s a night of celebration that’s been 25 years of theatre in the making — so you can be
sure it’ll be one of the hottest theatre events in town. In honor of our birthday, tickets
are only $25.
There’s more
than
just theatre here…
Alive in Little Five
Irrepressible Tim Cordier and his bevy of sidekicks host a live monthly late-night talk
show of fresh and famous faces from entertainment, politics, the media, and the arts.
Recent past guests have included Cathy Woolard, Congressman John Lewis, Mindspring
founder Charles Brewer, novelist Terry Kay, ACLU Executive Director Gerry Weber,
and Martini Girl Lingerie. Think Conan O’Brien meets the Osbournes—with you live
in the studio. Tim’s third season begins October 9, 2004 and continues the first Saturday
of every remaining month at 11pm until May. Tickets $7
Tim Cordier in Alive in Little Five. Photo by Joe Gfaller.
The 7 Stages Gallery
The 7 Stages lobby gallery draws local and regional visual artists to create exhibits and
installations to complement the themes and ideas examined in our work on the stage.
Gallery openings and other visual arts events pepper our calendar throughout the year.
Public Workshops
Part of 7 Stages’ unique development process for new plays includes public workshops
of new scripts still in progress. Attending gives you the opportunity to share a piece in
the process most audience members don’t get to see – and give us your feedback as we
develop the script further. Included in this year’s schedule is The Last Public Execution,
under development in collaboration with Belgrade’s Dah Teatar, slated to workshop
in November 2004.
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6. Celebrate Our EH th Anniversary
May 20, 2005
A Taste for Theatre
Cator Woolford Gardens • 1815 Ponce de Leon Ave
Revel in a sumptuous evening at 7 Stages’ Annual Wine Tasting and Silent Auction
al fresco — all held at Druid Hill’s very own secret garden. Sample libations from over
50 wineries and get a special sneak preview of the next season of theatre at 7 Stages.
Past silent auction items have included all-expense paid travel packages to San Francisco,
exquisite wine pairings, fine dining, luxurious all-day spa excursions, and art from
Atlanta’s top galleries.
Premium preview begins at 6pm and includes cooking demonstrations and premium
champagnes. General admission begins at 7pm. Silent auction closes at 9:30pm.
Tickets $50 General Admission, $75 Premium Preview
And don’t miss this
Special Pre-Season Event…
First
Contact
Jul 15 – Jul 18, 2004
7 Stages Mainstage
Created by
Cultural Odyssey
Co-Presented with
The National Black Arts Festival
Backstage at Alive in Little Five. Photo by Joe Gfaller.
In a special pre-season event, 7 Stages teams up with The National Black Arts Festival
to bring popular Cultural Odyssey back to Atlanta (last seen at 7 Stages in Big Butt Girls,
Hard Headed Women and Hot Flashes, Power Surges, and Private Summers). The
three separate acts that compose First Contact collectively cut to the heart of the
African-American experience in America today through spoken word, hip hop, and spare
theatricality. In The OG and the B-Boy, Idris Ackamoor and Kamau Bakari explore
the generation gap between an older jazz street musician and an embittered gang youth.
Oscar McFarlane’s To Be Real unfolds one man’s unexpected evening in a Hollywood
laundromat. Necessary Precautions, performed by Aomawa Baker, explores the aftermath
of September 11, 2001, through the eyes of a woman who trades in music for a sense
of safety. Each evening will also include a performance by a different emerging Atlanta
spoken word artist.
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7. Sept 30 – Oct 24, 2004
7 Stages Mainstage
World Premiere by
Erik Ehn
Directed by
Del Hamilton
Refer to page 18 for production-specific event dates.
“High-voltage… stark, eerie…
explosively imaginative” – American Theatre Magazine
In 1994 in Rwanda, Hutus fought to purge the Tutsis from a devastated nation.
Thousands fled to the convent at Sovu. Sister Maria Kizito opened the doors to give
them sanctuary. And then she slaughtered them.
Foreground: Donna Biscoe in In Berlin, 2000. Background: The cast of Sweat, 1999.
Where does the line between faith and madness blur? How does devotion twist into
dementia? Based on shocking true events, this explosive world premiere resurrects the
story of a woman and a nation that touches the capacity for madness in us all.
“The country did not deserve this. These nuns did not deserve this.
They devoured their own souls.”
This production was made possible in part by a Theatre Communications Group / Met Life Foundation Extended
Collaboration Grant and was developed in part through the Kennedy Center Fund for New American Plays. This
project is also supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts, which believes that a
great nation deserves great art.
Purchase tickets at www.7stages.org or 404-523-7647.
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8. THE HOUSE OF RIGOBERTA FACES THE SOUTH
“Porque me separo de algo,
me separo de la luz.”
“I am separated from something.
I am separated from the light.”
Nov 11 – Nov 14, 2004
“Latitudes màs cuidado
7 Stages Mainstage
Top: La Casa de Rigoberta mira al Sur, couretsy of Groupo de Teatro Justino Garay. Bot tom: Heather Starkel in Iphigenia... a rave-fable, 2004.
tècnicamente y…
World Premiere Written and de màs calado vista …
Directed by Aristides Vargas hasta la fecha.”
– Festival Iberoamericano 2001, Cadiz, España
Created by Grupo Justo
Rufino Garay from Nicaragua “The greatest scope of technical care…
more depth than anything seen… to date.”
– Iberoamerican Festival 2001, Cadiz, Spain
A young girl watches her family mourn her death from the
other side. Guided by her grandmother, she discovers that
for them to heal, she too must let go. In the spirit of Alice
Sebold’s moving The Lovely Bones, Rigoberta gives poetry
to grief and finds comedy in the strange ways in which
we create closure. This acclaimed Nicaraguan production
has touched audiences in Spain, Columbia, Brazil,
Ecuador, El Salvador, and Nicaragua. Performed in
Spanish with English supertitles.
Funded in part through the National Performance Network’s Performing Americas Program
Purchase tickets at www.7stages.org or 404-523-7647.
7
9. “…relentless and unrelenting… brilliantly probes
our fragile American culture.” – The Hollywood Reporter
Jan 27 – Feb 20, 2005
7 Stages Mainstage
World Premiere by
Murray Mednick
Directed by
Del Hamilton
Refer to page 18 for production-specific event dates.
“There’s a wind, like I told you,
or a light,
Top: Bill Fleming in Blue Ridge Moonshine Flyer, 2003. Bot ton: Isma’il ibn Conner and Janice Akers in Black Battles with Dogs.
a wind of light,
you could say.
And they come through.”
The intrusion of an LA couple researching a
documentary in the New Mexico desert
unleashes the wrath of a haunted spirit. Their
struggle to come to grips with this skinwalker
threatens the fabric of their marriage and
challenges the very foundation of the thing they
call reality. A lucid dream that tracks an
unsettling nexus between the cultures of the
American Southwest, Skinwalkers will leave
you breathless.
“ poetic voice to the spiritual yearnings
A
of the late 20th century”
– LA Theatre League Alliance
Funded in part by an anonymous donor.
Purchase tickets at www.7stages.org or 404-523-7647.
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10. A clown play.
Performed without words.
Mostly.
Feb 24 – Mar 6, 2005
7 Stages Mainstage
Regional Premiere Created by
Pig Iron Theatre Company
Directed by “I Win!”
Dan Rothenberg Philadelphia’s Pig Iron Theatre Company
Refer to page 18 for production-specific event dates. brings 7 Stages a delightful, smart evening
of theatre for all ages. The story of FLOP is
deceptively simple: three girls accidentally break the universe. Millie, Snow, and Fleur
Sauvage discover that they can control time with the clock that hangs on their wall. But
as they move back and forth between past and future, they unintentionally pull time
free from its moorings. Now it is up to the trio of unlikely heroines to save the world.
Experience with your family the new kind of vaudeville that made Bill Irwin, David
Shiner, and Cirque du Soleil famous.
“ comic juggernaut… euphoric…
A
brilliantly staged… gorgeous.” – Philadelphia Weekly
Photo by Pig Iron Theatre Company.
“So charming, so human,
and so funny… it completely
won me over.” – Philadelphia City Paper
Purchase tickets at www.7stages.org or 404-523-7647.
9
11. “How far has this gone,
how many of these things are there?”
“I think we’ll find they’re people.
Because I’m one.”
Top: Del Hamilton and Don Finney and Waiting for Godot, 2004. Bot tom: Del Hamilton and Daniel Pet trow in Black Battles with Dogs, 2000.
One day you discover that you are not the
Mar 10 – Apr 3, 2005 only person living your life. You are, in fact,
a clone; one face among more than a dozen
7 Stages Back Stage Theatre others. This is the strange realization Bernard
must face in Caryl Churchill’s chilling new
Regional Premiere by
family drama. He is no more than
Caryl Churchill “a number,” a carbon copy of someone else.
Directed by Or is everyone else a clone and he the true
Joe Gfaller Bernard? Challenging the limits of modern
science and the bonds that hold families
Refer to page 18 for production-specific event dates. together, A Number is a peek into a future
that is closer than we think.
“This brilliant, harrowing play …
confirms Churchill’s status
as the first dramatist
of the 21st century.”
– The London Sunday Times
Purchase tickets at www.7stages.org or 404-523-7647.
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12. Apr 7 – Apr 10, 2005
7 Stages Mainstage
A Jazz Concert
Performed by
Standard Deviation
Available only as part of a 7-Play subscription package
For one weekend only, sail an easy glide through the
music that made the 20th century, as styled by
vocalist Janna Nelson, keyboardist Scott Hooker,
bassist Ben Gettys, and saxophonist Jeff Crompton.
From Duke Ellington and George Gershwin to
Hoagy Carmichael and Thelonious Monk,
Standard Deviation’s return to 7 Stages is a very
special event in light of the 25th season: Scott
Hooker starred in 7 Stages’ first production,
The Tooth of Crime by Sam Shepherd
in 1979.
“You know
there’s joy unknown
in a mellow tone.”
Purchase tickets at www.7stages.org or 404-523-7647.
11
13. Cross over the rainbow into
Dr. Nora’s Reparative Therapy
Clinic. Here, gays learn how to
become be “born again” straight.
Kevin, a drag queen performing
Judy Garland, has just checked in,
depressed after losing his latest
amateur drag contest. So has Jack,
a straight guy who bears a striking
resemblance to Kevin’s friend Kandi,
a drag king. But when Jack finds love there
with the poster girl for “cured lesbians,”
all Oz breaks loose. Wizzer Pizzer is a wild,
Adam Fristoe, Justin Welborn, and Isma'il ibn Conner in Iphigenia... a rave-fable, 2004 Bot tom: cast of Dream Boy, 1999.
outrageous, trippy, modern ride back out the
Yellow Brick Road. Hey, if the ruby slippers fit…
“Surrender May 5 – May 29, 2005
Dorothy!” 7 Stages Mainstage
World Premiere by
Amy Wheeler
Directed by
Melissa Foulger
Refer to page 18 for production-specific event dates.
“Director Foulger has created something sexy,
spicy, sometimes silly,
over-the-top and ultimately very satisfying.”
– – David Atlanta Magazine on Foulger’s recent Iphigenia... a rave-fable
Purchase tickets at www.7stages.org or 404-523-7647.
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14. 7 Stages’ Theatre Education Programs
7 Stages’ educational programming seeks to reach students and adults at all phases of
artistic growth to introduce, develop, and hone the practice and appreciation of theatre
and the performing arts.
Youth Creates Summer Theatre Training Program
Jul 6 – Aug 8, 2004 & Jul 6 – Aug 7, 2005
Youth Creates is 7 Stages’ five-week intensive training program providing experiential
learning and performance opportunities for high-school age students. Through
playwriting, design, and performance, students collaborate to create an original work
of theatre. Public performances August 6 & 7, 2004 and August 5 & 6, 2005.
Program runs weekdays from 10am to 5pm.
Matinee Series
7 Stages offers 10am morning matinees throughout the season at discounted rates for
groups. All morning matinees are followed by post-show talkbacks with the cast, allowing
students to delve deeper into the ideas in the play. Post-talkback pizza lunches and
auxiliary workshops can also be booked according to availability at an additional cost.
Matinee dates & times for the 25th Anniversary Season:
Maria Kizito: Oct 7 & 14, 2004 Recommended for grades 9 and up
Skinwalkers: Feb 3 & 10, 2005 Recommended for grades 7 and up
FLOP: Feb 25 & Mar 1, 2, 3, 2005 Recommended for all ages
A Number: Mar 17, 24, 31, 2005 Recommended for grades 7 and up
Residencies
7 Stages’ teaching artists are available for in-school residencies to create artistic
collaborations with students culminating in workshops and readings of new work or full
productions at the school. Residencies available for K-12.
Internships
Real-life professional training in theatre production and theatre administration is
available to emerging professionals ages 16 and up. Specific areas of internship focus
include technical theatre, stage management and design, marketing, and event planning.
Career Development for Artists
In support of Atlanta’s rich community of working professional artists, 7 Stages
inaugurates a colloquia series for playwrights and directors as a means of continuing
education and relationship-building. Each roundtable forum meets once a quarter, with
directors beginning in October, 2004 and playwrights beginning in November, 2004.
For more information, contact Education Director Heidi Howard at 404-522-8602
or education @7stages.org.
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15. Join the Legacy— Subscribe This Season
Subscribing is the best way to save money, stay on the inside track, and experience the breadth of work that
makes 7 Stages such a unique asset to the Atlanta cultural scene. A subscription is more than just a theatre
ticket. You’re guaranteed the very best… priority seating, hassle-free exchanges, free parking, and invitations
to participate in special subscriber-only events. Add discounts at other Atlanta theatres (including the Alliance
Theatre, Actor’s Express, Horizon Theatre Company, the Shakespeare Tavern, and Theatrical Outfit), discounts
to rental productions at our theatre (including those by Synchronicity Performance Group, Out of Hand
Theatre, Theatre du Reve, Several Dancer’s Core, and Fly By Theatre), and discounts on food and drink in the
neighborhood (from Front Page News and Teaspace to Jake’s and Fritti), and your subscription pays for itself!
One of our packages below is bound to be a valuable addition to your schedule:
Previews
Thursday & Friday at 8pm
Simply the best value there is. Be the very first to see a world or regional premiere at
7 Stages and save a bundle.
5 Plays Only: $45 all tickets
Theatre Aperitivo
Wednesday at 5:30pm. Happy ‘Hour’ starts at 5pm.
Treat yourself to something special in the middle of the week and swap your rush hour for
a happy hour. Drink specials start at 5pm and the show begins at 5:30. By the time you
leave, traffic will be a breeze, and you’ll still make it home to your family in time for dinner.
5 Plays Only: $80 Adults / $65 Students, Seniors, Educators
Looking Back at 25
In 1979, Del Hamilton and Faye Allen founded 7 Stages with a simple mission: to create a haven for artists and
audiences to address social, political, and spiritual issues present in their daily lives. Originally, the theatre was
located in what had once been a shop front at 430 Moreland Avenue in Little 5 Points. Artistic staff worked for
no salary to ensure actors could be paid. There was one stage, which sat 65 people.
Early reviews of the work were strong, with Marquee Magazine calling our inaugural production of Sam Shepard’s
The Tooth of Crime, which featured a young actor named Chris Kayser, “nothing short of stunning.”
After only five years, 7 Stages had developed its reputation sufficiently to make its first major expansion. When the
pool hall next door lost its lease, 7 Stages rented that property as well, nearly doubling the size of the facility – and
ending the pesky sound of cue balls clanging through the wall during performances.
Background: Mr. Universe, 1988 and Bang Bang Uber Alles, 1986.
The new space opened to the public in 1984 with Earthlings, a world premiere by the young and relatively
unknown Jim Grimsley. The young playwright and the young theatre’s reputations would grow together, and by
1988 the world premiere of his Mr. Universe was invited to run at the New Federal Theatre in New York City:
7 Stages’ first national tour.
Other production highlights from the theatre’s early history included the world premiere of Rebecca Ranson’s
Warren, which in 1984 became one of the first plays in America to address the issue of AIDS. 1986’s Bang Bang
Uber Alles received attention on the national evening news when, in protest of the play’s anti-white supremacist
themes, the Klan marched on 7 Stages, in its first march within Atlanta city limits since the Civil Rights Movement.
“This splendid — and yes, enchanting — production
just goes to show how possible it is to do so much with so little.
This feisty little theatre company
draws on its considerable resources of talent and imagination.”
- The Atlanta Constitution on The Tempest, 1980
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16. Talkback Thursday
Thursday at 8pm. Talkback follows the performance.
Join in a fun and friendly after-show chat involving audience, actors, artists, and experts
to delve deeper into the play you’ve just seen. What better way to translate our thought-
provoking work into stimulating conversation?
5 Plays Only: $80 Adults / $65 Students, Seniors, Educators
7 Play Option includes 2 Fridays: $105 Adults / $84 Students, Seniors, Educators
Singles Night Friday
Friday at 8pm. Music and drinks start at 7pm and continue after the show.
Single? Make it a party at 7 Stages. Come with friends to the show, and then mix and
match your seating to be with the new friends you’ve made at the pre-party. After the show,
the ball’s in your court – you might just want to make it a Friday night on the town with
a theatre-lover you’ve met here at 7 Stages.
5 Plays Only: $90 Adults / $75 Students, Seniors, Educators
Sunday Supper Club
Sunday at 5pm. Dinner after the show.
New and improved, it’s back: the best way to combine your evening at 7 Stages with a
fresh taste of Little 5 Points’ dining scene. We’re partnering with a different restaurant each
production to provide you with the best food in our eclectic neighborhood – each restaurant
a short walk from the theatre. Choose to sit together with other Supper Club subscribers and
be joined for dinner by one of the artists involved in the show you saw. Seating is limited.
5 Plays: $150 All Tickets / 7 Plays: $210 All Tickets
More subscription options on the next page.
Years of 7 Stages
As 7 Stages’ national prestige grew, so did its international profile and commitment to international work. In 1985,
the German government funded co-founders Del Hamilton and Faye Allen to make two-and-a-half month artistic
journey to meet and develop collaborations with German theatre companies. The result was 7 Stages’ American
premiere of the German play Der Frosch in 1987, which featured a German artistic staff and American cast.
Later that year, 7 Stages made its next big move, relocating to the Euclid Avenue Arts Center at 1105 Euclid
Avenue. In the initial renovation of this 1920s movie house, 7 Stages transformed the building into two theatre
spaces: a proscenium mainstage, and a flexible-seating black box, providing the expanding company with twice
its original performance space. Dressing rooms, something the company had been waiting on for eight years,
were added as well. Two years later, in 1989, the building’s exterior was briefly converted back to a 1920s movie
Background: My Children! My Africa!, 1993 and Double Track, 1994.
house to be included in the film Driving Miss Daisy.
7 Stages deepened its relationship with young artists in 1991 by embracing the Freddie Hendricks Youth Ensemble
as a company in residence at 7 Stages. Working with kids from at-risk backgrounds, YEA trained an entire
generation of young actors during its ten years at 7 Stages, premiering such company-created productions
as Times, School House Rocks, and Soweto! Soweto! A Township Is Calling.
In 1992, nationally renowned director Joseph Chaikin directed his first production at 7 Stages, the critically
acclaimed Waiting for Godot. Joe would continue his relationship at 7 Stages through a dozen more productions,
including 2003’s Broken Glass, the last play he directed before his death.
In 1993, 7 Stages began the first of what would become many international tours when My Children! My Africa!
by Athol Fugard was invited to the United Kingdom. Subsequent tours of 7 Stages productions would take the
company’s work to Holland (Waiting for Godot), France (Black Battles with Dogs), South Africa (Blue Monk),
China (The Chairs), and the Balkans (Maps of Forbidden Remembrance).
15
17. Opening Nights
Thursday or Saturday at 8pm. Reception with the cast after the show.
Enjoy the gourmet fun and glamour of a 7 Stages opening night every time you come to
the theatre. A portion of your subscription cost will be credited as a tax-deductible
contribution to 7 Stages.
5 Plays: $195 all tickets / $7 Plays: $245 all tickets
Saturday Matinee
Saturday at 2pm
Matinees are the perfect day trip for the whole family – and a great time to squeeze in
the quality theatre you want to see despite your busy schedule.
5 Plays Only: $80 Adults / $65 Students, Seniors, Educators
Saturday Nights
Saturday at 8pm
Can you only make it out for Saturday nights? Save your cash on parking and keep your
priority seats as a subscriber.
5 Plays: $90 Adults / $75 Students, Seniors, Educators
7 Plays: $119 Adults / $98 Students, Seniors, Educators
With the volume of artistic growth at 7 Stages, by 1995, the time came for the 7 Stages’ home to grow again
thanks to the completion of a $1.5 million capital campaign to purchase and renovate the building. In
addition to enhancing the lobby and façade of the building, administrative offices were added, as well as
a scene shop, a café, and new seats for the mainstage.
The renovation primed 7 Stages to play its next major role in the city’s cultural history: host to artists and
athletes from all cultures of the world during 1996’s Olympic Games. As part of the summer’s Cultural
Olympiad, 7 Stages presented two world premieres: When the World Was Green, written by Sam Shepard
with Joe Chaikin, and Blue Monk, by playwright-in-residence Robert Earl Price. At 7 Stages itself, the
theatre hosted a Free Zone for Artists — around the clock performances from artists from the many countries
represented at the Games.
“The most magical experience
of the Atlanta theatre season.”
– The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Whispering to Horses, 1997
Background: All My Sons, 1997 and The Vessels Project, 2004.
To further break down walls dividing cultures in Atlanta and around the world, 7 Stages produced the world
premiere of Disremember Me, by Albanian playwright Arben Kumbaro. Barred from production in his home
country, Kumbaro became the first Albanian playwright produced overseas in half a century when his play
opened in Atlanta. 2003’s staged reading of Heaven is Late broke down international barriers still fresh today,
the first Western reading of an Iraqi play snuck out of the country during Saddam Hussein’s regime.
7 Stages’ ongoing relationship with Belgrade’s Dah Teatar provides another perspective on creating cross-cultural
work. Initiated out of an interest in understanding what it means to create art in a time of war in the mid-1990s,
the relationship led to 2002’s Maps of Forbidden Remembrance, which featured actors and designers from
both Atlanta and Belgrade. Currently, the two companies are generating a dramatic retelling of the last public
execution in the United States.
Never afraid of controversy, 7 Stages also showcased many of this country’s most outstanding and dynamic
performers over the last decade, including Tim Miller (Us), Karen Finley (The American Chestnut), and
Holly Hughes (Preaching to the Preverted), three of the infamous “NEA Four” whose funding was revoked
by the National Endowment for the Arts in the mid-1990s.
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18. Little 5 Points Today, A Welcoming Home
When you come to 7 Stages, as a subscriber or as a single ticket buyer, save yourself some time
to explore the eclectic neighborhood we have been proud to call home for 25 years. If you are
impressed by the range and diversity of our productions, you will be equally impressed by the
range and diversity of shopping and dining options available throughout our neighborhood.
Through our opening nights and Sunday Supper Club program, we have received support from
Miro’s Garden, Teaspace, Front Page News, Tijuana Garage, The 5 Spot, The Brewhouse, Savage
Pizza, and Mangrove Alley, as well as from our neighbors in Inman Park at Fritti, Sotto Sotto,
Johnny’s New York Style Pizza, and the Inman Park Patio. We encourage you take the time to
enjoy these fine restaurants. And check out the great variety of organic groceries at Sevananda.
Live music is available at many of the small bars in the neighborhood and national music acts
book into our next-door neighbor, The Variety Playhouse. Plus, there’s always a fun mix of book
stores, record stores, and specialty boutiques. For more information on events in Little 5 Points
throughout the year, visit www.little5points.net.
HUSH: Composing Blind Tom Wiggins, by Robert Earl Price, has proven to be 7 Stages’ most recent and
beloved highlight, with back-to-back runs on our mainstage by popular demand in 2002 and 2003 and
numerous tours throughout the region. It appeared as part of the Alliance Theatre’s City Series for two weeks
as well as, in abridged form, at the Martin Luther King Historical Site for four months. The true story of
a 19th century Georgia-born slave and world-famous piano prodigy, the production brought this forgotten
hero of black history back to the national spotlight.
With its ongoing low-cost rental program, 7 Stages also remains a home to emerging Atlanta theatre companies
without their own facility. In the last several years, that list has included Synchronicity Performance Group,
Out of Hand Theatre, Theatre du Reve, Fly-By Theatre, Soul-stice Repertory, EstroFest Productions,
VisionQuest, angleworks sma, MultiShades Atlanta, and Full Radius Dance.
In just 25 years, 7 Stages has produced 52 world premieres, 19 American premieres, and countless more
regional premieres. Co-Founder and Artistic Director Del Hamilton has been named both Best Director and
Best Actor in Atlanta by Atlanta Magazine. Co-Founder and Producing Director Faye Allen received the Best
Background: HUSH: Composing Blind Tom Wiggins, 2002 and Waiting for Godot, 2004.
Actress nod from The Atlanta Journal-Constitution for her performance in My Mother’s Courage. Creative
Loafing named the company “Best Theatre in Atlanta” in a recent “Best Of” issue. The Drama League of New
York has recognized 7 Stages as one of 50 theatres nationwide for its Theatre Excellence in America Program.
“The most important Atlanta premiere
of the new century,”
- The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on HUSH: Composing Blind Tom Wiggins, 2002
Today, 7 Stages continues to honor this rich legacy of involvement on the local, national, and international
level in helping to shape the future of American theatre. This year’s 25th anniversary season includes world
premieres by three playwrights from around the country and welcomes the American premiere of a play
produced by Nicaragua’s Teatro Justo Rufino Garay. Subject matter varies from the ethical and personal
impact of human cloning to commemoration of one of the 20th century’s most recent genocides. One thing
ties our season and all our work together: our mission, our understanding of which only grows and deepens
further with time.
For more information on our history and to learn the origin of the name “7 Stages,” visit our commemorative lobby
installation opening to the public September 30, 2004.
17
19. 25th Anniversary Subscription Packages and Dates
Maria La Casa de This Jazz Wizzer
Kizito Riboberta Skinwalkers FLOP A Number Century Pizzer
Thursday
Preview 9/30/04 1/27/05 2/24/05 3/10/05 5/5/05
Friday
Preview 10/1/04 1/28/05 2/25/05 3/11/05 5/6/05
Opening 10/2/04 11/11/04 1/29/05 2/26/05 3/12/05 4/7/05 5/7/05
Supper
Club (I) 10/3/04 11/14/04 1/30/05 2/27/05 3/13/05 4/10/05 5/8/05
Talkback
Thursday 10/7/04 2/3/05 3/3/05 3/17/05 5/12/05
Weeknight 7 10/7/04 11/12/04 2/3/05 3/3/05 3/17/05 4/8/05 5/12/05
Singles
Friday 10/8/04 2/4/05 3/4/05 3/18/05 5/13/05
Saturday
Matinee 10/9/04 2/5/05 3/5/05 3/19/05 5/14/05
Saturday
8pm (I) 10/9/04 11/13/04 2/5/05 3/5/05 3/19/05 4/9/05 5/14/05
Supper
Club (II) 10/10/04 11/14/04 2/6/05 3/6/05 3/20/05 4/10/05 5/15/05
Theatre
Aperitivo 10/13/04 2/9/05 3/2/05 3/23/05 5/18/05
Saturday
8pm (II) 10/16/04 11/13/04 2/12/05 3/5/05 3/26/05 4/10/05 5/21/05
25th Anniversary Subscription Pricing
Previews — 5 Plays Only: $45 All Tickets
Opening Nights — 7 Plays: $245 All Tickets // 5 Plays: $195 All Tickets
Sunday Supper Club — 7 Plays: $210 All Tickets // 5 Plays: $150 All Tickets
Theatre Aperitivo, Talkback Thursday, Saturday Matinee — 5 Plays Only: $80 Adults /
$65 Students, Seniors, Educators
Weeknight 7 Play — 7 Plays Only: $105 Adults / $84 Students, Seniors, Educators
Singles Night Friday — 5 Plays Only: $90 Adults / $75 Students, Seniors, Educators
Saturday Night 8pm — 7 Plays: $119 Adults / $98 Students, Seniors, Educators //
5 Plays: $90 Adults / $75 Students, Seniors, Educators
7 Stages is Easy to Get To From All Directions
From North or South: Take I-75/85 to the Freedom Parkway/Carter Center exit (#248C) in downtown
Atlanta. Follow the Freedom Parkway, bearing a right where it forks, and it will dead-end onto Moreland
Avenue. Make a right onto Moreland, proceed three traffic lights and then make a right onto Euclid
Avenue. 7 Stages is on the left a block and a half down.
From East or West: Take I-20 and exit onto Moreland Avenue northbound. Proceed a mile and a half
and take the first left after the railroad trestle onto Euclid Avenue. Continue a block and a half and
7 Stages will be on your left.
From Decatur or Midtown: Take Ponce de Leon Avenue until the intersection with Moreland Avenue
and Briarcliff Road. Turn left onto Moreland and proceed to the fifth traffic light. There, turn right onto
Euclid Avenue. 7 Stages will be a block and a half down on your left.
From MARTA: Take the East-West line to the Inman Park/Reynoldstown station. Exit out of the station
north towards Inman Park. Walk north through the park. It is bounded to the north by Euclid Avenue.
Make a right onto Euclid and proceed three blocks. 7 Stages will be on the right hand side of the road.
The Chairs, 2003.
Parking is located in a secure, well-lit, privately-run lot behind 7 Stages. The entrance to the lot is located
between Ardens Garden Juice Shop and Outback Bicycles. Park-It charges a flat fee of $3 – $5 for a full
day of parking, depending on the day.
Subscribers receive free parking all season long.
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20. Subscription Order Form
ORDER FORM
SIGN ME UP FOR:
❏ 5 Plays ❏ 7 Plays
❏ Adult ❏ Student ❏ Senior ❏ Educator
❏ Thursday Preview ❏ Friday Preview ❏ Opening Nights
❏ Theatre Aperitivo ❏ Talkback Thursday ❏ Singles Night Friday
❏ Saturday Matinee ❏ Saturday 8pm (I) ❏ Saturday 8pm (II)
❏ Sunday Supper Club (I) ❏ Sunday Supper Club (II) ❏ 7 Play Weeknight
SEATING PREFERENCE:
Cost per Subscription . . . . . . . . . Method of Payment
# of Subscriptions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ❏ Check made payable to 7 Stages Theatre
Subscription Total . . . . . . . . . . . . ❏ Amex ❏ Visa ❏ Mastercard
# tickets to First Contact
at $10 each . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Card # Exp. Date
Preferred Date:
Authorized Signature
Pre-Tax Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Address
Please add 7% (GA State Tax) . . . . .
Total with Tax . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Buy tickets to our 25th City State Zip
Anniversary Birthday
Party on Sept. 10th. Phone # Email
$25 per ticket. (tax-free) . . . . . .
Buy tickets to A Taste for Please keep me informed about
Theatre on May 20th. ❏ Alive in Lit tle 5
$50 General Admission.
$75 Premium Preview. ❏ Educational Programming
(tax-free) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
❏ 7 Stages Gallery
Please consider adding
at least a $25 donation ❏ Volunteer Opportunities
to 7 Stages for our 25.00
25th Anniversary. . . . . . . . . . .
$
25.00 ❏ Public Workshops and Readings
Handling fee $ 5.00 Return this form via mail to 7 Stages Theatre, 1105 Euclid Avenue, NE,
(waived before July 1) . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.00 Atlanta, GA 30307. Subscription tickets, parking pass, and subscriber perks
$ .
book will be mailed by late August.
GRAND TOTAL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Add 25 for our EH th
X very little bit helps. Nowhere is that more true than in individual giving. As 7 Stages heads into our
25th season, take this opportunity to make a personal donation to celebrate our milestone. Atlanta deserves
25 more years of theatre that challenges our perceptions and opens our eyes.
After every performance, we talk to people whose lives are touched by the work we do. Maybe he remembers
being a young man growing up with an alcoholic father, like Hally in “MASTER HAROLD”…and the boys.
Or perhaps she’s a student who saw Waiting for Godot and acknowledged all the things she’s waiting for:
growing up, getting into college, meeting someone to share her life with.
Celebrate 25 years. Give $25. Then add as many zeros as you like. You’ll have our gratitude for this season,
and for the 25 to follow.
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