the Local Lab staged reading of
STOCKADE
Produced by Roundabout Theatre Company in partnership with Local*
Playwright sponsors: Lari & Tom Abraham
written by
ANDREW ROSENDORF
directed by
PESHA RUDNICK
***
Date + Location TBA
SYNOPSIS
Before they’re deployed overseas to fight in World War II, six Americans from different backgrounds, cultures, hometowns, and races meet and become fast friends, drawn together by the one thing they have in common: they’re all gay. Despite fighting for freedom and human rights abroad, back home they’re viewed as a danger to society and as closet Communists, forcing them to live in the shadows to avoid anti-gay discrimination. Now, five years after the war has ended, the sister of their fallen buddy has gathered them for a reunion and a surprise that causes them to question whether history is best left in the past. At a time when “security risk” was code for “homosexual,” on the eve of the launch of Sputnik, it will take courage to step out of the shadows and launch something equally historic: a movement for gay rights.
CREATIVE TEAM
ANDREW ROSENDORF
Playwright
Andrew Rosendorf's work has been produced or developed at La Jolla, MCC, KC Rep, Signature Theatre, the National New Play Network, American Theater Company, Nashville Rep, City Theatre, Geva Theatre, Actor’s Express, Curious Theatre Company, and Local Theater Company. He is the recipient of an Edgerton Foundation New American Play Award, a Venturous Theater Fund Grant, and a MAP Fund Grant for Refuge, which he co-created with Satya Jnani Chávez. He is an alum of NNPN’s Playwright-in-Residence program, the Ingram New Works program, terraNOVA Collective’s Groundbreakers Playwrights Group, and has been a SPACE on Ryder Farm, Tofte Lake Center, VCCA, and MacDowell Colony Fellow. He was a previous McKnight and Jerome Fellow at the Playwrights’ Center. He is a current Core Writer with the Playwrights’ Center and an Associate Artist with Local Theater Company. He is currently in development on a television pilot with Amblin at Peacock.
PESHA RUDNICK
Director
Pesha Rudnick is the founding artistic director of Local Theater Company in Boulder, CO, where she pursues the company’s mission to discover and develop new American plays. For Local Theater Company, Pesha directed twenty new works including the world premiere productions of Paper Cut (Colorado Theater Guild winner Best New Play) by Andrew Rosendorf, Discount Ghost Stories: Songs from the Rockies music and lyrics by Alexander Sage Oyen, Book by Rob Wright and Pesha Rudnick; Elijah: An Adventure by Michael Mitnick (Colorado Theater Guild Nomination Best New Play), Faith by James McLindon (Colorado Theater Guild nomination Best New Play), The Firestorm by Meridith Friedman (Colorado Theater Guild nomination Best New Play). Pesha curated the digital series “Living Room Local” in 2020 and the past ten annual new play festivals, Local Lab.
CARLYN AQUILINE
Dramaturg
Carlyn Aquiline has contributed new play and production dramaturgy at City Theatre Company (Pittsburgh), Syracuse Stage, Goodspeed Musicals, Tectonic Theater Project, Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM), Mark Taper Forum, Arena Stage, La Jolla Playhouse, Kansas City Repertory, Hartford Stage, Yale Repertory Theatre, Arden Theatre, Olney Theatre, American Theatre Company, Luna Stage, Florida Stage, TheatreWorks (Palo Alto), Actor’s Express, Local Theatre Company, The Microscopic Opera Company, The Playwrights’ Center, and Lark Play Development Center. Carlyn is also an affiliated dramaturg with Working Title Playwrights, was a research consultant for an award-winning documentary filmmaker, served on the editorial advisory committee of the LMDA Review, and edited articles and plays by numerous distinguished critics and artists when she was managing editor of Theater magazine. She’s been on faculty at Syracuse University and Columbia University, and currently teaches at Carnegie Mellon University’s School of Drama. Honors include the Frankel Award (for outstanding contributions to new play creation) and grants and fellowships from LMDA, Alcoa Foundation, Educational Foundation of America, Ella Lyman Cabot Trust, Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, and Pennsylvania Council on the Humanities. MFA Dramaturgy, Yale School of Drama.
BETTY HART
Post-Show Facilitator
Betty has acted in Local Lab and has facilitated audience conversatioons and salons for Local Theater Company. In 2020, Betty directed Josh Kroenig’s Vroom Vroom for Local Lab, which audiences never saw due to the theatre wide shut down. In June 2021, Betty directed the one person play An Iliad for Creede Repertory Theatre (CRT) and in spring, directed a virtual offering of To the Moon by Beth Kander for CRT as well. In spring of 2021, Betty directed an original devised theatrical film for the University of Northern Colorado called 2020 Speaks. Upcoming projects include directing Polaroid Stories for Metropolitan State University, By the way, Meet Vera Stark for the Fine Arts Center at Colorado College, Once on this Island for Town Hall Arts Center and Blackademics for Vintage Theatre. In November of 2020, Betty gave a Ted Talk on compassion culture instead of cancel culture. You can view the talk here: go.ted.com/bettyhart
LOCAL THEATER COMPANY TEAM
Founding Artistic Director - Pesha Rudnick
Producer - Misha S. Zimmerman
Associate Artistic Director & Marketing Manager & Local Lab 11 Co-Director - Nick Chase
Development & Business Affairs - Alison Palmer
Local Lab 11 Co-Director - Betty Hart
Marketing Associate - Kevin Douglas
Resident Dramaturg - Jordan Lichtenheld
Land Acknowledgement
Every community owes its existence and vitality to generations from around the world that contributed their hopes, dreams and energy to making the history that led to this moment. Some of the people from the history of this spot were brought here against their will, some were drawn to leave their distant homes in hope of a better life and some have lived on this land for more generations than can be counted. Truth and acknowledgment are critical to building mutual respect and connection across all barriers of heritage and difference. We begin this effort to acknowledge what has been buried by honoring the truth.
Local Theater Company acknowledges, with deep respect, that we are located on the traditional and ancestral homelands of the Ute, Cheyenne and Arapaho Nations and Peoples. We pay respect to their elders both past and present. We ask that you consider the many legacies of violence, displacement, migration and settlement that bring us here today.
Appearing through an Agreement between Local Theater Company and Actors' Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States.
