2012-2013 Breaking Ground Reading Series
Breaking Ground is the Huntington Theatre Company's reading series, a vital part of our new play development program. This series brings attention to the work of local playwrights and presents national writers into partnership with the Huntington. Over the last seven years, Breaking Ground plays have gone on to appear at the Huntington as well as theatres in Boston, across the country, and internationally. Unless otherwise noted, admission to all Breaking Ground readings is FREE and open to the public.
Upcoming Events
Check back soon for more information on our upcoming Summer Workshop.
Past Events
All Times
by Eleanor Burgess
Directed by Moritz von Stuelpnagel
Monday, April 29, 2013 at 5pm
South End / Calderwood Pavilion at the BCA
An intergenerational drama of lyricism and wit. When Annabel Foley refuses treatment after a stroke, her estranged daughter Helen bribes the beloved granddaughter Madison - a semi-employed musician from Brooklyn – to take on the role of caregiver. But as Annabel inches towards recovery, Madison confronts Helen’s indomitable will and her own millennial ambivalence. Haunted by plaintive sea shanties, playwright Eleanor Burgess’ new play All Times examines three generations of New England women.
Featuring Emma Galvin, Liz Morgan, Dee Nelson, Anne Scurria, Jonathan Hogan, Rajesh Bose, and Celeste Oliver.
Eleanor Burgess is a playwriting fellow at the Huntington Theatre Company and an alumna of the writers' group at the Arcola Theatre in London. Her work has also been read or developed at the Vineyard Theatre, New Georges, Broad Horizons, and Reverie Productions. She is a native of Brookline, Massachusetts and an alumna of Yale College.
(Shoe) Shine Safari
by John Oluwole ADEkoje
Directed by Niegel Smith (Neighbors at the Public Theater, Seed at Classical Theatre of Harlem)
Tuesday, December 11, 2013 at 8pm
South End / Calderwood Pavilion at the BCA
Ex-child soldier Shoe Shine wants to escape the violent chaos of his homeland for the comforts of America. But before he can leave, he must face the schemes of imperialist superheroes and naked generals, not to mention the dreams of his scattered family. As the radio remixes news of atrocities with hit singles, (Shoe) Shine Safari pieces together a future from the wreckage of conflict and exploitation.
Featuring Reg E. Cathey, Joniece Abbott-Pratt, Johnny Lee Davenport, Robert D. Murphy, Stephen Tyrone Williams, and more.
Marvelous Fruit
by Masha Obolensky (Huntington Playwriting Fellow, Not Enough Air at the Nora Theatre Company)
Directed by Melia Bensussen (The Luck of the Irish, Circle Mirror Transformation)
Monday, October 1 at 7:30pm
Fran, quickly approaching 80, wakes up to her own life. With the help of "the interweb," she finds a warehouse party and an underground sensation called a "miracle berry," miraculous fruit that promises to make Tabasco sauce taste like donut glaze and pickles taste like watermelon. The berries spark a thousand tiny changes in the lives of Fran and her paranoid shut-in husband George — but how do we know when change is worth the price? A play about aging, friendship, and the power of the mind, Marvelous Fruit asks if sourness can ever taste sweet.