The NNPN Rolling World Premiere of DOUBLEWIDE by Stephen Spotswood Kicks Off at Florida Repertory Theatre April 11

Washington, D.C. - The National New Play Network, the country's alliance of nonprofit theaters that champions the development, production, and continued life of new plays, celebrates the opening of Doublewide by Stephen Spotswood, its 66th Rolling World Premiere. Associate Member Florida Repertory Theatre (Ft. Myers) opens the lead production of the Roll on April 11, which runs through May14. Core Member Florida Studio Theatre (Sarasota, FL) follows from August 2-20, and Associate Members Vermont Stage (Burlington; January 24-February 11, 2018) and Williamston Theatre (MI; March 22-April 22, 2018) close the RWP in early 2018. Doublewide was a finalist for the 2016 National Showcase of New Plays and was selected for Florida Rep’s 2016 PlayLab Festival of New Works.

In an NNPN Rolling World Premiere, the Network provides production support to the playwright and the partnering theaters, including assistance with the creation and the contracting of the premiere agreement, collaborative interactions between the theaters, and travel and housing funds for the playwright to further develop the play in each city.

ABOUT DOUBLEWIDE

Jim Starkey's version of the American Dream is a modest one: to build a home on his one-acre plot of land, replacing his doublewide trailer with something his daughter, Lorelai, can eventually inherit. When a highway expansion project threatens that plan, Jim finds himself reluctantly thrust into the public eye. Meanwhile, Lorelai is trying to discover what she wants her own future to look like. Will it look like her parents' or something very different? And will the world let her have a choice in the matter? When a tragic accident throws a shadow over the family's future, Jim is left to wonder what happened to his now-broken dream, while Lorelai is left to build her own future out of the pieces.

ABOUT STEPHEN SPOTSWOOD

Stephen Spotswood is a DC-based playwright, educator, and journalist, and received his MFA in Playwriting from Catholic University in 2009. Other produced works include: Girl in the Red Corner (The Welders); The Last Burlesque (Pinky Swear Productions); Walking The City Of Silence And Stone (Forum Theatre); In The Forest, She Grew Fangs (defunkt Theatre, Washington Rogues); We Tiresias (Best Drama, Capital Fringe Festival 2012); When the Stars Go Out (Bright Alchemy Theatre); Sisters of Ellery Hollow; The Resurrectionist King (Active Cultures Theatre); Off A Broken Road (Imagination Stage); and A Cre@tion Story for Naomi (Bright Alchemy). He is part of Forum Theatre’s artist ensemble and a member of the current generation of The Welders playwrights' collective. playwrightsteve.com

ABOUT FLORIDA REPERTORY THEATRE

Celebrating 19 years of Award-Winning Regional Theatre, Florida Repertory Theatre is a fully professional theatre company that The Wall Street Journal has repeatedly called "One of America's Top Repertory Companies!" Florida Rep produces a wide variety of comedies, dramas, musicals, and new works and brings more than 80,000 people to the Fort Myers River District annually. In addition to its work on stage as a regional theatre company, Florida Rep has very active and vital education department that reaches over 27,000 young people every year. Florida Rep began nurturing playwrights and new works in 2014, and is now planning its 4th annual PlayLab Festival of New Plays. The NNPN Rolling World Premiere of Doublewide is the third play Florida Rep has chosen from its reading festival to receive a world premiere or second production. In 2015, Split in Three by Daryl Lisa Fazio received is world premiere and in 2016 Florida Rep gave a first regional premiere to The Dingdong by Mark Shanahan. floridarep.org

ABOUT FLORIDA STUDIO THEATRE

Known as Sarasota’s Contemporary Theatre, Florida Studio Theatre was founded in 1973 by Artist Jon Spelman. Starting out as a small touring company, FST traveled to places such as migrant camps and prisons. The company then acquired the former Woman’s Club building, becoming the first permanent venue. Shortly after Producing Artistic Director Richard Hopkins arrived, the building was purchased and renamed The Keating Theatre. In the years that followed, Florida Studio Theatre established itself as a major force in American Theatre, now reaching over 200,000 attendees each year, presenting contemporary theatre in its five theatre venues: the Keating Theatre, the Gompertz Theatre, the Parisian style Goldstein Cabaret and John C. Court Cabaret, and Bowne’s Lab Theatre. 

Even with its growth, Florida Studio Theatre remains firmly committed to making the arts accessible and affordable to a broad-based audience.  FST develops theatre that speaks to our living, evolving, and dynamically changing world.  As FST grows and expands, it continues to provide audiences with challenging, contemporary drama and innovative programs. floridastudiotheatre.org

ABOUT VERMONT STAGE

Vermont Stage is Burlington's only year-round, professional, theatre company. Founded in 1994, the company has produced over 100 shows and is known for staging the most prestigious, adventurous, and entertaining plays emerging nationally; fulfilling the city's need for a vibrant, innovative, theatre with productions created by and for members of its community. vermontstage.org

ABOUT WILLIAMSTON THEATRE

The Williamston Theatre’s mission is to produce professional theatre that excites and engages our audiences while challenging us all to explore our lives. This mission statement is supported by the following objectives: to be an integral part of the cultural fabric of Michigan; to pursue innovative collaboration in every aspect of our work; to establish a home for Midwest artists; to engage audiences of diverse ages, cultures and economic backgrounds. williamstontheatre.org