News

(Queens, NY)— After the recent success of Douglas Lyons’ Chicken and Biscuits, which had just opened at Queens Theatre before the pandemic hit, QT is commissioning Lyons’ latest play, Invisible. Invisible tells the story of lifelong best friends, Eemani and Jade, who decompress one afternoon over a good blunt. Unbeknownst to them the blunt is laced with much more than weed, spiraling the duo into a wild hallucination that allows them to confront the oppressors of the past, dead on. The new play will be developed virtually throughout 2021 in partnership with IAMA Theatre Company and Savannah Repertory Theatre.

“The Fly on the Wall” Series, created to inspire community engagement amidst the Coronavirus shutdown, will afford all three Theatres’ patrons an opportunity to watch Invisible develop from blank page to first draft. Along the way, each Theatre will host a virtual reading of the play in process with actors from their respective communities; culminating in a first draft read with actors from all three companies.

The first two “Fly on the Wall” Series events include: “Meet The Playwright”, Saturday February 13th at 8pm EST/5pm PST, and “The First 20 Pages”, hosted by IAMA Theatre Company Saturday March 13th at 8pm EST/5pm PST. RSVP here.

“Coronavirus has redefined Theatre as we know it,” Douglas Lyons says. “Though our stages may be shut down, our new stories can continue development. From my room, with the support of these three incredible institutions, I look forward to writing my most adventurous play yet. This is a rare opportunity, and I’m ready for the ride.”

Douglas Lyons is an actor, writer, director, composer, and playwright. His most notable writing credits include: Fraggle Rock (Apple TV), Polkadots (Atlantic Theater Company), Chicken and Biscuits (Queens Theatre), Beau (Adirondack Theatre Company) and Five Points now directed by Hamilton’s Andy Blankenbuehler. As an actor Lyons appeared on Broadway in The Original cast of Beautiful and The Book of Mormon.

To get involved with “The Fly on the Wall ” Series, please join our email newsletter: https://queenstheatre.org/join-the-queens-theatre-mailing-list/

Visit Queens Theatre’s YouTube channel to view past performances, and to subscribe. Follow Queens Theatre on Facebook at (www.facebook.com/queenstheatrenyc), Twitter (@QueensTheatre) and Instagram (@QueensTheatre).

About the Theatres

Queens Theatre (QT) is a performing arts center located in Flushing Meadows Corona Park, Queens, NY. Its mission is to provide high quality performances and programs that are accessible to the residents of Queens, the most diverse county in the nation. The Theatre’s work reflects and celebrates its community. QT theatre presents dance companies, produces, presents, and develops new works of theatre, family programming, community engagement events and initiatives, and offers a range of education programs onsite, in schools and in senior centers. In 2016, Queens Theatre launched, and has since expanded, Theatre For All (TFA), a ground-breaking initiative to advance the inclusion of disabled people in the performing arts. Since COVID-19, Queens Theatre has produced a range of digital programming – readings of new plays, wellness checks with performances for seniors, original dance showcases, a Storytellers series, an online round of its TFA training program for Deaf/Disabled actors, and more.

Designated by Playbill as “one of 20 regional houses every theater lover must know,” IAMA is a Los Angeles-based ensemble of artists committed to invigorating live performance for a streaming generation. Through cutting-edge, cool and hyper-modern stories, IAMA is invested in the immediacy of production and strives to bring audiences out of their personal space and into a shared experience. The Ovation award-winning company has seen many plays generated at IAMA travel to off-Broadway, Second Stage and the Roundabout Underground, then go on to be performed regionally and internationally. IAMA members have been featured in numerous critically acclaimed TV shows and films as well as in a vast array of theater and live performances all over the country, including off-Broadway and Broadway. IAMA has been dedicated to developing new plays and musicals by emerging and established playwrights since 2007.

Savannah Rep is South Georgia’s only professional regional theatre and is committed to reflecting its community with thoughtful, expansive productions.