(HACKETTSTOWN, NJ) -- Centenary Stage Company’s Great Authors Out Loud Series returns with a staged reading of Anton Chekhov’s The Seagull. This staged reading will take place on Saturday, October 16 at 2:00 pm in the Sitnik Theatre of the Lackland Performing Arts Center. This event is free to attend, and advanced reservations require a $5.00 donation.  

Anton Chekhov’s The Seagull tells the story of famed actress Arkadina who visits her family with her young lover Trigorin in tow. They become ensnared in a tragicomic tangle of romance, intrigue, and unrequited love. This staged reading will be directed by and starring Anne Occhiogrosso and Randall Duk Kim. Filling out the rest of the cast are returning Centenary Stage Company favorites, including Stephen Davis, Emaline Williams, Nick Bettens, Emily Elizabeth Bennett, David Sitler, Carl Wallnau, Colleen Wallnau, Ozborn Focht, and Kylah Wilson. 

For over 40 years, Randall Duk Kim and Anne Occhiogrosso have devoted their lives to the classical theatre through acting, directing, teaching, commissioning new translations of classical works, and developing a singular approach to classical text interpretation which combines research, training, and productions. This life-long dedication to classical theatre led to their founding the American Players Theatre in Spring Green, WI in 1979 along with their founding partner Charles J. Bright, now deceased. This was the only professional, outdoor classical theatre company with a rotating repertory in America at the time. Under their combined leadership, American Players Theatre received a Tony Award nomination in 1985 for “Outstanding Regional Theatre in America”. 

As creators of the Centenary Stage Company series “Great Authors Out Loud”, Kim and Occhiogrosso have offered many readings from a wide variety of authors. Previous readings include works by Edgar Allen Poe, Mark Twain, Dorothy Parker, and James Thurber, as well as classical theatre playwrights William Shakespeare, Sophocles, Moliere, Chekhov, and Ibsen. The Great Authors Out Loud series offers education through entertainment and has drawn a loyal and enthusiastic following since 2012. 

This installment if the Great Authors Out Loud series is dedicated to Liz Gordon. A staunch supporter of the Great Authors Out Loud Series, Centenary Stage Company programming, and beloved advisory board member.  

The reading of Anton Chekhov’s The Seagull will take place on Saturday, October 16 at 2:00 pm in the Sitnik Theatre of the Lackland Performing Arts Center at 715 Grand Ave, Hackettstown, NJ 07840. This event is free to attend, and advanced reservations require a $5.00 donation. More information can be found on-line at centenarystageco.org or by phone by calling the Centenary Stage Company box office at (908) 979-0900.  

For more information or to reserve visit centenarystageco.org or call the Centenary Stage Company box office at (908) 979 – 0900.  The Centenary Stage Company box office is open Monday through Friday from 1 – 5 PM and two hours prior to all performances.  The box office is located in the Lackland Performing Arts Center on the campus of Centenary University at 715 Grand Ave. Hackettstown, NJ.  

Centenary Stage Company remains committed to the health and safety of our community and adheres to all requirements set forth by the State of New Jersey.  For more information regarding CSC COVID-19 policies and policy updates, visit centenarystageco.org/faq. 

The 2021-22 season of performing arts events at the Centenary Stage Company is made possible through the generous support of the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, the NJ State Council on the Arts, the Shubert Foundation, the Blanche and Irving Laurie Foundation, the Sandra Kupperman Foundation, the John and Margaret Post Foundation, and CSC corporate sponsors, including Platinum Season Sponsor The House of the Good Shepherd, Silver Sponsors Hackettstown Medical Center Atlantic Health System, Home Instead Senior Care (Washington), and Fulton Bank, and Centenary Stage Company members and supporters.