TheatreSquared Presents the Bold New Comedy
TIGERS BE STILL
By Kim Rosenstock — Directed by Portia Krieger
On Stage February 9 – March 4, 2012


NORTHWEST ARKANSAS—January 20, 2011—TheatreSquared today announced the casting and creative team for Tigers Be Still, the critically acclaimed new comedy fresh from its hit off-Broadway premiere, opening in Fayetteville on February 10, 2012. Through a special partnership with Fayetteville Public Library, playwright Kim Rosenstock will attend the play’s opening weekend performances and host a public event on Saturday, February 11 at 4:30pm. The T2 production is directed by Portia Krieger, who served as assistant director for the play’s premiere at Roundabout Theatre. In Tigers Be Still, Sherry Wickman—heroine for a new generation of underemployed college graduates—returns home to her mess of a family and a part-time gig as a substitute art teacher, desperately trying to get her life in order as an escaped tiger stalks the suburbs. Performances will be held in the 180-seat Studio Theatre at Walton Arts Center’s Nadine Baum Studios, previewing February 9, opening February 10 and continuing through March 4, 2012, with performances Thursdays at 7:30, Fridays at 7:30, Saturdays at 2:00 and 7:30, and Sundays at 2:00 and 7:00. Tickets range from $22-28 ($10/under 30) and can be purchased by calling the Walton Arts Center Box Office at (479) 443-5600 or by visiting theatre2.org. 

“If Diablo Cody and Wes Anderson went on a bender and wrote a play, you’d probably end up with something like Tigers Be Still,” said T2 Managing Director Martin Miller, “though that comparison doesn’t do full justice to the lively heart at the core of this play. It’s quirky, touching, and completely hilarious—and we’re thrilled to bring it to Northwest Arkansas.”

“This is the story of how I stopped being a total disaster,” declares Sherry Wickman, the young protagonist of Tigers Be Still. After graduating and spending several miserable months unemployed, she has just snagged her first part-time job at the local high school, where a tiger’s escape from the zoo has provoked the principal to cancel recess and start toting his rifle to work. Back at home, Sherry’s sister has taken up residence on the sofa with a bottle of Jack Daniel’s, wallowing in grief after her fiancée dumped her for his podiatrist, while their mother has barricaded herself in her room. At once “devastatingly hilarious” (The New York Times) and startlingly moving, Tigers Be Still is a bold new work for the stage.

The cast for Tigers Be Still includes: Lauren Blumenfeld, Quinn Gasaway (Sundown Town) Amelia McClain and Rick Holden (2011 Arkansas New Play Festival).  The creative team includes: Portia Krieger (director), Anna Lucia Dede-Panken (stage manager), Josh Tillotson (production head), Mark Erbaugh (scenic designer), who also serves as Art Director for The Late Show with David Letterman, David Stoughton (lighting designer), Ruby Billig Kemph (costume design), and Asa Wember (sound design).

Through a special partnership with Fayetteville Public Library, TheatreSquared will offer two public events in the Willard and Pat Walker Community Room in tandem with its production of Tigers Be Still.  On Tuesday, January 31 at 6:30pm, Ozarks at Large host Kyle Kellams will moderate a T2 Artists Forum with director Portia Krieger and cast members, including a special ten-minute preview performance of a scene from the show.  On Saturday, February 11 at 4:30pm, playwright Kim Rosenstock will hold a public talk and reception as part of the library’s distinguished visiting author series.

Tickets for Tigers Be Still are on sale now at the Walton Arts Center Box Office, and can be reserved by calling (479) 443-5600 or visiting theatre2.org.

TheatreSquared is Northwest Arkansas’s regional theatre, dedicated to creating exceptional theatrical works and innovative educational outreach. The theatre is the recipient of the 2011 National Theatre Company Grant from the American Theatre Wing, founder of the Tony Awards, recognizing the nation’s ten most promising emerging professional theatres. For further information, contact TheatreSquared at 479.445.6333 or visit the Theatre's website at theatre2.org.

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Major funding for the TheatreSquared Season 6 is provided by The Walton Family Foundation, Inc., and the Arkansas Arts Council, an agency of the Department of Arkansas Heritage and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Major marketing support for TheatreSquared Season 6 is provided by the Fayetteville Advertising and Promotions Commission. Media sponsors include NWA Media, CitiScapes, KUAF and Mailco USA.

Elizabeth France, an Arkansas native, returns to NWA to join T2

TheatreSquared Managing Director Martin Miller and Artistic Director Robert Ford today announced the hiring of a new full-time Development Officer, supported by a three-year grant from the Walton Family Foundation. 

Elizabeth France, a native Arkansan, returns to Fayetteville after Elizabeth Francefive years in Washington, DC, where she attended graduate school and where her professional acting credits include the Kennedy Center Theatre for Young Audiences and the Shakespeare Theatre Company. Most recently, she worked in outreach and communications for a large, DC-based nonprofit organization. She holds a BA in Drama and European Studies from the University of Arkansas and an MFA in Acting from the Catholic University of America.

"I am thrilled to return home to join TheatreSquared," said France. "Before leaving Fayetteville in 2006, I worked on the crew of T2's inaugural production, Bad Dates, and since then, I've admired the company's work from afar. With the theatre's exponential growth over these past years and the recent national recognition from the American Theatre Wing, it's an exciting time to be joining TheatreSquared—and to be back in Northwest Arkansas."

"With the Walton Family Foundation's support, we conducted an extensive search for this new position—and considered more than fifty candidates," said T2 Managing Director Martin Miller. "We're excited to welcome Elizabeth not only because she's passionate about T2's mission, but because she has the skills and commitment needed to help us build community relationships, match great programs with the resources to fund them, and sustain the theatre for the long term."

TheatreSquared is Northwest Arkansas’s regional theatre, producing professional work that is challenging and heartfelt, intimate and entertaining.  More than 10,000 patrons attend the theatre’s 95 annual performances in the 180-seat Studio Theatre at Walton Arts Center’s Nadine Baum Studios.  In addition to its theatrical season, the theatre’s educational outreach programs serve 5,000 students and teachers throughout the region. For tickets and more information, visit theatre2.org.

• NWA's Regional Theatre honored by American Theatre Wing, founder of the Tony Awards, among nation's ten most promising emerging theatres
• $10,000 Award Presentation Scheduled for October 24, 2011 in New York

NORTHWEST ARKANSAS—September 30, 2011—The American Theatre Wing (ATW), founder of the Tony Awards, today announced that TheatreSquared (T2), Northwest Arkansas’s regional theatre, will be honored with its 2011 National Theatre Company Grant as one of the nation’s ten most promising emerging professional theatres.  The $10,000 award will be presented at a ceremony in New York City at 12:30 on Monday, October 24, 2011. In a congratulatory statement, Arkansas Governor Mike Beebe said, "As Northwest Arkansas’s regional theatre company, T2 is well-known for its intimate setting that allows its patrons to enjoy dramas that define American theater. This well-deserved honor is a tribute to [TheatreSquared’s] success."

"This award comes at an auspicious time for the arts in Northwest Arkansas,” said T2 Artistic Director Robert Ford. “With the opening of Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art less than two months away, a resurgent symphony in its debut season, and an expanded Walton Arts Center planned, there's a sense of exponential growth for the arts in our region—an explosion really—and it feels great to be part of it."

"We are grateful to the American Theatre Wing for the recognition," said T2 Managing Director Martin Miller, "and to arts patrons throughout Northwest Arkansas for driving this creative movement forward."

Best known for creating The Antoinette Perry "Tony" Awards®, the American Theatre Wing's reach extends beyond Broadway and beyond New York, with educational and media work that offers the best in theatre to people around the world. Dedicated to celebrating excellence and supporting education in the theatre, ATW has been an integral and influential part of the theatrical community for the better part of seven decades.

TheatreSquared is Northwest Arkansas’s regional theatre, producing professional work that is challenging and heartfelt, intimate and entertaining.  More than 10,000 patrons attend the theatre’s 95 annual performances in the 180-seat Studio Theatre at Walton Arts Center’s Nadine Baum Studios.  In addition to its theatrical season, the theatre’s educational outreach programs serve 5,000 students and teachers throughout the region. For tickets and more information, visit theatre2.org.

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Major funding for the TheatreSquared Season 6 is provided by The Walton Family Foundation, Inc., the Willard and Pat Walker Charitable Foundation, the Happy Hollow Fund at Fayetteville Community Foundation, and the Arkansas Arts Council, an agency of the Department of Arkansas Heritage and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Major marketing support for TheatreSquared Season 6 is provided by the Fayetteville Advertising and Promotions Commission. Media sponsors include NWA Media, CitiScapes, KUAF and Mailco USA.

NORTHWEST ARKANSAS—April 26, 2011—TheatreSquared announced today the lineup for the 2011 Arkansas New Play Fest, the theatre’s third annual festival of new works. The festival will feature staged reading performances of professional plays and student works, a comedy improv showcase, and Northwest Arkansas’s sixth annual 24-Hour Play-Off. The lineup of events in Northwest Arkansas will take place at Walton Arts Center’s Nadine Baum Studios (505 W. Spring St., Fayetteville).

“TheatreSquared is passionate about cultivating great new works for the stage, and we’re thrilled to be collaborating in that venture this year with the Arkansas Rep,” said T2 Artistic Director Robert Ford. “This year, more than 100 artists will participate in the Arkansas New Play Fest—a major undertaking. We’ll feature new plays developed and staged by professional playwrights, directors and actors; we’ll showcase work by students and teachers from across the state; and we’ll host two popular comedy events—an improv showcase and the annual 24-Hour Play-Off.” 

The Northwest Arkansas lineup includes:

Thursday, May 19   
5:30pm – Opening Reception (sponsored by BHK Kafé, Jammin’ Java)
6:30pm – Disfarmer by Werner Trieschmann
8:30pm – The Spiritualist by Robert Ford

Friday, May 20       
6:30pm – They Want by Alan Berks
8:30pm – In The Book Of by John Walch

Saturday, May 21   
1:00pm  – Works in Progress, Arkansas Playwrights Workshop
3:00pm – National Writing Project Readings
6:30pm – The Poe Show, by Jordan Haynes, Morgan Hicks, & Kris Stoker
9:00pm – Comedy Improv Showcase — featuring Dan’s Party, Phunbags Comedy Improv, and musical guests Black & Tan

Sunday, May 22   
2:00pm – The Arkansas Young Playwrights Showcase
6:30pm – The 24 Hour Play-Off (Performances & Judging)

For the first time, TheatreSquared is partnering with Arkansas Repertory Theatre to bring the Arkansas New Play Fest to Little Rock. The Rep will host staged readings May 21 and 22 at the Argenta Community Theatre while events continue in Northwest Arkansas. For a schedule of performances in Little Rock, patrons can visit www.therep.org, or call (501) 378-0405.

“I admire TheatreSquared’s work and hope this is the beginning of a sustainable and fruitful partnership,” said Bob Hupp, Artistic Director for Arkansas Repertory Theatre. “I think audiences from across the state will benefit from an ongoing collaboration between our two theatres.”

The centerpiece of the Arkansas New Play Fest is the development of four new works for the stage. New plays with no prior productions are selected from a pool of submissions, and each playwright is brought to Northwest Arkansas to work with experienced directors and professional actors to further develop the script. At the end of the process, plays are performed for the public with script in hand, and audiences are invited to stay after the show for a conversation with the playwright, director and actors to help shape the script’s further development.

The first new play, Disfarmer, by award-winning Arkansas playwright Werner Trieschmann, returns after two years’ further development since its debut at the festival in 2009. This comedic portrait tells the story of Disfarmer, an eccentric photographer from Heber Springs, Arkansas who charged townsfolk and visitors a quarter to have their picture taken in the early forties—and caused a minor speculative mania decades later as New York gallery owners “discovered” his work and descended on the small Arkansas town. Directed by Kate Frank and performed Thursday, May 19 at 6:30pm.

The Spiritualist is a new work-in-progress by TheatreSquared’s artistic director and playwright-in-residence, Robert Ford. Inspired by true events, the play introduces Rosemary Dunn, and English widow who cooks for the school meals service—and communes with the spirits of dead composers. When an enterprising American reporter tries to unmask the self-proclaimed psychic as a fraud, he finds there may be more at play than simple musical sleight-of-hand. Directed by Michael Landman (The 39 Steps, Rabbit Hole) and performed Thursday, May 19 at 8:30pm.

They Want, by Minneapolis-based playwright Alan Berks, dramatically explores the private struggles of a powerful family during a time of war. A modern retelling of the Oresteia by Greek tragedian Aeschylus, They Want revolves around a debt of vengeance forged by fateful choices made by the head of the household, the nation’s powerful Minister of War. A journalist entry into the family's inner sanctum upsets a delicate balance, and unleashes a dangerous chain of events. Directed by Robert Ford (Drawer Boy) and performed Friday, May 20 at 6:30pm.

In The Book Of, by New York-based playwright John Walch, is an engaging new play that re-imagines the biblical book of Ruth in the modern day. Naomi, a U.S. Army Lieutenant stationed near Kabul, and Anisah, her Afghan translator, are reeling from the losses of both their husbands in Afghanistan. When Naomi is discharged and prepares to return to the States with her adult son, Anisah unexpectedly asks to go with them.  A simple leap of faith brings this unlikely pair to a small town in Mississippi, where love and tolerance struggle to overcome hatred and fear as they try to rebuild their lives. Directed by Amy Herzberg (‘Twas the Night, Moonlight and Magnolias, The Last Five Years, Bad Dates) and performed Friday, May 20 at 8:30pm.

TheatreSquared is hosting two free public events in the afternoon of Saturday, May 21. At 1:00pm, the Arkansas Playwrights Workshop, a group of local writers who meet monthly to read and develop new scripts, will present readings from works in progress. At 3:00pm, Northwest Arkansas teachers participating in the National Writing Project, a countrywide service program, will present free readings of works developed during this school year’s writing initiatives.

At 6:30pm on May 21, T2 veterans Jordan Haynes, Liam Selvey and Sean Phillip Mabrey along with Artists Laboratory Theatre co-founder Erika Wilhite will present The Poe Show, featuring a group of actors with a fast-paced, interactive—and somewhat unorthodox—take on the works of Edgar Allan Poe. Written and developed by TheatreSquared, this new work will tour to Arkansas junior highs and high schools during the fall of 2011.

At 9:00pm on May 21, TheatreSquared presents  the Northwest Arkansas Comedy Improv Showcase, featuring popular local troupes Dan’s Party, Phunbags Comedy Improv and musical guests Black & Tan. Audiences are invited to join in for a night of spontaneous comedy created on the spot—and to set the scene for laughter with their suggestions and ideas.

In partnership with the University of Arkansas Brown Chair of Literacy, TheatreSquared is proud to present, for the third year, the Arkansas Young Playwrights Showcase. Students from across the region have been invited to submit scripts, and five have been selected for public readings at the Arkansas New Play Fest. The free public readings will take place Sunday, May 22, at 2:00pm.

Finally, TheatreSquared is partnering with Fayetteville-based Ceramic Cow Productions to present the 24-Hour Play-Off, a perennial favorite for artists and audiences alike. In competition for the $500 Jury Prize, sponsored by a group of Fayetteville businesses, six teams of five artists will write, rehearse, and perform a new ten-minute play—all within the space of 24 hours. Artists from throughout the region are invited to participate by completing an application at theatre2.org. The public performance and judging will take place on Sunday, May 22 at 6:30pm.

TheatreSquared is Northwest Arkansas’s professional theatre company, dedicated to creating exceptional theatre and innovative educational programs. For further information, contact TheatreSquared at 479.445.6333 or visit the Theatre's website at theatre2.org.

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Marketing support for the 2011 Arkansas New Play Fest is provided by the Fayetteville A&P Commission.

Major funding for TheatreSquared’s 2010/11 Season is provided by the Walton Family Foundation, Inc., the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Arkansas Arts Council, a department of the Department of Arkansas Heritage.

The 24-Hour Play-Off Jury Prize is co-sponsored by Lindsey & Associates, Inc., Mountain Man Supplies & Pawn, Big Brothers Pawn, Robert James Salon, Arts Live Theatre, Ceramic Cow Productions, and Phunbags Comedy Improv.


Click to download New Play Fest Photo Pack >
View release as print-ready PDF >

“This is the story of how I stopped being a total disaster,” announces the heroine of TIGERS BE STILL, the darkly funny and moving new comedy opening at TheatreSquared in February 2012. Sherry Wickman, who had expected the perfect life to fall into place after earning her degree, instead finds herself underemployed, overwhelmed and back home in her twin-sized childhood bed. Her mother refuses to emerge from the bedroom, her sister claims drunken sovereignty over the couch, and a tiger has escaped from the local zoo. With the 2010 off-Broadway hit that The New York Times called “piercing, ferocious and devastatingly hilarious,” TheatreSquared brings a bold new work by an emerging playwright to Northwest Arkansas. Tigers Be Still will run February 9–March 4, 2012 (recommended rating: PG-13, for occasional adult language).

The 2011/12 subscription season will conclude with THE FALL OF THE HOUSE, a new theatrical mystery in which T2 Artistic Director Robert Ford (‘Twas the Night, My Father’s War) explores the desperate bargains we make for love. Nominated for the 2011 Edgar Award for Best New Play, The Fall of the House premiered in a critically acclaimed production at the Alabama Shakespeare Festival in 2010, and was previewed for Northwest Arkansas audiences at the 2010 Arkansas New Play Fest. In this “haunting dreamscape of a play” (Theatre Montgomery), an escaped slave risks her freedom for an illegal rendezvous with Edgar Allen Poe, and—two centuries later—a celebrated architect, standing trial for a fatal beach house fire, finds she possesses an undiscovered manuscript of Poe’s final work. The Arkansas premiere of The Fall of the House will run April 12–May 6, 2012 (recommended rating: PG-13, for occasional adult language).

Offered separately from the theatre's subscription season, TheatreSquared will present the fourth annual ARKANSAS NEW PLAY FEST in June of 2012, with dates and titles for the celebration of new works to be announced early that year. The Festival will unite promising voices in American playwriting in a three-day celebration of dramatic storytelling, both at T2’s home theatre in Fayetteville and on tour to the Arkansas Repertory Theatre in Little Rock.

Subscriptions for TheatreSquared’s four-play season are available in five packages. Performances run Thursdays through Sundays of each week, with all evening performances scheduled for 7:30pm (Sundays at 7pm), and matinees for 2pm. Subscriptions start at $74 for the new T2 Preview Saver Series, including a general admission ticket to the final Thursday evening dress rehearsal of each new production. T2’s popular Opening Night Series, including prime reserved seats for the Friday night opening, a catered reception with cast members after the show, and an intermission champagne toast, is priced at $110. The T2 Prime Weekend Series, with reserved seating for either Friday and Saturday evening performances (excluding Opening), is available for $92. The T2 Weeknight/Matinee Series, in which subscribers can choose seats for either Thursday or Sunday evenings, or Saturday and Sunday afternoons, is priced at $82. Click to download subscription pricing overview >

The new T2 Sunday Dinner Series will include: complimentary parking at BHK Kafé; prime seats at the new Sunday evening performance of each TheatreSquared production; and a three-course, seasonal dinner—with opener, entrée, dessert and beverage—prepared by Chef David Lewis using locally-produced “garden-to-table” ingredients. Dinner is served at BHK Kafé 5:30pm, and the performance begins at Walton Arts Center’s Nadine Baum Studios at 7:00pm. The full package, available in limited quantity, is priced at just $168.

T2 subscriptions are packaged with an array of benefits, including a 15% discount off of single ticket prices, prime reserved seating, free unlimited exchanges, and pre-show dining discounts at T2 Partner Restaurants (subscribers only). T2 Restaurant Partners include: BHK Kafé, 25% off full menu; Bordinos, $20 3-course meal with wine pairing; Ella's Restaurant, 30% off full menu; Greenhouse Grille, 25% off full menu; The Wine Cellar, 25% off full menu. Current subscribers who renew by May 30 will be entered for a chance to win a $300 gift card at Bordinos Restaurant.

Subscriptions are on sale beginning today at the Walton Arts Center Box Office, and can be reserved by calling (479) 443-5600. TheatreSquared is Northwest Arkansas’s regional theatre, dedicated to creating exceptional theatrical works and innovative educational programs. For further information, contact TheatreSquared at 479.445.6333 or visit the Theatre's website at theatre2.org/subscribe.

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Major funding for the TheatreSquared Season 6 is provided by The Walton Family Foundation, Inc., and the Arkansas Arts Council, an agency of the Department of Arkansas Heritage and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Major marketing support for TheatreSquared Season 6 is provided by the Fayetteville Advertising and Promotions Commission. Media sponsors include NWA Media, CitiScapes, KUAF, Mailco USA and The Fayetteville Flyer.