NextStop Theatre to Host The Hub's Season Opener

The Hub Theatre, Northern Virginia's award-winning professional theatre sharing new plays that celebrate our common humanity, is pleased to announce that the first full production of Season 11 will take place at NextStop Theatre this coming Spring.

"After eight seasons, we are parting ways with the New School of Northern Virginia and the John Swayze Theatre. We wish the school nothing but the best, and we are excited to explore new possibilities. We are so grateful to NextStop for hosting our first Season 11 show, and are excited to bring a new experience to our audience and introduce ourselves to members of the greater Fairfax area that may not know us yet. It's been a great process of collaborating with Evan so far and I'm thrilled to bring our work to his house," said The Hub's Artistic Director, Matt Bassett.

Evan Hoffman, Producing Artistic Director of NextStop, had this to say about the partnership: "We are thrilled to be hosting The Hub at NextStop this Spring! I have long held the deepest respect and admiration for the bold and innovative works that The Hub has produced and I am proud to be helping keep their super-talented artists and potent storytelling right here in Fairfax County!"

At NextStop, The Hub proudly welcomes back playwright Philip Dawkins for The Burn, directed by Matt Bassett and running from April 26-May 11, 2019. The Burn is a contemporary examination of The Crucible using social media as its lens. When a high school production of The Crucible forces the school's outsider and her tormentor together, tensions escalate into acts of bullying-both online and IRL. This area-premiere play explores what happens to a teacher and his students when a classroomconflict turns into an online witch-hunt.

Dawkins' previous scripts under Matt Bassett's direction - Failure: A Love Story and The Happiest Place on Earth - were audience favorites that brought The Hub six Helen Hayes Award nominations. The Hub's production of Happiest (directed by Bassett and featuring his wife, company member Tia Shearer) will even enjoy a remount at Aurora Fox Theatre in Colorado this season, partnering Bassett and Shearer with The Hub's founding Artistic Director, Helen Murray (Executive Producer of Aurora Fox), again.

Philip Dawkins is a Chicago playwright and educator whose plays have been performed all over the world. His plays include Failure: A Love Story (Victory Gardens Theater), Le Switch (About Face Theatre, The Jungle), The Homosexuals (About Face Theater), The Burn (Steppenwolf for Young Audiences), Dr.Seuss's The Sneetches, the Musical with composer David Mallamud (Children's Theater Company, Minneapolis) and The Gentleman Caller (Raven Theatre, Chicago; Abingdon Theatre, NY). He received the Joseph Jefferson Award for Best New Work for his plays Charm (Northlight Theatre; MCC) and Miss Marx: Or The Involuntary Side Effect of Living (Strawdog Theatre), as well as the Joseph Jefferson Award for Best Solo Performance for his play, The Happiest Place on Earth (Sideshow Theatre/Greenhouse Theater Center). Philip has been a resident at the Hawthornden Castle International Retreat for Writers in Scotland and the MacDowell Colony in New Hampshire. Philip has taught playwriting at Northwestern University, DePaul University, and his alma mater, Loyola University Chicago. Many of his plays, including his scripts for young performers, are available through Dramatists Play Service, Playscripts, Inc. and Dramatic Publishing. Philip also performs with the French/English bilingual improv group, Frogprov.

Ticketing Information: Tickets on sale now! www.thehubtheatre.org