We are ready for a spiritual revival in the theatre. Big tents and choirs; impassioned speeches and miracles. A good pot-luck picnic never hurt anyone either. At times of economic turmoil and uncertainy, of social reaction and revolution, the work of theatre artists is more essential than ever.

At such junctures, we could ask ourselves what will make money or attempt to anticipate to what demographic our work will appeal. Instead, we resolve to revisit all the reasons we fight to be theatre artists, why we continue commit ourselves to reviving and reimagining classical work.

So this summer we return to our Shakespearean roots for our biggest project yet: Henry IV and Henry V performed in the Prospect Park Music Pagoda.

We are thrilled to be working with vetran RST director Melisa Annis (Twelfth Night, Under Milk Wood) who will be directing Henry V, and to be bringing in a new talent, Elyzabeth Gorman, who will be directing a cut version of Henry IV, Parts 1 and 2. Our cast consists of twenty classically trained actors, some RST favorites and some new blood.

As we reenact the war histories of Engalnd this summer, we ask our audiences to become a part of the dialogue on war - its necessity, its human impact, its devastation. But as much as the Henry's are plays about war, they are moreso plays about passion: what moves the human race to fight and laugh and love.

We hope that by the end of the summer, you will feel as deeply as we do the convictions brought about by the experience of this work.

THE KITCHEN TABLE READINGS
presented by Rebellious Subjects Theatre

experience the cutting edge of dinner theatre.

April 16, 2009 7pm
LaSalle Academy (2nd Avenue at 2nd Street)

featuring plays written for the occasion by

Ryan Fogarty
Kristin Ferebee
Jesse Bernath
and others

WARNING: All dinner participants may be recruited for the reading of plays.

7pm: h'ors d'oeuvres Meet and mingle with other dinner attendees (playwrights, actors, directors, and theatre patrons)

7:30pm: dinner Find your place setting and meet your collaborators - You will have dinner to read, discuss, and work on a short play written for this event.

9pm: dessert Over dessert, each group will present an informal reading of their play for the general assembly.

And in these times, what does a three course dinner, play readings, and networking cost?

Why a mere $20 when it's sponsored by the RST.

Reservations can be made HERE via PayPal. Email rebellioussubjects@gmail.com with any questions. SPACE IS LIMITED and reservations are required.

Happy new year! We at the RST are so grateful for all your past contributions, and we are excited about the opportunities that 2008 offers.

As some of you may know, we are working toward a company community and wanted to invite you especially - all or our collaborators- to the reading series we are beginning on Saturday, February 7th. This will not just be a reading - the reception following will be a time for us to gather ideas, talk about future potential projects, and set projects for our next few "speak/easy" events.

So we are asking you all to come and contribute, if you would, your ideas, your creativity, and your time. We would love to hear about what you are working on - especially any ideas you would like a forum to develop. We hope to not only foster dialogue about our piece for the evening, but start a bigger conversation about the kind of theatre the RST creates and how you can be a part of that.

The reading will be at the Irish Arts Center at 553 W. 51st Street between 10th and 11th. It will feature Apologies to Bob, a new work by Paul Frazee, who is co-authoring our adaptation of Alice. To RSVP, please email us at rebellioussubjects@gmail.com.

We would love to see you there. Please keep us updated on what you all are working on - we would love to hear from you.

Much Affection,

Lauren and Patrick and Ben

After reading Brooklynometry's thoughtful review on our first crack at Chekhov, the Subjects took a brief holiday to ruminate on all that we have created in 2008 (a company! three shows!), all that we will be working on in 2009, and other matters of global import.

We pondered the recent closings on Broadway, the shifts in power happening in the new year, and what this whole economic recession meant to a burgeoning young theater company (questions we'll have to live with). The new year brings a slew of new projects, new faces, and great opportunity to the proverbial doorstep of the RST, an abundance of riches that we are anxious to share with our audiences and friends.

So we took the turn of the annual clock as an opportunity to re-visit the reasons we started this company: why we feel the work we do is important. 2009 is a perfect time to wonder all over again why we are artists - and why we (as people) often turn to and create important art in times of uncertainty.

There's a quote that Diane Arbus wrote about her photographic subjects that we like to apply to theatre. She writes in her journal, reflecting on her choice of portrait, that "there are singular people who appear like metaphors somewhere further out than we do, beckoned, not driven, invented by belief, author and hero of a real dream by which our own courage and cunning are tested and tried, so that we may wonder all over again what is veritable & inevitable & true & what it is to become whoever we may be."

Theater, or the RST's idea of theater, centers around this kind of character. We have been overwhelmed that the response to our production of Three Sisters was always very specific: each audience member found his or her entry into the show through a character and invested in the dream of that character, whether it be Irina's idealism, Tuzenbach's dedication to work, or Solyony's dream of becoming Lermontov.

In this brand new year we will strive to keep that theatrical experience alive - one that invites an audience into its world and invents, over and over, a world of ideas and people so strong in their own beliefs and dreams that they incite us to create and recreate our own.