Dickinson Season 3 Premieres November 5th

New York Theatre Workshop 2050 Fellowship

Francis Weiss Rabkin has been selected as a playwright in the NYTW 2050 Fellowship program. From NYTW: "The 2050 Fellowship is a yearlong residency for emerging playwrights and directors. The 2050 Fellowship provides a space for experimentation, artistic and administrative support, and mentorship. The 2050 Fellows are emerging artists who, with their unique voices, give us perspective on the world in which we live; and who challenge us all to contend with this changing world."

The six fellows, 3 playwrights and 3 directors, will meet monthly for a year with guest artists and mentors and have the opportunity to present work in development twice. Weiss Rabkin will work with Tina Satter, Artistic Director of Half Straddle, as a mentor. The 2016-2017 Fellows include Ming Peiffer, Stevie Walker-Webb, Danny Sharron, Mo Zhou, and Beto O'Byrne.

Arch and Bruce Brown Foundation Production Grant

Won't Be a Ghost has been awarded a production grant from the Arch and Bruce Brown Foundation. From the Foundation's website: "The Arch and Bruce Brown Foundation offers grants to offset expenses in producing theatrical works with LGBT-themes based on, or inspired by, history."

We'll be putting the award to good use in the upcoming premiere of Won't Be a Ghost at The Brick Theater April 14-23rd.

Won't Be a Ghost at The Brick April 2016

As resident artists at The Brick Theater, Tight Braid Group will premiere a two-week run of Won't Be a Ghost in April 2016. Francis Weiss Rabkin will be directing collaboratively with choir-leader Leslie Allison, choreographer Laurel Atwell, and producer/dramaturge Sophie Traub.

The Brick Theater is a not-for-profit theater company dedicated to nurturing the work of emerging artists at its performance space in Williamsburg, Brooklyn—The Brick. The Brick presents world premieres, monthly performance series, and seasonal festivals, expanding Williamsburg’s profile as a destination for cutting-edge art and entertainment. The Brick continues to seek new artists and projects, to provide them with a creative home, and to serve as Williamsburg’s primary incubator of innovative theater arts.

See The Brick's excellent upcoming season schedule here. 

More information on ticketing coming soon.

The Kilroys Honorable Mention

Won't Be a Ghost was given honorable mention in the 2015 Kilroys List.

From The Kilroy's Press Release:

In 2014, The Kilroys began THE LIST as a response to systemic gender bias in theater programming. The vetted collection of industry-recommended works was designed to bring worthy plays by female and trans* playwrights to the forefront of American theater conversation: and it has. Following inclusion in the 46 plays on 2014’s THE LIST, more than 47 productions have been mounted or announced. Playwrights featured on THE LIST have cited a significant increase in interest and readership of their work. One theater agent noted that a LIST play received a level of inquiry usually reserved for “when a new play goes into production or we announce a premiere.” Public reading series’ devoted to LIST-nominated plays have been produced in New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles; Summer 2015 festivals are planned in Baltimore and Portland.

2015’s THE LIST features the 53 most recommended works of over 755 nominated plays. The nominees represent an abundance of excellent new work by female and trans* playwrights, and reflect a wide ethnic, geographic, and aesthetic diversity.

Dixon Place Artist in Residence

Starting in May 2015, Francis Weiss Rabkin with Tight Braid Group will be Artist in Residence at Dixon Place. We will be developing new work over the next four months.

Stay tuned for a showing of what we are working on in early Fall 2015!

Poetry Project

UPCOMING: March 6th, 2015

Presenting new work at the Poetry Project in the Friday Night series curated by Ariel Goldberg. Sharing the evening with the power-houses Dark Matter.

Prelude Festival

Won't Be a Ghost will be a part of the Prelude Festival! We will be sharing a 40 minute selection from the piece on October 9th at 8:00pm. The show is FREE, but seating is first come first serve. Check out the Prelude Festival website for our listing and all the other great shows. We're in excellent company and extremely excited to have been selected for the festival by playwright and festival curator Jackie Siblies Drury.

OCT 9 8:00pm at the Elebash Recital Hall at CUNY Grad Center, 365 Fifth Avenue, NYC

Directed by Anna Brenner. Lyrics and Music by Leslie Allison. Starring Ethan Dubin, Ryan Reilly, and Francis Weiss Rabkin. Choir: Rachael Balcanoff, Arla Berman, Kate Ehrenberg, Sophie Traub, and Claire Wilcox.

Drama League

In April 2014, Won't Be a Ghost will have a residency at the Drama League of New York. We will be devising new material with director Anna Brenner and composer Leslie Allison.