New Feathers Productions (NFP) Producers Mandee K. Hammerstein, John Augustine and Sarah LeClair have announced their upcoming season’s first performance, the premiere of “Good Grief” on Sept. 9, by playwright and performer Michelle Best, with direction by Cedric Hill.
The Zlock Performing Arts Center in Newton, Pennsylvania, is a 339-seat theater with state-of-the-art lighting, acoustics and staging.
The New Feathers Production Season runs through January 2022.
“Good Grief,” a one-woman show, delivers audience members through an exploration of life’s unexpected curveballs and worst fears while propelling us to trust in new beginnings and beliefs, according to a release.
Best gives birth to “Good Grief” coincidentally at the very place her parents Joe Best and Kristine McIntyre first met as young college students, where the Zlock theater is located.
“BCCC is very much a part of my origin story and premiering ‘Good Grief’ on these grounds feels full-circle good,” Best said in the statement.
“We’re so happy to begin our reading series with ‘Good Grief’ by Michelle Best and directed by Cedric Hill. Michelle is that amazing combination: a performer that can make you laugh in this moment and then make you cry in the very next beat,” Augustine said in the statement. “And under the direction of the multi-talented Cedric Hill, they are a perfect team to bring this material to life.”
NFP was initially created to represent freedom in thinking and creating.
“While providing a voice and forum to unique, new work that commands to be revealed and experimented with, all to satisfy the appetite of those audiences who seek ground-floor, new forms of theatrical art,” Hammerstein said in the statement. “But now with New Feathers coming back after a time where we’ve all felt ‘caged like a bird,’ this season will be an especially incredible experience, as our season planned is one for celebration on so many, freeing levels.”
She added that she knows they have something special that will resonate with NFP audiences.
“We’re elated to finally get audiences back in our theater and fresh, imaginative talent on our stage. By partnering with NFP, we feel it’s an ideal fit for our supporters, faculty and students at large,” Peter Chiovarou, director of Cultural Programs at Bucks County College and the Zlock Performing Arts Center, said in the statement. “Showcasing talent like Michelle Best, whose origins can be claimed here at BCCC (thanks to her parent’s history), it’s already fantastically ironic.”
He added that as a non-profit performance venue, such successful productions help to increase the benefit to the community and students as a “Hub of Culture” in Bucks County.
With all-season shows starting at 7:30 p.m., the NFP schedule offers two primary ticketing options: General Admission for $20 and a 6 p.m. Pre-Show Reception with reserved theater seats for $30. The Pre-Show Reception includes alcohol, non-alcohol beverages and hors d’oeuvres, according to a release.
Special discounts include seniors over 65, Bucks faculty, staff, alumni and active military, veterans, and Bucks County Arts & Cultural Council members.
In addition, current students receive free admission with valid IDs.
The remaining schedule is:
Oct. 14 at 7:30 p.m.: “Together (Again)”
Nov. 11 at 7:30 p.m.: “Women of a Certain Age: Not Writing about Menopause – A Series of New One Acts ”
Tickets and more information are avaiable at www.bucks.edu/tickets