Chautauqua Theater Company (CTC), the resident theater company of Chautauqua Institution, announced today it will produce the world premiere of Kate Hamill’s newest play, The Light and The Dark. Directed by Producing Artistic Director Jade King Carroll, the play will be staged during the final two weeks of the nine-week Summer Assembly (June 22–August 25, 2024).

Kate Hamill is an award-winning, NYC-based actor/playwright. In 2017, The Wall Street Journal named Hamill Playwright of the Year, a title she has maintained through being among the top 10 most-produced playwrights in the U.S. for the last five consecutive years. Most recently, she was honored and awarded the 2023 Einhorn Mentorship Award at Primary Stages 39th Anniversary Gala. Hamill’s passion lies in crafting feminist, female-centered classics, exploring the complexities of women’s stories through original plays and adaptations, such as CTC’s 2023 production of Pride and Prejudice, featuring guest artists Ray Anthony Thomas and Tina Benko. 

CTC hosted the first public reading of The Light and The Dark to a sold-out audience during the 2023 Summer Assembly. In partnership with the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center, CTC will produce a developmental workshop in early December, which will culminate in a private reading in New York City. 

Hamill’s work, characterized by theatricality and a keen exploration of social and gender issues, delves into the eternal struggle to reconcile identity with societal expectations. These themes are prominent in her newest work. 

The Light and The Dark  

Artemisia Gentileschi, a trailblazing artist, was the most successful female painter of the 17th century. Her artistic legacy endures as one of the few Baroque-era female artists, with dozens of paintings exhibited globally alongside Rafael and Caravaggio. Artemisia, characterized by her irreverence and audacity, aspired to attain immortality through her groundbreaking work. However, her journey took an unexpected turn, marked by a series of brutal betrayals that forever altered her life and art. The resulting transformation kindled a fire within her, a flame that continues to astonish and resonate with audiences today. 

The Light and The Dark delves into the profound impact of art in assuaging trauma and explores the transformative power of female rage in reshaping societal paradigms. 

“We are thrilled to welcome Kate back to Chautauqua Theater Company, and we are beyond excited to be producing the world premiere of The Light and The Dark.” said Producing Artistic Director Jade King Carroll, “Fostering this play from a finishing commission to its first public reading to a world premiere is both an honor and a delight for us at CTC, and we can’t wait to share it with you this coming summer! What could be more exciting than a new Kate Hamill play centered on the brave, witty, pioneering female painter Artemisia Gentileschi?!” 

Tickets will go on sale for The Light and The Dark and CTC’s full season in February 2024.  

ABOUT CHAUTAUQUA THEATER COMPANY 
Chautauqua Theater Company (CTC) produces high-quality, live theater in a vibrant nine-week summer season. We are committed to the development of new work, the next generation of theater artists, producing galvanizing world premieres as well as exceptional modern and contemporary plays, and infusing fresh insight into the classical canon.  

CTC is dedicated to becoming a national home for exciting new plays: commissioning, developing and producing new and established American playwrights. We are where the finest artists of tomorrow bridge the gap between their training and the professional world. CTC is actively building the future of the American theater. 

ABOUT CHAUTAUQUA INSTITUTION 
Chautauqua Institution is a not-for-profit, 750-acre community on Chautauqua Lake in southwestern New York State, where approximately 7,500 persons are in residence on any day during a nine-week season, and a total of more than 100,000 attend scheduled public events and even more engage online via the streaming channel CHQ Assembly. Chautauqua is dedicated to the exploration of the best in human values and the enrichment of life through a program that explores the important religious, social and political issues of our times; stimulates provocative, thoughtful involvement of individuals and families in creative response to such issues; and promotes excellence and creativity in the appreciation, performance and teaching of the arts. The Institution launched its 150th Summer Assembly June 24, 2023, and will celebrate its Sesquicentennial in 2024.    

###