Dance Nation

Lucy is a theatre director and full time member of faculty at LAMDA, working across the BA and MFA Professional Acting programmes. 

Lucy trained as theatre director at the Royal Exchange Theatre under Sarah Frankcom, Bryony Shanahan and Amit Sharma, and holds an MFA in Theatre Directing and Birkbeck, University of London. Lucy also trained with the National Theatre Studio whilst being invited on their director’s training course. 

Whilst she was at the Royal Exchange Theatre, Lucy was the resident director on various main house productions including Tanika Gupta’s adaptation of Hobsons Choice, Jeanie O’Hares Queen Margaret, and Mel Brooks’ Producers musical. She directed and co-curated Simon Stephen’s Presents, a new writing festival in partnership with Manchester School of Writing and Manchester School of Theatre. Lucy also directed Sam Shepards Fool for Love in the Studio, and was the associate director on the inter generational play Albion. 

As a freelance theatre director, Lucy has directed plays for the Southwark Playhouse (Where Will We Live?), the Arcola Threatre (Dare to Dream, Quay West), York Theatre Royal (The Pulverised - co-produced with the Arcola); It Is So Ordered (Park Theatre and Oxford Playhouse); Women’s Stories of Ford Dagenham (Queens Theatre Hornchurch); as well as directing the UK tour of Jack Thorne’s Bunny. Lucy is an associate artist for the National Youth Theatre where she has directed projects and shows for various programmes.

Lucy has been as Associate Director for other touring productions co-produced by the Bristol Old Vic, Salisbury Playhouse, the Arcola, and the RSC. 

This is Lucy’s third rep show for LAMDA (prev. Include Simon Stephen’s Light Falls and Nadia Falls Home). Lucy was previously the Associate Dean and MA Acting course leader at ALRA, and an associate practitioner for the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. Previous final year show direction includes being resident at RADA (Stuff Happens, Suddenly Last Summer)  Rose Bruford; ALRA, Bristol Old Vic Theatre School and East 15.

Clare Barron is a Brooklyn-based writer. Clare’s play You Got Older (2015 Obie award for Playwriting; nominee for 2015 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding New Play; finalist for the 2015 Susan Smith Blackburn Prize) received its world premiere through P73 under the direction of Anne Kauffman; Baby Screams Miracle was recently produced at Woolly Mammoth, after having premiered as part of Clubbed Thumbs 2013 SummerWorks Festival. Her play I'll Never Love Again was produced at the Bushwick Starr in 2016, and was a New York Times Critics Pick. Clare is the recipient of the 2014-2015 Paula Vogel Playwriting Award (Vineyard Theater), the 2014 P73 Playwriting Fellowship; she has received Sloan commissions from MTC and EST, and is also under commission to Lincoln Center Theater, and Playwrights Horizons. She is currently staffed on Maria Semples upcoming show on HBO, Today Will Be Different, starring Julia Roberts, and is also developing a project with Gran Via Productions attached for AMC.

Contains adolescent characters in sexual situations and discussions, depictions of self-harm and gore/ blood special effects. Use of explicit language throughout. 

This amateur production of “Dance Nation” is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals Ltd. on behalf of Samuel French Ltd. www.concordtheatricals.co.uk 

DANCE NATION received its UK premiere at the Almeida Theatre, London, September 2018.  

Playwrights Horizons, Inc., New York City, produced the World Premiere of DANCE  NATION in 2018 with support from an award by the National Endowment of the Arts, and a generous gift from Scott M. Delman. 

Special thanks to The Harold and Mimi Steinberg Trust for supporting new plays at Playwrights Horizons, and special thanks to the Time Warner Foundation for its leadership support of New Works Lab at Playwrights Horizons. 
 
DANCE NATION was developed at the Perry-Mansfield New Works Festival, June 2015, with the Atlantic Theatre Company, and presented as part of the Contemporary American Voices Festival at Long Wharf Theatre, September 2016. 

DANCE NATION was written, in part, in residence at SPACE on Ryder Farm, and received extensive workshop time and space as part of New Dramatists’ Jerry A. Tishman Playwrights Creativity Fund.