Friday-Sunday, April 16-18, 2010
Erickson Theater Off Broadway
Seattle Central Community College
1524 Harvard Ave, Seattle, WA 98122

Witness the birth of potential new works in our first-ever Novel Workshop Series. In the spirit of Book-It’s artists’ collective beginnings, veteran and fledgling adapters will explore potential adaptations that have been “waiting in the wings” and test the plausibility of these novels as future additions to the repertory. Join us for a weekend of one- and two-hour staged-readings of these works-in-progress. Each reading will be followed by a brief moderated discussion. 

Admission is free, but donations will be gratefully accepted at the door. Seating is general admission.

Friday, April 16
     6:00-7:15 p.m.  Jude the Obscure by Thomas Hardy,
                                 Adapted by Mischa Willett and directed by Carol Roscoe

     7:30-8:45 p.m.  Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
                                  Adapted by Barb Lachman and directed by Annie Lareau


Saturday, April 17
     4:00-5:30 p.m.  Ulysses by James Joyce, Rights Pending,
                                  Adapted by Wendy Joseph and directed by Mary Machala

     7:40-10:00 p.m. Border Songs by Jim Lynch
                                  Adapted by Bryan Willis and directed by Jane Jones

Sunday, April 18
     2:00-4:15 p.m  Prairie Nocturne by Ivan Doig
                                  Adapted by Elena Hartwell and directed by Myra Platt

     4:30-5:45 p.m  Explorations in Literary Works Originating from Magazines
                                 Adapted by Daniel Brockley and directed by Makaela Pollock

     7:30-9:45 p.m. Cousin Bette by Honoré de Balzac
                                 Adapted and directed by David Quicksall


Show Descriptions -- Check back all week, we're unveiling one per day!

Jude the Obscure by Thomas Hardy
Adapted by Mischa Willett and directed by Carol Roscoe

When published in 1895, Jude The Obscure sent shock waves of indignation rolling across Victorian England. Thomas Hardy dared to write frankly about sexuality and to indict the institutions of marriage, education, and religion. Jude Fawley is a stonemason with aspirations toward an academic career; his is a tragedy of unfulfilled aims. Full of surprises and disappointments—as Jude moves from priestly ambitions, to an unwise marriage, to a libertine life of love that leads to condemnation and ostracism—Jude The Obscure pulls no punches.

Mischa Willett is a poet and an instructor of English Literature at the University of Washington. He founded the podcast, Poems for the People. Carol Roscoe has appeared on the Book-It mainstage in Persuasion and has directed Chicken Sunday for Book-It All Over.

Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
Adapted by Barb Lachman and directed by Annie Lareau
A new adaptation of this classic story in the Book-It Style™ preserves Lewis Carroll’s rich language and boldly opinionated narration.  Barb Lachman’s creative use of multiple Alices captures the essence of what it is like to be on the cusp of adolescence, craving and fearing adulthood all at once.

Barb Lachman is a veteran of the teacher training program, Bringing Theatre into the Classroom. She is the Theatre Director and teaches English at Shorewood High School. Annie Lareau is Book-It’s Education Director and most recently adapted and played the title role in My Ántonia.

Ulysses by James Joyce, Rights Pending,
Adapted by Wendy Joseph and directed by Mary Machala
Experience James Joyce’s experimental prose, rich characterizations, and broad humor as never before. In Wendy Joseph’s adaptation we are guided by an undergraduate scholar who is attempting to figure out one of the most complex and multi-layered novels of all time, with the assistance and back-talk of Joyce’s characters. This Book-It Style™ adaptation delivers the beauty, magic, and sheer joy of language alongside an epic journey that reaches from Homer’s Odyssey to modern day.

Wendy Joseph is an actor and director, an author of fiction and non-fiction, and a published, award-winning poet. An original Book-It Company member, Mary Machala most recently adapted and directed the critically acclaimed A Confederacy of Dunces.