For its first production under its new moniker, the Idyllwild Actors Theatre stages Pulitizer Prize-nominee Theresa Rebeck’s provocative comedy, “Seminar.”
Presented as a staged reading, with sets, costumes and props, “Seminar” stars IAT Artistic Director Howard Shangraw as Leonard, an internationally famous writer who mentors aspiring young novelists in private writing classes. Charging $5,000 to each student, Leonard employs reckless and unorthodox instructional techniques that motivate some and destroy others.
Directed by IAT founder and President Suzanne Avalon, “Seminar” has been described as a biting Broadway comedy in which innocence collides with experience, where alliances are made and broken, sex is used as a weapon and hearts are unmoored.
Featuring Meg Wolf, Mark Taylor, Jacob Teel and Celeste Oliva, “Seminar” promises a riveting and rocky ride with scintillating and salacious wordplay. “Leonard doesn’t hold back,” said Avalon. “It’s not what you want to hear as a student when you’re paying $5,000. It’s character driven and very funny. This is for mature audiences only. It’s fully staged. They just happen to be carrying scripts in their hands.”
“Seminar” plays at 7:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, May 23 and 24, at the Rainbow Inn, 54420 S. Circle Drive in Idyllwild. There is a reception prior to curtain on both evenings at 7 p.m. Tickets are $15. For more information, including the upcoming IAT season, visit www.idyllwildactorstheatre.com or call 951-692-9553.
