The Sauk To Produce Award-Winning World Premiere

The American Association of Community Theatre (AACT) is pleased to announce The Sauk of Jonesville, Michigan, has been selected to participate in AACT NewPlayFest as a Producing Theatre.

Keeping in line with the AACT mission of providing support and resources to community theatres, AACT NewPlayFest addresses the critical need for new, high-quality plays for community theatre audiences around the globe.

With AACT NewPlayFest the winning playwrights see their plays produced by an established theatre and published by Dramatic Publishing Company in an anthology. The Sauk is one of only six theatres in the nation recently selected to receive this honor. As a Producing Theatre, The Sauk will choose the play to produce from the final selected scripts. Playwrights have submitted their original scripts, and selected reviewers are currently choosing the finalists.

Started in 1961 as the "Broad Street Players," the organization purchased the former Jonesville Opera House in 1971 and converted it into what is now the Sauk Theatre. The Sauk, also known as Hillsdale Community Theatre, produces a five-show mainstage and a three-show SaukSeconds season and hosts a local improvisational troupe and a professional Shakespeare company annually. Each summer, Plays-in-Development readings are produced; a program created in 2015 to give local playwrights an opportunity to workshop their plays. The program expanded nationally and, in 2018, internationally. New plays are also presented as part of the annual Sauk Shorts, an evening of 10-minute plays. In addition, local schools and a local children's theatre company use the theatre for their productions. An annual series of workshops is offered ranging in topics from stage combat, to improv, to understanding Shakespeare's texts. The Sauk is located at 240 E Chicago Street in Jonesville, Michigan. Theatre and box office information can be found at thesauk.org/

Producing Theatres receive the recognition and publicity that come with premiering a national award-winning play, the experience of working directly with the playwright, the honor of introducing an award-winning playwright to their community, and the distinction of having a direct impact on the future of the play. In addition to The Sauk, the selected Producing Theatres for AACT NewPlayFest 2020 are: Boise Little Theater in Boise, Idaho; Manatee Performing Arts Center in Bradenton, Florida; Phoenix Stage Company in Oaksville, Connecticut; Rover Dramawerks in Plano, Texas; and Tacoma Little Theatre in Tacoma, Washington. The winning plays will be produced by the Producing Theatres between February 2019 and July 2020.

AACT NewPlayFest 2020 is made possible in part by a grant from the Jack K. Ayre and Frank Ayre Lee Theatre Foundation. Producing Theatres receive funding from the Jack K. Ayre and Frank Ayre Lee Theatre Foundation to bring the playwright to the theatre for a work-shopping session and to attend the opening night, and to assist the theatre with production and marketing costs.

AACT NewPlayFest has proven to be a great success with original plays being produced as world premieres across the country: six in 2014, seven in 2016, and six plays currently being produced as part of AACT NewPlayFest 2018. Visit aact.org/newplayfest to see information on winning plays and their productions. The winning plays are available to be produced through Dramatic Publishing Company following the AACT NewPlayFest world premiere productions. Visitdramaticpublishing.com for information on producing these new works.

AACT's mission is to Help Theatres Thrive by providing networking, resources, and support for America's theatres. AACT represents the interests of more than 7,000 theatres across the United States and its territories, as well as theatre companies with the U.S. Military Services overseas.