Rotarian Jim Smith introduced Rachel Lykins, a theater artist originally from Huntington, W.V., during a recent Rotary Club of Jamestown meeting. She recently graduated from the MFA Acting Program at UC Irvine, Calif. Currently, she serves as the Administrative Assistant at the Chautauqua Theater Company. In the fall, she will be traveling to the Milwaukee Theater as a Swing in Prelude to a Kiss: The Musical. She will be working at the theater and performing in the play as well. Lytkins is based in Southern California with her cat, Kiki.
Review by Anthony Chase Set in a modest kitchen, “Birthday Candles” by Noah Haidle is a beautiful and affecting play. We follow Ernestine Ashworth at various stages of her life from age 17 to 101, always on her birthday. Throughout these snapshots, we see her experience love, loss, and the passage of time, and Haidle explores themes of mortality, the meaning of life, and how small, everyday moments can shape our existence. The play owes its very existence to Chautauqua Theater Company, where it received essential development in the Chautauqua New Play Workshop of 2017. Under the direction of former...
THE BASICS: BIRTHDAY CANDLES, a play by Noah Haidle, presented by the Chautauqua Theater Company (CTC), in the Bratton Theater. Performance Dates Tue – Sun through July 21 all days at 2:30 except for Wednesday 7/17 at 4:00. For details, visit tickets.chq.org/landing.htmlNOTE: BIRTHDAY CANDLES may not be suitable for youth under 8. RUNTIME: 90 minutes without intermission THUMBNAIL SKETCH: On her 17th birthday, emo girl with a flair for the dramatic (she’s going to be “Queen Lear” in her high school production), Ernestine Ashworth declares in quick succession that her life is over (or at least cosmically insignificant) and also that she is...
Chautauqua Institution today announced The Roe Green Foundation has made a transformational $4.5 million commitment to advance the completion of the new Roe Green Theater Center, a state-of-the-art, centralized facility for Chautauqua Theater Company (CTC). This gift, which consists of a $3 million outright contribution and a $1.5 million matching challenge gift, comes after a long history of supporting theater arts at Chautauqua, including the New Play Workshop series. The new Roe Green Theater Center will complement Chautauqua’s beloved Bratton Theater, adding a black box/flexible space, rehearsal studios, offices for CTC leadership and other support spaces to ensure that CTC...
Chautauqua Theater Company (CTC), the resident theater company of Chautauqua Institution, today announced its New Play Workshops for the 2024 season. CTC’s audience will have the chance to experience plays at every stage of development, showcasing the work of the country’s most exciting playwrights. From a first new play reading to a staged workshop, a revival of a New Play Workshop, and a commissioned world premiere, the audience will be a part of the process as CTC deepens its long-standing commitment to new work. CTC will present readings of three new play workshops: C.A. Johnson’s Tell Me You’re Dying (the...
Chautauqua Theater Company (CTC), the resident theater company of Chautauqua Institution, today announced the introduction of Sensory-Friendly Performances and the return of pilot programs Pick Your Price (PYP) and Live Audio Descriptions (LAD) for the 2024 season. CTC is committed to fostering inclusivity and promoting the power of storytelling to all audiences. “As we shared in our open letter regarding CTC’s commitments to racial and social justice through the lens of IDEA, CTC is actively building the future of the American theater. In doing so, we aim to create space for culturally specific storytelling that leads to dialogue, understanding and...
Chautauqua Theater Company (CTC), the resident theater company of Chautauqua Institution, today announced the creative teams for its 2024 mainstage season. In celebration of Chautauqua’s 150th anniversary, CTC is set to showcase a season that reflects the depth and richness of its legacy. The lineup includes three mainstage productions: Noah Haidle’s Birthday Candles, Lynn Nottage’s Fabulation, or The Re-Education of Undine, and Kate Hamill’s The Light and The Dark (the life and times of Artemisia Gentileschi), CTC’s first commissioned world premiere under Producing Artistic Director Jade King Carroll’s leadership. “I am thrilled to invite such an incredible group of brilliant...
The New York company has revealed creative teams for their upcoming summer season. New York’s Chautauqua Theater Company (CTC) has announced the lineup and creative teams for its upcoming season, which coincides with the 150th anniversary of the Chautauqau Institution. Directed by Arya Shahi, Noah Haidle’s Birthday Candles will open the season, with previews beginning July 5 before a July 9 opening night. The production will run through July 21. The creative team will include scenic designer Brittany Vasta, costume designer Afsaneh Aayani, lighting designer Anshuman Bhatia, sound designer Ben Truppin-Brown, with original compositions by Jane Lui.
In a record-setting year for applications, 19 artists have been chosen for the director training program. The Drama League has revealed 19 artists selected to participate in its 2024 Directors Project after a record-breaking year of 1,800 applications. The chosen directors will work with a number of programs in the next year to hone their craft and further their place in the industry. This year’s participants will be Zoë Adams, Arin Arbus, Britt Berke, Rosalind Bevan, Desdemona Chiang, Jaime Castaneda, Emma Denson, Stefan Dezil, Morgan Green, Devin E. Haqq, Sarah Hughes, Karl Michael Iglesias, Lauren Keating, Irvin Mason, Jr., Jess McLeod, Martavius Parrish, Danny Sharron, Colm Summers, and Dina...
Chautauqua Theater Company (CTC), the resident theater company of Chautauqua Institution, today announced its 2024 season. In celebration of Chautauqua’s sesquicentennial, CTC’s season will draw from the full breadth of the theater company’s legacy. CTC will present three New Play Workshops (NPW) and three mainstage productions: Noah Haidle’s Birthday Candles, Lynn Nottage’s Fabulation, or The Re-Education of Undine, and Kate Hamill’s The Light and The Dark (the life and times of Artemisia Gentileschi), a world premiere directed by Producing Artistic Director Jade King Carroll. The season will also include the return of the beloved Bratton Late Night, featuring the talents...
