Actors Theatre of Indiana (ATI) will welcome Pulitzer Prize, TONY and Olivier Award nominee Lee Blessing for ATI’s TheatreLab No. 2 on Nov. 13, 2021 at The Studio Theater within The Center for the Performing Arts in Carmel.
Blessing
ATI will present a reading of Blessing’s newest play The Family Line. This is a Saturday afternoon matinee, taking place at 2 p.m.
If you’ve never had an opportunity to see a reading of a new work, this is an excellent opportunity to do so from a highly regarded playwright. Those in attendance will be able to give feedback directly to the playwright as Lee Blessing will be in attendance for the reading and a moderated talk back immediately following the presentation.
In this new drama, the main character, Finn, has just lost his mother suddenly due to COVID-19. He is a mixed-race 15-year-old who must now be transported to his estranged father. No one dares fly, so Finn’s white grandfather, Jonah, whom he’s never met, is tasked with making the nonstop, cross-country drive. They spend 24 hours together, each getting to know a perfect stranger at the most imperfect time. Will they find common ground? Will they get there at all? Are they a family in name only, or something more?
Lee Blessing is the author of A Walk in the Woods, Two Rooms, Eleemosynary, Going to St. Ives, A Body of Water and nearly 40 other plays. His work has been performed worldwide and has been nominated for Tony and Olivier awards, as well as the Pulitzer Prize. Along with Outer Critics Circle, Drama Desk, Humanitas and L.A. Critics Association Awards, his work has twice won the Steinberg/American Theater Critics Association Award.
Recent plays include For the Loyal, Minneapolis/St. Paul and Tea with the Boss. Other notable plays by Blessing are Down the Road, Great Falls, Independence, Cobb, Fortinbras and Patient A.
For a dozen years, Blessing headed the Graduate Playwriting Program at Mason Gross School of the Arts, Rutgers University. He lives in Los Angeles where he curates the SkyLab writers group for Skylight Theatre Company. He is married to fellow playwright and TV writer/producer Melanie Marnich.
This production is rated PG-13 for language. Tickets are available at atistage.org or by calling the Box Office at The Center for the Performing Arts at (3170 843-3800.