The Red Umbrella

The Red Umbrella has come and gone. This has definitely been one of the most exhausting and exhilarating three weeks I have ever experienced! The day after the Thanksgiving break, we launched into our an all company production meeting for the four DirectorFest productions, then six half days of rehearsal, a day to dry-tech the show, then two days of tech, dress and suddenly we were all on stage. We sold out every showing - apparently, this is the highest attendance that the event has ever had! - and met a ton of people in the very crowded lobby of the June Havoc Theatre at The Abingdon, and are now in the midst of e-mailing everyone who came to capitalize on the visibility of the event, thereby starting a conversation with various theatre professionals in New York that we hope will take us to the next level. Thank you, Drama League!

(posted by Ed)

Cast for The Red Umbrella

Jason Williamson’s The Red Umbrella is directed by Ed Iskandar and features Milena Govich (“Law & Order,” “Rescue Me”) as Angela.

Boy meets girl on a beach and falls in love, only to discover that she is Death. She promises him that he will find her again, but only when he sees a Red Umbrella. What follows is a bittersweet fairy-tale about the consequences of knowing your fate, the risks you must take to transcend it, and the losses you face if you fail. Part love story, part theatrical elegy and part celebration of life, this is the fable of a modern-day Everyman who undergoes an extraordinary emotional awakening as he searches for the one thing that can complete him.

Director Ed Iskandar has previously collaborated with playwright Jason Williamson on the first stagings of Ether Steeds, Goat Song for Asa Jacobs and BoyGirlBoyGirl. As Joint Artistic Director of Stanford Summer Theater, he produced festivals on Pinter, Friel and the Restoration, also directing The Collection, Translations, and Don Juan. He has staged over seventy productions regionally and at university, including Miss Julie, Lulu, Othello, The Taming of the Shrew and Hamlet. In 2010, he will be in his second season as Resident Directing Fellow at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. Currently, he is developing a play with Pulitzer finalist Amy Freed.

Along with Ms. Govich, The Red Umbrella also stars Jonathan C. Kaplan as Peter and Paloma Guzman as Death.

DirectorFest 2009 runs from Thursday, December 10 through Sunday, December 13, 2009 at the Abingdon Theatre Arts Complex in midtown Manhattan (312 West 36th Street). Performances are Thursday, December 10 at 7 p.m.; Friday, December 11 at 8 p.m.; Saturday, December 12 at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m.; and Sunday, December 13 at 3 p.m.

DirectorFest 2009 offers an exciting glimpse into the future of American theatre by presenting four one-act productions helmed by four of the nation’s most talented young directors.

Tickets for DirectorFest 2009 are $18 each and are available by calling SmartTix.com at 212-868-4444. Each performance consists of all four one-acts presented in succession.

(posted by Ed)

Book Now for DirectorFest!

Rehearsals have now been underway for a week on the four DirectorFest productions. Get your tickets now while there are still some available (details in the e-flyer below).




(posted by Ed)