For Immediate Release
Contact: David Henderson, 860-520-7250
603-921-2935
dhenderson@hartfordstage.org

Hartford Stage to Host Free Panel Discussion on Raising Non-Traditional Families in Connecticut

Discussion Inspired by Caryl Churchill’s Cloud 9

Hartford, CT, February 16, 2017 – Hartford Stage will host a free panel discussion on raising non-traditional families in Connecticut on Monday, February 27, at 7:30 p.m. The discussion is inspired by Caryl Churchill’s landmark play, Cloud 9, which runs at Hartford Stage from Thursday, February 23, through Sunday, March 19.

The panel will be moderated by Hartford Stage Artistic Associate Rachel Alderman. Panelists include Donna Warren, RN, retired STD Program Coordinator for the Gay & Lesbian Health Collective; Julia Rosenblatt, Artistic Director of Hartbeat Ensemble; and Cedric Wesley, a Connecticut public school teacher.

In the final scenes of Cloud 9, the play’s protagonist, Betty, finds herself at a crossroads. The world of Victorian Britain that structured her former life with clearly defined societal roles has crumbled; the world that her children and grandchildren live in seems to lack clear, formal rules. In the intervening nearly four decades since this play was written, how as the definition of the word “family” shifted? Has it shifted at all? Has it shifted enough? This panel discussion will seek to define what makes a family in the modern age.

The panel discussion is free to the public and will begin at 7:30 p.m. at Hartford Stage. A small community vendor fair will also be featured. For more information, contact Theresa MacNaughton, Community Engagement Associate, at (860) 520-7114 or tmacnaughton@hartfordstage.org. RSVP’s are recommended: https://hartfordstage.formstack.com/forms/cloud_9...

Rachel Alderman

Donna Warren

Julia Rosenblatt

Cedric Wesley

HARTFORD STAGE

Now in our 53rd year, Hartford Stage is under the leadership of Artistic Director Darko Tresnjak and Managing Director Michael Stotts. One of the nation’s leading resident theatres, Hartford Stage is known for producing innovative revivals of classics and provocative new plays and musicals, including 73 world and American premieres, as well as offering a distinguished education program, which reaches close to 20,000 students annually.

Since Tresnjak’s appointment in 2011 the theatre has presented the world premieres of A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder on Broadway, winner of four 2014 Tony Awards, including Best Musical and Best Direction of a Musical by Tresnjak; Rear Window with Kevin Bacon; the new musical Anastasia by Terrence McNally, Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens; Quiara Alegría Hudes’ Water by the Spoonful, winner of the 2012 Pulitzer Prize for Drama; Breath & Imagination by Daniel Beaty; Big Dance Theatre’s Man in a Case with Mikhail Baryshnikov; and Reverberation by Matthew Lopez.

Hartford Stage has earned many of the nation’s most prestigious awards, including the 1989 Tony Award for Outstanding Regional Theatre. Other national honors include Outer Critics Circle, Drama Desk, OBIE, and New York Critics Circle awards. Hartford Stage has produced nationally renowned titles, including the New York transfers of Enchanted April; The Orphans' Home Cycle; Resurrection (later retitled Through the Night); The Carpetbagger's Children; and Tea at Five.

The leading provider of theatre education programs in Connecticut, Hartford Stage’s offerings include student matinees, in-school theatre residencies, teen performance opportunities, theatre classes for students (ages 3-18) and adults, afterschool programs and professional development courses.

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