Flat Earth Theatre Ventures South in Gripping Historical Drama: TERRA NOVA by Ted Tally

WHAT: Flat Earth Theatre presents TERRA NOVA, the stirring tragedy of Captain Robert Falcon Scott’s ill-fated expedition to Antarctica, written by Silence of the Lambs’ Academy Award–winning screenwriter, Ted Tally.

WHEN: Two weeks only: Friday, February 20th @ 8pm; Saturday, February 21st @ 8pm; Sunday, February 22nd @ 2pm; Thursday, February 26th @ 8pm; Friday, February 27th @ 8pm; and Saturday, February 28th @ 8pm

WHERE: The Arsenal Center for the Arts, Black Box Theatre, 321 Arsenal Street, Watertown, MA, 02472

TICKETS: $20 in advance; $25 at the door; $10 student rush; flatearth.ticketleap.com/terra-nova/

WATERTOWN, MA (January 12, 2015) - Flat Earth Theatre presents TERRA NOVA, the stirring tragedy of Captain Robert Falcon Scott’s ill-fated expedition to Antarctica, written by Silence of the Lambs’ Academy Award–winning screenwriter, Ted Tally. This tragic tale of pride and privilege will run February 20th – 28th, and is directed by Flat Earth founding member Jake Scaltreto (Reader, Copenhagen, Bug). TERRA NOVA begins Flat Earth’s 2015 season “Progress and Peril,” stories of scientific progress and the lives it has ruined, which will also feature Aaron Sorkin’s THE FARNSWORTH INVENTION (Summer 2015) and D.W. Gregory’s RADIUM GIRLS (Fall 2015).

Captain Robert Falcon Scott, famed English explorer, has driven his team to the bottom of the earth. Patriotism and confidence urge them achingly forward through nature’s coldest, most inhospitable environment in a harrowing race to be the first in history to step foot on the South Pole. Crestfallen to discover that a rival expedition has preceded them there, the British team retreats into Antarctica’s bone-chilling world of suffering and sacrifice. Scott’s tragic quest of pride and folly tells a human story of those who brave the elements, the lives they leave behind, and the hubris that drives them to catastrophe.

TERRA NOVA features a cast and design team made up of Flat Earth company members and long-time collaborators. The design team includes Niki DeSimini (Set Design), Coriana Hunt Swartz (Costume Design), Chris Bocchiaro (Lighting Design), Brad Smith (Sound Design), Kelly Noonan (Props Design), and Stewart Holmes (Makeup Design). The Producer is Caitlin Mason, the Stage Manager is Amy Lehrmitt, and the Technical Director is Leigh Downes. The cast features Chris Chiampa as Captain Scott, Kamela Dolinova as Kathleen Scott, and Samuel Frank as Roald Amundsen, accompanied by Matt Arnold, James Hayward, Kevin Kordis, and Robin Gabrielli.

TERRA NOVA will run for two weeks at the Arsenal Center for the Arts, 321 Arsenal Street in Watertown, MA. Tickets can be purchased at flatearth.ticketleap.com/terra-nova/ for $20 in advance, $25 at the door, or $10 student rush.

ABOUT THE PLAYWRIGHT

Ted Tally (born April 9, 1952) is an American playwright and screenwriter. His most notable credit is the screenplay for The Silence of the Lambs, which won him the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay, as well as the Writers Guild of America Award, Chicago Film Critics Award, and an Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America. Other scripts include White Palace, Before and After, The Juror, All the Pretty Horses, and Red Dragon. His stage play, Terra Nova, was given a staged reading at the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center in 1977 and went on to win an Obie Award and was nominated for a 1985 Joseph Jefferson Award for Play Production at the Wisdom Bridge Theatre in Chicago, Illinois. Other plays include Coming Attractions (winner of the Outer Critics Circle Award), Hooters, Little Footsteps, and Silver Linings. His television scripts include The Comedy Zone, Hooters, Terra Nova for BBC, and The Father Clements Story, which won him the Christopher Award. His other honors include fellowships from the NEA and the Guggenheim Foundation.

ABOUT THE DIRECTOR

Jake Scaltreto is a producer, director, actor, and founding member of Flat Earth Theatre. Terra Nova marks his tenth directorial role with Flat Earth; other credits include Reader, Copenhagen, Bug, As Bees in Honey Drown, R.U.R., Blood Relations, The Glass Menagerie, All In The Timing (segments), and Joe. He also serves as Flat Earth’s Treasurer, webmaster, staff photographer, and chair of the Finance Committee. Jake resides in Medford with his girlfriend / stage manager Ames.

ABOUT FLAT EARTH THEATRE

Flat Earth Theatre (flatearththeatre.com) has been collaboratively crafting thought-provoking theatre in greater Boston since 2006. Featured productions include the award-winning staging of The Pillowman with the IRNE-nominated shadow puppetry of Woellert&Clark, the dimension-traveling production of Rocket Man, and the New England premier of the sci-fi dystopia What Once We Felt. Terra Nova kicks off Flat Earth’s 2015 season “Progress and Peril,” which will also feature Aaron Sorkin’s The Farnsworth Invention in the summer and D.W. Gregory’s Radium Girls in the fall.

Press inquiries should be directed to Lindsay Eagle, Marketing and Publicity Manager, at lindsay@flatearththeatre.com or (954) 260-3316.

TO PURCHASE TICKETS: flatearth.ticketleap.com/terra-nova/