A theatre season CANNOT go by without the prolific LAURIE RAE WAUGH delivering a dynamic piece of intimate stage art! She tackles delicate subjects with a hard edge: crime, depression, relationships, now even war.

The secrets of a war from long ago are brought to light in P.O.W., a new play by Irving A. Greenfield, directed by Laurie Rae Waugh, part of the American Theatre of Actors’ Cutting-Edge Summer Series, Wednesday – Saturday, June 7 – 10 and June 14 – 17 @ 8:00 p.m. Sundays, June 11 & 18 @ 3:00 p.m. BroadwayWorld has a sneak peek at the cast in rehearsal below!

In this drama, a college professor and former Vietnam Vet reads a short story to his class that alarms the Dean of the Department; enough so to facilitate his arrest and subsequent trial – for his life. Our country’s morals are on trial with this distinguished academic.

Celebrated character actor Ken Coughlin portrays the professor. Ken is a repertory member of Ms. Waugh, creating roles on stage and on film for her. Together they’ve cleaned-up many an award ceremony especially the ground-breaking Jean Dalrymple Award – off-off Braodway’s FIRST award.

Also featured in the cast are Amy Losi, Victoria Christi, Anthony Gallo, Alan Charney, Mike Durell, Nick Pascarella, Harrison Friedman, and Teddy Montuori.

The American Theatre of Actors is located at 314 W 54th St, New York City. Tickets available at (212) 581-3044

So what says one of the leading female directors in indie theatre?

What inspires you as an artist?

So many things and everything inspire me.  Original plays!  Finding out what inspires the playwright to write a play.  Working with new and veteran actors.  Seeing the vision of the play I’m working on I my head come to life on stage.  The subject matter in the plays I direct have to touch, move and inspire me.  My playwrights also inspire me.  How the audience responses to the play I have directed inspire me.  I feel that if my actors get to me during the rehearsal period then the audience will feel the same thing.

Why independent theatre?

Independent theatre is where you can take risks with the play your directing.  Sometimes the play is straight forward and sometimes there are so many scenes that those scenes can only be suggestive.  With independent theatre, you are usually dealing  with a black box and very limited seating.  You get to try different things and you have to build an audience every time unless the play is well known or you have an actor in the play that everyone wants to see.  I love independent theatre because there is a chance that I get to direct a play a second or third time and I get to take a different cut at it each time.  Independent theatre is all about word of mouth or what is put up on social media.