The New Seattle
April 25, 27 & 28
The New Seattle by Cory Skurdal
This original play, a world premiere, by Columbus playwright, Cory Skurdal, tells the story of an elderly woman who is looking back on her life as she prepares to leave the home she has lived in, not always happily, for most of her life. She recalls her often challenging relationships with her parents, her sister, her former husband, her son, and her daughter. In examining her memories, she achieves a welcome degree of acceptance and peace. The New Seattle is a lightly fictionalized exploration of the playwright’s family history and of his mother’s life and experiences. The playwright, through the creation of this piece, has, like his main character, also achieved a welcome degree of acceptance and peace.
The New Seattle, directed by Pamela Hill and performed by Catherine Cryan, Jacob Erney, Kelsey Hopkins, and Mikayla Myers, runs approximately 90 minutes without an intermission. Talk-backs with the playwright, director, and cast will be held after the Saturday and Sunday matinee performances.
Presenting Sponsors: Robin and Peter Hersha
Additional support provided by: The WLZPA Foundation Courtesy of Shaun and Jennifer Brown, Columbus Museum of Art, Greater Columbus Arts Council, and The Tipping Point Theatre Co.
Tickets
We are excited to host three showtimes for The New Seattle.
Tickets are $20 for members, $25 for nonmembers.
This program has special college student discounted tickets, $5 for members, $10 for nonmembers.
Thursday, April 25
7:00–8:30 PM
Saturday, April 27
2:00–3:30 PM
Sunday, April 28
2:00–3:30 PM
Behind the Scenes
Cory Skurdal is a Columbus, Ohio playwright. He has written more than thirty plays. His first, Catspaw (1999 Jewel Box Theatre Playwriting Award) was produced in Oklahoma City in 2001. In 2014, Cory received the CATCO/Greater Columbus Arts Council Playwriting Fellowship for Sticks & Stones. Sticks & Stones was produced in 2016 by CATCO and Evolution Theatre Company. Other Columbus productions include Abundant Life and Catspaw at Original Productions Theatre, The Present Moment, Consider the Source, A Point of Diminishing Returns, and The Body Politic at Evolution Theatre Company, Adeste Fideles at MadLab, Saudade (Curtain Players staged reading), and Yuletide Ennui Beside the Sea, and Attendance is Mandatory. Cory’s suspense play, See No Evil, will be produced by Original Productions Theatre in October 2024. Cory is a member of the Dramatists Guild, the New Play Exchange (NPX), and the Central Ohio Theatre Roundtable. Website: coryskurdal.com.
Pamela Hill (Director) has directed over 125 shows across the country. Some of her favorite recent shows are The Mousetrap (Wittenberg University), The Miser (Actors’ Theatre), She Loves Me (Gallery Players), Always…Patsy Cline (Best Musicals Connecticut 2019, Broadway World nominee), Lend Me a Tenor (Music Theatre of Connecticut—Best Plays Connecticut 2022), Clybourne Park (MTC—Best Plays Connecticut 2023), Dracula (Best Director Broadway World nominee—Columbus Children’s Theatre) and The Gypsy Woman (Muskingum University—Kennedy Center ACTF Certificate of Merit 2021).
Catherine Cryan (Elder Willa) is a BFA graduate of The Ohio State University. She made her living as an itinerant actor before tiring of life on the road. She returned to Columbus and got involved with CATCO and Ken Erney. After a hiatus to raise her daughters, she has been delighted to work with many local theatre groups and talented folks all around town. Cat is a Founding Mother of The Tipping Point Theatre Co, dedicated to productions that tip the scales in favor of equality for all, and is a dancer with The Perennials. Love to Ken et al.
Jacob Erney (Johnny/Jeremy) is ecstatic to collaborate with Cory, Pam, and an amazing cast in the premiere of The New Seattle! Recent shows include Our Town (Abbey Theatre of Dublin) (Constable Warren), The Inheritance (Evolution Theatre Company) (Jasper/Paul/Man #7), 40 Acres (Original Productions Theatre) (Warden/Man 1), Intimate Apparel (Gallery Players) (Mr. Marks), Airness (Red Herring) (Shreddy Eddy), and Queen Margaret (Actors’ Theatre) (Somerset/Richard III). Jacob is a 2021 CWRU acting and studied at LAMDA in London, UK. Jacob thanks his friends, family (especially his phenomenally talented aunt and cast-mate, Cat Cryan), amazing coworkers, and especially his dog. Play on!
Kelsey Hopkins (Younger Willa/Ann). Favorite Regional credits include: POTUS, The Taming, 9 to 5, Heathers, As you Like It, Dracula, Women Who Know: A Witch Play, August Osage County, Into the Woods, and C.A.M.P.Y Columbus Productions. Receiving her BFA in Acting (Musical Theatre) from Wright State University, backed by the Tom Hanks Scholarship, Kelsey went on to live and work in NYC and traveled nationwide as an actor before returning to her hometown of Columbus where she works as an acting coach and local theatre artist. Thank you for supporting local Columbus Theatre! www.KCHopkins.com
Mikayla Myers (Karin)is originally from Ashland, Ohio and recently graduated from Boston Conservatory with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Musical Theatre with an emphasis in directing. Some of her most recent credits include Transgression, a new opera, at Bluegrass Opera and Music Theatre in Lexington, KY, Songs For a New World at SpeakEasy Stage Company in Boston, MA, and a reading of Women Laughing Alone With Salad at Provincetown Theatre in Provincetown, MA. In a few months, Mikayla is planning on following her wildest dreams and moving just outside of New York City!
