Ancram Opera House presents its theatrical production of the summer, The Plein Air Plays, featuring three original short plays staged at three secret, site-specific locations near the Ancram Opera House. The performances take place August 13th at 5pm & 6p, August 14-15th at 4pm, 5pm, and 6pm.
The Plein Air Plays is a special theatrical event. For it, AOH is commissioning Frank Boyd, seen as part of AOH’s 2020 SUMMER PLAY LAB and The Holler Sessions in 2017; author, actor and activist Celeste Lecesne, creator of award-winning solo performances including The Absolute Brightness of Leonard Pelkey, Word of Mouth and co-founder of The Trevor Project; and playwright-director Georgina Escobar whose work has been produced in NYC at INTAR, Clubbed Thumb, Lincoln Center and Bushwick Starr.
The site-specific works will be presented as a roving performance with audiences traveling by car to each location to experience three self-contained plays in environments relevant to their content. Each location is within a five minute drive from Ancram Opera House, located at 1330 County Route 7, Ancram. Prior to the performance, ticket-buyers will receive instructions as to where to attend the opening act of the program. The entire experience, including the three plays and travel, is expected to last 90 minutes.
The performance will include:
- IN A MILLION YEARS by Georgina Escobar. One August evening, Elena, distraught by the sudden collapse of her marriage, returns to a special place filled with memories from her youth. There, she is catapulted into the past when she relives a promise that was made at that very spot 20 years ago.
- BASEBALL IS DEAD written & performed by Frank Boyd. A post-apocalyptic “Field of Dreams”. A survivor inhabits the ruins of a baseball field, toiling to recreate America’s pastime all by himself. Baseball Is Dead is a portrait of isolation and, above all, a celebration of the strangeness of baseball.
- POOF! written & performed by Celeste Lecesne. Fairies have always enjoyed a close association with the natural world. But with so much of it under threat from climate change, the fairies are not pleased! They are beginning to speak their mind and clamoring to cast a few spells in the days to come.
The August 13-15th performances of The Plein Air Plays are part of AOH AFIELD— a summer season of LIVE, in-person events at outdoor locations across the area made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and the New York State Legislature. The Plein Air Plays has also been funded through a NYSCA Restart NY: Rapid Live Performance Grant.
Ancram Opera House in southern Columbia County is an intimate showcase for fresh, contemporary work by visionary theater and musical artists where audiences can connect with performers in immersive, immediate ways. For more information and the latest details, visit www.ancramoperahouse.org.
The Plein Air Plays
Friday, August 13th at 5pm, and 6pm
Saturday-Sunday, August 14-15th at 4pm, 5pm, 6pm
Rain date: Monday, August 16
Locations vary; all within five minutes of Ancram Opera House, 1330 County Route 7, Ancram
