BELLOWS FALLS, Vt. – Wild Goose Players, under the leadership of artistic director David Stern, is opening a new 40-seat black-box studio where live shows will be performed in an intimate theatrical setting.
The inaugural production in the space will be “Year One,” opening in September. The dark, gritty drama follows a family struggling against the rise of authoritarianism, and is written and directed by Chicago playwright Erik Gernand. With a theme of hope against the odds, this is the play’s second production, following a successful run in New Jersey in 2021 that The Star-Ledger in Newark called, “A compelling dive into extremism’s creep…It leaves audiences with the difficult task of recognizing the seeds of evil concealed in otherwise perfectly pleasant people.”
The show features five regional actors, and will be produced in a round with only a single row of seating. “The 40 audience members will be mere feet from the action,” said Gernand, who also teaches dramatic writing at Northwestern University. “You’ll intensely feel every moment of the story.”
Stern, who has directed numerous productions across the region, and is currently in rehearsal on the Stephen Sondheim musical “Merrily We Roll Along,” opening in November at Next Stage in Putney, is hopeful that the expansion of the black-box space will create more opportunities for future productions.
“We staged ‘Fiddler on the Roof’ in March at the Opera House with more than 500 seats,” said Stern. “A number of those same actors will now perform in “Year One,” a few doors down the street in a space the size of a large living room. It speaks to the talent and malleability of our artistic collaborators to tell a compelling story anywhere.”
Performances of “Year One” will be from Sept. 13-15, and Sept. 20-22 – Fridays, at 7:30 p.m.; Saturdays, at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.; and Sundays, at 2 p.m. Shows will take place at Wild Goose Players, 13 Westminster Street in Bellows Falls.
Tickets can be purchased at www.wildgooseplayers.com/tickets.