For Immediate Release: August 16, 2006
Media Contact: Megan Wendell, for Theatre Alliance of Greater Philadelphia, 215.242.6393

At a press conference held today at The Wilma Theater, the Theatre Alliance of Greater Philadelphia announced a new Executive Director, the second annual Free Night of Theater, and details for the Philadelphia New Play Festival: Where Theatre Begins.

Glen Knapp, Chair of the Theatre Alliance Board of Directors, introduced the organization’s new Executive Director Deborah Golden. Ms. Golden previously served as general counsel at Envirosafe, Inc., a local environmental services company. She has served on the board of directors for a legal services agency advocating for abused and neglected children and is currently a development committee member for a local small theatre company. Ms. Golden holds a Master of Arts from the University of Pennsylvania and a Juris Doctor from Villanova University Law School.

“I am thrilled to join an organization that has continuously increased its effectiveness in serving theater in the Philadelphia region,” Ms. Golden says. “I intend to use my experience as an advocate and executive to broadcast the richness and vigor of the Philadelphia theatre world and to build on the advancements of the Theatre Alliance of Greater Philadelphia.”

Ms. Golden cited the Tessitura consortium as a strong example of the regional theatre community’s ongoing innovative collaborations. A region-wide initiative, Tessitura will unify dozens of theatres’ box office, marketing and development operations through the use of cutting-edge technology and a collaborative approach to audience building. With support from The Pew Charitable Trusts, the William Penn Foundation, and the Philadelphia Cultural Management Initiative, a program of The Pew Charitable Trusts, the initiative will revolutionize customer management relations for arts in the region.

Additionally, Ms. Golden announced that the second annual Free Night of Theater will take place on Thursday, October 19th and will again kick off Arts & Culture Week through a partnership with Center City District and the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance. A program of the Theatre Communications Group, Free Night of Theater is an unprecedented effort to bring theatre to thousands of new audience members as theatres open their doors to the public for free. Philadelphia was one of three cities selected to debut the program in 2005 when over 8,000 people attended 150 performances in Philadelphia, Austin, and San Francisco. Building on its overwhelming success, the event will expand to approximately fifteen cities this year.

Producing Artistic Director of Philadelphia Theatre Company, Sara Garonzik, and co-Artistic Director of The Wilma Theater, Blanka Zizka announced the Philadelphia New Play Festival: Where Theatre Begins which will be held February 8 – 18, 2007. A multi-organizational and region-wide effort, the festival will feature eight mainstage world premieres as well as readings and seminars that celebrate the vibrancy and excellence of new play activity in the region.

World premieres to be produced in the festival are:

• Dex and Julie Sittin' in a Tree - by Bruce Graham at Arden Theatre Company
  
  
• A House with No Walls - by Thomas Gibbons at InterAct Theatre Company
  
  
• Anne of Green Gables - adapted by Peter DeLaurier from the novel by Lucy Maud Montgomery at The People's Light & Theatre Company
  
  
• Nerds: //A Musical Software Satire - by Jordan Allen-Dutton and Erik Weiner, composed by Hal Goldberg at Philadelphia Theatre Company
  
  
• Stormy Weather - book by Sharleen Cooper Cohen and songs by Duke Ellington, Billy Strayhorn, and others at Prince Music Theater
  
  
• Philly Originals: An Evening of Short Works - works by Bruce Graham, Michael Hollinger, and Arden Kass at Theatre Exile
  
  
• Bookends - by M. J. Feely at Walnut Street Theatre
  
  
• Enemies, A Love Story - adapted for the stage by Sarah Schulman from the novel by Isaac Bashevis Singer at The Wilma Theater

Details and ticket information for Free Night of Theatre and the Philadelphia New Play Festival will soon be available online at www.theatrealliance.org.

To request interviews, photos, ceremony press tickets, and more information, please contact: Megan Wendell, Canary Promotion, 215-242-6393, megan@canarypromo.com.

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