Andrus Nichols and Kate Hamill Announce Inaugural Season of the Coop

The Coop, a new theater company founded by artistic director Andrus Nichols (Sense & Sensibility) and playwright-in-residence Kate Hamill (Little Women), has announced its inaugural 2019-20 season.

The season will kick off with the world premiere of Terra Firma, a new play by Barbara Hammond, directed by Shana Cooper. It is described as follows: "Inspired by a real life event, Terra Firma is set in a not-so-distant Beckettian future, years after a conflict known as The Big War, where a tiny kingdom wrestles with the problems of running a nation, and spars with different concepts of what makes a citizen, a country and a civilization." Terra Firma will begin previews at the Rose Nagelberg Theatre at the Baruch Performing Arts Center on September 27, ahead of an opening night on October 10, and run through November 10.

And in the spring of 2020, James Dean Palmer will direct a new production of Anton Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard. The full cast, creative team, and production dates will be announced later.

Also, currently in development is The Piper, a new play by Kate Hamill that will be her first original contemporary play. It is described as follows: "In The Piper, a woman in crisis stumbles into Harmonix…a spiritual practice that makes you feel good — better than you've ever felt before. With Harmonix, you belong. With Harmonix, you are loved…but at what cost? The Piper explores the darkest parts of human (or inhuman?) nature in this boundary-crossing examination of how groupthink enables cycles of toxic masculinity." Production details will be announced shortly.