ALBANY—Harbinger Theatre will present Exit Strategy by Ike Holter with direction by Dennis Skiba at Albany Barn, 56 2nd Street in Arbor Hill. The dates of the show are June 16, 17, 18, 23, 24, and 25, and all shows begin at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $15 and can be purchased on the Eventbrite website, and all teachers are eligible for $10 tickets, available at the door or by email reservation at harbingertheatrealbany@gmail.com. There will be Q&A sessions after each Friday show, and unvaccinated guests will need to wear masks. 

“The teachers of Tumbldn are not just people in front of their students, they are the ‘friends’ of, they care, and they struggle also against the norms of a system that rules, but yet is broken. These teachers fight because of their love for educating our future,” said Skiba. “It has been so rewarding to work with this tremendous, dynamic cast, and they continue to grow with confidence as they further explore the characters that they will bring to life next month at the Albany Barn.”

The teachers of Tumbldn High School don’t live in an inspirational teacher movie. They bring mouse traps from home, they make the toilet paper last, and they show up for the kids nobody else shows up for. So, when the school is slated for closure at the end of the year, and the weight of the inevitable bears down on the community, students and teachers discover their breaking points. Ricky, the vice principal, has stayed firmly on the sidelines for all of the teachers’ previous battles, but now in the eleventh hour, he’s compelled to step up with a plan to save the school. Spiked with humor and brimming with fury, Exit Strategy is an exhilarating call to arms about what we owe each other. 

Harbinger Theatre has been recognized by the Troy Record as “The newest theater organization in the area is the most prolific as well as one of the most challenging in terms of material.” Their ambition is to bring underproduced plays to Capital Region audiences and to create a space for local actors who are eager for more impactful work. Since December, the theatre company has produced four plays garnering raves, welcoming over 1,000 audience members between all of the shows. The Christians by Lucas Hnath was the inaugural play under the production company name. Other shows include: Hurricane Diane by Madeleine George, Admissions by Joshua Harmon, and Destroying David by Jason Odell Williams.