Projects ~ Previous Performances:

CROWN OF SHADOWS      
a festival of THREE new plays
presented by
Junction City Productions and Black Swan Theater

Feb. 15- March 2, 2008
Asheville Arts Center
308 Merrimon Ave, Asheville
Curtain: 8 PM.

Edward the King
A contemporary take on that evil masterpiece, Marlowe’s Edward II, wherein a king finds that love leads in one moment into bliss and mayhem.
Presented by special permission of GayFest NYC.com-- where it will kick off the New York Festival in May, 2008.
 
Gilgamesh
The oldest story in the world, in which potential rivals turn into eternal friends and dare the very gods. One dies. The other goes looking for him in the labyrinths of myth.
 
Hat
In this world-premiere play, the Egyptian pharaoh Hatshepsut–one of the first powerful women in history– tries to hold on to her crown, her lover, and her soul in a time of political upheaval. Need we tell you it doesn’t work?
 
Lyle Laney, dancer and choreographer, will present an original dance each night.

Tickets: $15, $10 for students (UNCA Humanities students’ tickets subsidized by a National Endowment for the Humanities grant)
 
Ticket information: Asheville Arts Center (828 253-4000) or Junction City Productions (828 545-6392). Tickets available at the door.

The Playwrights’ Workshop of UNCA
semester-end entertainment at the Flood Gallery
What do fish say swimming in their tank? What do reeds say when confronted with a plague of locusts? Guys, what do you say to mom when you bring your boyfriend home for Valentine’s Day? It’s all answered here..
Flood Gallery (on the lower level of the Phil Mechanic Building, at the corner of Roberts Street and Clingman Avenue, in the Asheville River District)
Monday, April 30, 2007, at 7 PM

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First Glance reading series

TRANSLATIONS, an exciting new play by Michael Bettencourt, is the next in Black Swan's First Glance reading series. 
Wednesday, November 8, 2006. 7:30PM
Asheville Arts Council, 11 Biltmore Avenue. The time is 7:30

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GILGAMESH
The production explores the universal, heroic human journey in a full-length interdiciplinary theatrical event based on civilization's oldest surviving epic poem, the ancient Sumerian tale of a demi-god hero-king who lived around 2,700 BC in what is now Iraq.

Friday and Saturday, September 29-30, 2006, 7:30pm
Diana Wortham Theatre
Pack Place, downtown Asheville
box office: (828) 257-4530
http://www.dwtheater.com/

A collaboration between The Asheville Ballet and Black Swan Theater
featuring
Original text by playwright David Brendan Hopes
Original choreography by Ann Dunn
Original music composed by Michael MacCauley
Lighting by Ardean Landhuis

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A Program of One Acts
Featuring UNC-A students and possibly professors.
Wednesday, June 14, 2006, 7PM
Asheville Area Arts Council, 11 Biltmore Ave, downtown Asheville

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The First Glance reading series…
THE COUNT OF SAINTE-HELENE, written by Robert Blumenfeld and directed by Christopher Lynn, is based on one of the most sensational cases solved by the first great detective in history, Eugène-François Vidocq.  Vidocq, an extraordinary individual capable of deceptive disguise and clever deduction, was an ex-convict who became the head of the French Sûreté (Security Service of the French police).  He was an acquaintance of Victor Hugo, who based both Jean Valjean and Inspector Javert in LES MISERABLES on Vidocq; and a friend of Balzac, whose character Vautrin is closely inspired by and modeled on Vidocq.
 
Author Robert Blumenfeld, labels THE COUNT OF SAINT-HELENE a Balzacian Melodrama.  He is recognized as an actor in national commercials and the New York City Off-Broadway play GROSS INDECENCY: THE THREE TRIALS OF OSCAR WILDE plus an expert dialect coach and author of a book series of language dialects for actors.  His passion for language and intrigue inspired the director to bring this piece to the Black Swan reading series.
 
Director Christopher Lynn is drama director at the Asheville Arts Center. He recently played the Beast in BEAUTY AND THE BEAST at Flat Rock Playhouse and Stanley Kowalski in A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE at the Diana Wortham Theatre.  He can be seen currently on television in the Bank of Asheville’s commercials as the nostalgic narrator based on Thomas Wolfe.

Wednesday, March 22, 2006, 7PM
The Asheville Arts Center, 308 Merrimon Avenue, Asheville
http://www.ashevilleartscenter.com/

The First Glance reading series…
A NEW BEGINNING (SECOND CHANCES) is a story from the streets. Jakim, Sean and Carter spent eight years in a federal penitentiary for a crime they committed together, and when they get out, each man has a different idea about what to do with life. Jakim rallies his old neighborhood crew to invest in a nightclub. Jakim’s energy and attention to detail show his zest for life anew, but will all of the crew change their old habits and enjoy success together?
In his first play, Langston J. flashes a vernacular not often heard on the stage. The dialogue pops and the audience gains insight into the bonds that make the hood home. Director Peter Carver will assemble a group of actors to read the play in its first and only public reading.

Wednesday, February 1, 2006, 7PM
Asheville Area Arts Council's Front Gallery, 11 Biltmore Ave, downtown Asheville
http://www.ashevillearts.com/

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The First Glance reading series…
INTIMATIONS
The first reading in the Black Swan First Glance series, Intimations, by Michael Walker and Michael Arner, under the direction of David Hopes.
Wednesday, November 9, 2005
Asheville Area Arts Council's Front Gallery, 11 Biltmore Ave, downtown Asheville

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