Opera
  • Home
  • CHQ Assembly
  • 2023 Season
        • Sweeney Todd
        • La Tragédie de Carmen
        • 2023 Young Artists
        • 2023 Festival & Guest Artists
        • 2023 Directors & Designers
        • 2023 Opera Conservatory
  • About
        • Mission & History
        • Past Productions
        • Leadership
        • Performance Venues & Accessibility
  • Young Artists
        • Young Artist Program
        • Audition FAQs
  • Alumni
  • Opera Conservatory
  • Opera Guild
  • Media
        • Press Releases
        • Chautauquan Daily Articles
        • Opera Virtual Porch Events
  • Contact
  • Donate
  • Buy Tickets
Theater
  • Home
  • CHQ Assembly
  • About
        • Leadership
        • Inclusion, Diversity, Equity & Accessibility
        • New Play Development
        • Young Playwrights Project
        • Past Productions
        • Our History
  • Conservatory
        • Acting Conservatory
        • Design & Directing Fellowships
        • Alumni in the News
  • Your Visit
  • Get Involved
        • Conservatory Application
        • Administrative & Production Positions
        • Friends of CTC
  • Press
        • Press Releases
  • Donate
  • Buy Tickets
Give
  • Home
  • CHQ Assembly
  • Make a Donation
  • Ways to Give
        • Appreciated Securities
        • Capital Support
        • Chautauqua Fund
        • Endowment/Naming
        • Gift Planning
        • Honor Your Host
        • Honorary/Memorial
        • Matching Gifts
        • Monthly Giving
        • Program Sponsor
        • Scholarships
  • Membership Opportunities
        • 1874 Society
        • Bell Tower Society
        • Bestor Society
        • Daugherty Society
        • Lewis Miller Circle
        • NOW Generation
        • Foundation Membership
  • Foundation
        • History & Mission
        • Board of Directors
        • Foundation Staff
        • Foundation Membership
        • Foundation Publications
        • Contact
  • Advancement
        • Institution Board of Trustees
        • Advancement Staff
        • Advancement Publications
        • Contact
  • Donate
  • Buy Tickets
Foundation
  • Home
  • CHQ Assembly
  • Mission
  • Board of Directors
  • Staff
  • Publications
  • Membership
  • Endowment/Naming
  • Contact
  • Donate
  • Buy Tickets

Summer

  • Fall / Winter / Spring
  • CHQ Assembly
  • Discover
        • Plan Your Experience
          • Experience Planner
          • 2023 Season
          • Buy Gate Passes and Tickets
          • Ticket Information
          • Vacation Safely at Chautauqua
          • Visit Must-Dos
        • About Chautauqua
          • 150 Forward Strategic Plan
          • Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Accessibility (IDEA) at Chautauqua
        • Places To Stay
          • Athenaeum Hotel
          • Private Accommodations
          • Denominations and Religious Organizations
          • Nearby Accommodations
        • Explore the Grounds and Gardens
          • Maps and Directions
          • Bus and Tram Tracker
          • Accessibility at Chautauqua
          • Plaza Cam
          • Chautauqua Lake Conservation
        • Eat, Drink & Shop
          • Dining
          • Heirloom Restaurant
          • Shopping & Services
          • Food Festival at Chautauqua
        • Experience Community
          • African American Heritage House
          • Chautauqua Women’s Club
          • Bird, Tree & Garden Club
          • LGBTQ and Friends
          • “Friends of” Groups
          • CPOA (Property Owners)
          • Denominations and Religious Organizations
          • Chautauqua Cinema
          • Chautauqua Trail
          • CHQ Dialogues
        • Resources
          • The Smith Memorial Library
          • Post Office
          • Chautauqua Bookstore
          • Services & Amenities
          • Business Center
          • Property Owner Resources
          • Chautauqua Lake Conservation
          • Program Archive
          • Chautauqua Institution Archives
          • FAQs
          • The Chautauquan Daily
          • CHQ&A Podcast
          • Chautauqua Magazine
          • Grounds Policies
  • Schedule
        • Discover CHQ
        • Events
          • All Events
          • Weekly Themes
          • Event Calendar
          • Experience Planner
        • Lectures
          • Chautauqua Lecture Series
          • Interfaith Lecture Series
          • Chautauqua Literary and Scientific Circle
          • Other Lectures
        • Performing & Visual Arts
          • Entertainment and Concerts
          • Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra and Classical Concerts
          • Galleries
          • Chautauqua Chamber Music
          • Dance
        • Resident Programs
          • Chautauqua Literary Arts
          • Chautauqua Opera Company & Conservatory
          • Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra
          • Chautauqua Theater Company
          • Chautauqua Visual Arts
          • Chautauqua Climate Change Initiative
        • Classes
        • Religion
          • Daily Worship
          • Sacred Music
          • Abrahamic Program for Young Adults
          • Mystic Heart Interspiritual Meditation Program
          • Denominations and Religious Organizations
          • CHQ Dialogues
        • Recreation
          • Chautauqua Health & Fitness Center
          • Sports Club
          • Golf Club
          • Swimming
          • Tennis Center
          • Sailing
          • Youth Recreation
          • CHQ Trail
        • Youth & Family
          • Day Camps
          • Educational Experiences
          • Youth Activities Center (YAC)
          • Youth Recreation
          • Babysitting
          • Family Scholarship Program
  • Groups
        • Book a Group Experience
        • Road Scholar
        • Chautauqua on a Budget
        • Tour Chautauqua County
        • Chautauqua Travels
  • Festival Schools
        • School of Music
          • Conducting Fellowship
          • Instrumental Program
          • Opera Conservatory
          • Piano Program
        • Dance
        • Art
        • Theater
        • Chautauqua Music Camps
        • Alumni
  • Giving
        • Make a Donation
        • Membership Opportunities
        • Ways to Give
        • Chautauqua Foundation
        • Advancement
  • Buy Tickets
  • Give
  • Donate
  • Buy Tickets

Fall / Winter / Spring

  • Summer
  • CHQ Assembly
  • Discover
        • About Year-Round at Chautauqua
        • Plan Your Experience
          • Experience Planner
          • Vacation Safely at Chautauqua
          • Grounds Access and Operations
          • Visit Must-Dos
        • About
          • 150 Forward Strategic Plan
          • Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Accessibility (IDEA) at Chautauqua
        • Arts Education
        • Classes
        • Resident Programs
          • Literary Arts
          • Chautauqua Opera Company & Conservatory
          • Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra
          • Chautauqua Theater Company
          • Chautauqua Visual Arts
          • Chautauqua Climate Change Initiative
        • Explore the Grounds and Gardens
          • Maps and Directions
          • Accessibility at Chautauqua
          • Plaza Cam
          • Chautauqua Lake Conservation
        • Eat, Drink & Shop
          • Dining
          • Shopping & Services
        • Resources
          • The Smith Memorial Library
          • Post Office
          • Chautauqua Bookstore
          • Services & Amenities
          • Business Center
          • Chautauqua Lake Conservation
          • Property Owner Resources
          • Program Archive
          • Chautauqua Institution Archives
          • FAQs
          • The Chautauquan Daily
          • CHQ&A Podcast
          • Chautauqua Magazine
          • Grounds Policies
  • Accommodations
        • Weddings & Conferences
        • Athenaeum Hotel
        • Other Places To Stay
        • Private Rentals
        • Check Athenaeum Hotel Room Availability

  • Recreation
        • Chautauqua Health & Fitness Center
        • CHQ Trail
        • Golf Club
          • Golf Course
            • Membership Rates
            • Pro Shop
            • Scorecards
          • Events & Banquets
        • Golf Instruction
          • Adult Golf Clinics
          • Jr. Golf Clinics & Camps
          • Learning Center
          • Private Lessons
        • Golf Tournaments
          • Upcoming Events & Tournaments
          • Group Outings
          • NJCAA Golf Championship
  • Groups
        • Road Scholar
        • Book a Group Experience
        • Tour Chautauqua County
        • Chautauqua Travels
  • Festival Schools
        • School of Music
          • Conducting Fellowship
          • Instrumental Program
          • Piano Program
          • Opera Conservatory
        • Dance
        • Art
        • Theater
        • Chautauqua Music Camps
        • Alumni
  • Giving
        • Make a Donation
        • Membership Opportunities
        • Ways to Give
        • Foundation
        • Advancement
  • Buy Tickets
  • Give
  • Donate
  • Buy Tickets

looking for something?

  • Contact
  • Blog
    • Announcements
    • Institution News
    • From Our President
    • Chautauqua Theater Company
    • Chautauqua Opera Company
    • Chautauqua Foundation
  • Quick Reference Guide to Chautauqua
  • Request an In-Kind Gift
  • Make a Donation
  • Send Programming Suggestions
  • Staff Directory
June 29, 2010 | Chautauqua Theater Company

2010 New Play Workshop Press Release

Chautauqua Theater Company (CTC) Artistic Directors Vivienne Benesch and Ethan McSweeny are proud to announce the first New Play Workshop (NPW) of the 2010 season, Close Up Space by Molly Smith Metzler. Four performances will run July 1 – 4 at CHQ’s Bratton Theater.

Now in its sixth season, CTC’s New Play Workshop series introduces audiences to important new voices in the theater and to the staged reading as a thrilling theatrical event in its own right. Each performance is followed by a discussion with the playwright, director and cast. Initiated by Benesch and McSweeny, the series has soared in popularity. “2010 sees us adding a performance to each of our new play workshops in response to the continued audience demand for new work,” says McSweeny.

In a uniquely Chautauquan twist, CTC/NPW selects plays that correspond with the Institution’s weekly lecture theme. Close Up Space was chosen to complement and reflect the Week One theme: “Roger Rosenblatt and More Friends” which celebrates the literary arts.

Close Up Space tells the story of powerful book editor Paul Barrow who reads the dictionary for pleasure and scours manuscripts for grammatical errors. But when his grieving daughter shows up at his office after being expelled from boarding school, Paul is at a loss for words.

Award-winning playwright Molly Smith Metzler is making her CTC debut. “I am particularly thrilled to welcome Molly this season,” says McSweeny. “She has already garnered quite a following for her work and we think Close Up Space is not only her best play to date but one that will be a calling card on the American theater.”

Metzler’s plays – including Training Wisteria, Carve, Close Up Space, and Elemeno Pea – have been presented by the Manhattan Theatre Club, Playwrights Horizons, the Cherry Lane, the Public Theater’s Summer Play Festival, the Kennedy Center, Tristan Bates (London), Boston Playwrights Theatre, Juilliard, and more. Her honors include two Lecomte du Nouy Prizes (Lincoln Center), three Kennedy Center KCACTF Awards, and upcoming residencies at the O’Neill Theater Center and Williamstown Theatre Festival.

McSweeny will be bringing Ms. Metzler’s play to life. For CTC, his numerous directing credits include The Glass Menagerie (’09), Death of a Salesman (’08), The Just (’07), The Cherry Orchard (’06), All My Sons (’05), Cobb (’03), and the New Play Workshops of Kate Fodor’s 100 Saints You Should Know, and Quincy Long’s Aux Cops among others. In New York his direction includes the premieres of 100 Saints You Should Know and 1001 (both Top Ten productions of ‘07 in TimeOut and Entertainment Weekly), and the Broadway revival of Gore Vidal’s The Best Man (Tony Award nomination, Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Awards). This summer McSweeny is making his Stratford (Ont.) Shakespeare Festival directorial debut with Dangerous Liaisons.

Two veteran actors make their CTC debuts in the cast of Close Up Space. Rebecca Creskoff one of the stars of HBO’s hit series, “Hung,” plays Vanessa Finn Adams. . Her extensive television credits include “Greetings From Tucson,” “Mad Men,” “Law and Order,” “West Wing,” “The Practice,” and “Hannah Montana,” among others. Creskoff’s Broadway credits include Losing Louie (Manhattan Theater Club), and Off-Broadway credits include Picasso at the Lapin Agile. Rufus Collins plays Paul Barrow. Collins has appeared on Broadway in The Royal Family, To Be Or Not To Be, An Ideal Husband, A Day in the Death of Joe Egg, and The Homecoming. Regional credits include In This Corner, directed by Ethan McSweeny at the Old Globe in San Diego.

Daniel Pearce, who plays Steve, has appeared in three CTC productions: Arcadia, The Winter’s Tale, and Reckless. Pearce’s Broadway credits include The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (Circle in the Square). Off-Broadway credits include King Lear, Measure for Measure, Henry V, and Henry VI (NYSF/Public Theater); The Picture of Dorian Gray (Irish Repertory); and Love’s Fire (Public Theater) among others. In July, Pearce opens in the film SALT, starring Angelina Jolie.. The cast is completed by CTC Conservatory actors Irene Sofia Lucio as Paul’s rebellious daughter Harper, and Megan Ketch as his eager but persecuted intern, Bailey.

CTC/NPW also provides a stage for the Conservatory’s design fellows to showcase their respective talents. Costume Design Fellow Mark Nagle is entering his second year at the Yale School of Drama. He was just awarded the Donald M. Oenslager Award for Stage Design. Lighting Design Fellow Ellie Rabinowitz is entering her third year in California Institute of the Arts’ MFA lighting design program. Scenic Design Fellow John Zuiker is currently working towards his MFA at Carnegie Mellon University.

Save Your Trip

Fill out the form below to save your trip. You will receive a link to your saved list via email.

  • Hidden
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Save Your Favorites

Fill out the form below to save your favorites. You will receive a link to your favorites list via email.

"*" indicates required fields

Name*
Hidden

Notice!

You have now entered the season. Some website content may differ depending on the current season we are in: Summer or Fall/Winter/Spring. You can toggle between the two season options at any time.

Okay

Subscribe to Chautauqua Institution’s email newsletter

  • About
  • Resources
  • Sustainability
  • Contact
  • Whistleblower Policy
  • Careers
  • Ethics Point
  • Privacy Policy
  • ADA Compliance
Chautauqua Institution
P.O. Box 28
One Ames Ave.
Chautauqua, N.Y. 14722

1.800.836.ARTS
  • Privacy Policy
  • ADA Compliance

© 2022 Chautauqua Institution. Chautauqua Institution is a non-profit organization, dependent upon your gifts to fulfill its mission. Gate tickets and other revenue cover only a portion of the cost of your Chautauqua experience.