Larry Loebell

Constitution Center is a stage for timely theater: Living News

You know a play is timely when the director consults newspapers, TV, radio, and the Internet constantly to see if the script needs updating.

Indeed, the Living News production at the National Constitution Center contains scenes on gay marriage, immigration rights, and gun laws that are, as they say, ripped from the headlines.

Living News, which begins its third year Monday, is an ever-changing museum exhibit designed with eighth- to 12th-grade school groups in mind; its $14 ticket price includes pre- and post-production curriculum materials.

The 25-minute play, followed by a half-hour discussion, is written by a team of theater professionals (including Barrymore Award-nominated playwright Larry Loebell), and is aimed at sparking conversation about ordinary individuals and their relationship to the U.S. Constitution.

On October 22, 2009, I  conducted an interview and public conversation with film maker Costa-Gavras on the occasion of his visit to Philadelphia for the showing of his new film Eden is West.  The event was sponsored by the University of the Arts.

A scene from House, Divided was published this fall in Applause Book’s Duo! Best Scenes for Two for the 21st Century.

Girl Science was featured in the Pittsburgh Eco-Drama Festival on October 24, 2009.   The reading was directed by Sam Turich.  The cast was Ingrid Sonnichsen, Gab Cody, James Fitzgerald, and Marc Epstein.  The event was part of the Performance and Ecology initiative sponsored by the Carnegie-Mellon Center for the Arts in Society.