A play about a theater troupe on the run from the black plague in the 1300s? And it’s a comedy? Silverthorne Theater Company brings Pulitzer Prize finalist Jordan Harrison’s acclaimed The Amateurs to Amherst to open its 11th anniversary season.
The Amateurs is a witty and astounding play that asks deep questions about the value of art and creativity in a time of crisis. As the rag-tag troupe at its center races across Europe to outrun the plague, they perform such favorites as “The Seven Deadly Sins” and “Noah’s Flood.” Along the way, these company members interact in ways that feel very contemporary, as we witness their complicated friendships, surprising sexual attractions and playful status games. The Amateurs debuted in New York in 2018, in part as Harrison’s reflection on the AIDS crisis of the 1980s. As we continue to grapple with the fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic, the play has taken on even richer meaning.
Director Gina Kaufmann notes, “I’m excited to share this surprisingly relevant story about people falling in love and making art during a really challenging time. I’m especially fascinated by the central character Hollis and her quest to find the inner truth of the new role she’s working on — Noah’s Wife, just before the flood.”
The Amateurs is the first of two shows in Silverthorne’s summer season. Tony-award winning playwright Branden Jacobs-Jenkins’s The Comeuppance, about a group of thirty-somethings gathering for their 20th high school reunion, will be presented in July. Both The Amateurs and The Comeuppance will be presented at Hampshire College, where Silverthorne returns for our second summer season in residence.
The Amateurs features performances by Ryan Caster, Sabine Denise Jacques, Caleb Koval, Sam Samuels, Mayte Sarmiento, and Patrick Toole. Designers are Carl Bridge (masks), Jensen Glick (costumes), Sabrina Hamilton (lights), Samuel Perry (sound), Alina Tschumakow (props), and Juliana von Haubrich (scenic).
Silverthorne Theater Company presents The Amateurs by Jordan Harrison
Mainstage Theater, Emily Dickinson Hall, Hampshire College
June 13, 14, 19, 20, 21 at 7:30 PM
June 14, 15, 22 at 2:00 PM
Tickets available now at stcamateurs.eventbrite.com
CONTACT: Ezekiel Baskin at silverthornetheater@gmail.com, (413) 213-2435
Our season is made possible by the generous support of the Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts, our sponsors, including Greenfield Cooperative Bank, Florence Bank, and Greenfield Savings Bank, and the Amherst Cultural Council, Pelham Cultural Council, Hadley Cultural Council, and South Hadley Cultural Council, local agencies which are supported by the Mass Cultural Council, a state agency.