THEATRE

From March 27 through April 14, Salem Theatre Company will present SPLIT – Tales of Escape, an evening of comic one-acts written by Nikole Beckwith, a native of Newburyport, and directed by Salem resident Gary LaParl.

Playwright Beckwith has developed new works with Gregory S. Moss and Eric Bogosian and made her New York stage debut to critical acclaim in Joshua Conkel's hit play MilkMilkLemonade.

Her original screenplay, Stockholm, Pennsylvania, garnered the prestigious 2012 Nicholl Fellowship in Screenwriting, awarded by The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. She started off 2013 as the first non-UK playwright to be given a writing attachment at The National Theatre Studio in London, where she is currently developing new work.

“The Nicholl Fellowship proclaimed Ms. Beckwith as ‘a fresh new voice of extraordinary profundity’ and we are very proud to present the New England premiere of Ms. Beckwith’s wonderful, inventive one-acts at Salem Theatre Company,” said Fogle. “Her plays all approach the universal theme of identity – discovering who you are and how you fit in the world – and her comic/ironic tone makes her work both enlightening and very entertaining.”

Featured in the cast are Jeff Bellin, Natalie Miller and Will Neely of Salem, Derek Beckwith of Beverly and Julie Cleveland of Gloucester. Designers include John Fogle and Gregory Mancusi-Ungaro of Marblehead (Sets and lighting respectively) and Anna Stenberg of Salem (props).

SPLIT – Tales of Escape is sponsored by Georgette Beck, supported by a grant from the Massachusetts Cultural Council (a state agency) and will have 14 performances over three weeks in the STC Theater at 90 Lafayette Street in Salem from March 27 – April 14. Performances are Wednesday through Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 3:00 p.m. There is no performance on Sunday, March 31. Tickets are $25 for Adults, $20 for Seniors and $10 for Students and are available online at www.salemtheatre.com or by calling Ovation Tix at 866-811-4111. There will be two Name Your Own Ticket Price performances on Wednesday, March 27 and Thursday, March 28 at 7:30 p.m.