Tagged: actors theatre of louisville

This week on our audio diary series "The Big Break," Louisville Ballet trainee Claire Horrocks sees the cast list for "The Nutcracker" and learns her new choreography for the familiar show. Actors Theatre apprentice Samantha Beach sits in on rehearsal for "True West," where she discovers a hidden talent, and Kentucky Opera studio artist Brad Raymond takes "Tosca" on the road.

Adam Rapp is no stranger to Actors Theatre of Louisville. Several of his plays have made their world premieres at the Humana Festival of New American Plays (the most recent, "The Edge of Our Bodies," opened in 2011), debut productions which Rapp has also directed. In fact, his directing career has focused on new plays, but when artistic director Les Waters invited him to direct a production of Sam Shepard's 1980 play "True West" this season, he took the challenge. 

Given the sheer numbers every Christmas movie is up against, it's a wonder any of them end up in the holiday canon. We know and love "It's a Wonderful Life" and "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation," and it seems as though "Love, Actually" has inched its way into new holiday classic territory, but what of "The Star Wars Holiday Special" or, indeed, most of the fourth quarter content on the Hallmark Channel? There's a lot of noise to cut through, but if a holiday movie makes it to the top with "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer" and "Miracle on 34th Street," it stays there. 

Actors Theatre of Louisville has announced the lineup for the 37th annual Humana Festival of New American Plays. The festival opens February 27 and runs through April 7. With the exception of the commissioned apprentice anthology, the full-length world premieres are all written by playwrights making their Humana Festival debuts. 

For a live interview with Actors Theatre literary manager Sarah Lunnie on this year's Humana Festival selections, tune in to 89.3 FM Monday at 1:30 p.m.