Direct from the Sundance Theatre Laboratory: In Real Life (A Work In Progress)

Charlayne Woodward is a gifted storyteller and an actress of dazzling talent and energy. In 1998 Charlayne was invited to be a fellow at the Sundance Theatre Laboratory, where she began work on her third solo play, In Real Life.

In Real Life charts Charlayne's vibrant journey into the charged and dizzying world of Broadway musical theatre and the incredible people she meets along the way. She arrives in New York City fresh out of drama school to be a "serious" actress. Instead, she is cast in the musical megahit, Ain't Misbehavin'. As low on life experience as she is high on talent, Charlayne learns some difficult life lessons that help her moving story. Charlayne becomes a host of unique characters, both funny and tragic.

In Real Life forms a trilogy with Charlayne's first two acclaimed solo plays. Pretty Fire and Neat, which recount her childhood and coming of age in upstate New York. Pretty Fire, which recounts Charlayne's childhood from birth to age eleven, received the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award, the NAACP theatre awards for best play and best playwright, and enjoyed successful runs at the Manhattan Theatre Club, Seattle Rep, and La Jolla Playhouse.

Neat, a coming-of-age story recounting Charlayne's remarkable relationship with her brain-damaged aunt, enjoyed sold-out runs at the Manhattan Theatre Club, Seattle Rep, and the Mark Taper Forum, and won numerous awards, including the prestigious Irving and Blanche Laurie Theatre Vision Award.

Credits

Charlayne Woodard
Panelist
Charlayne Woodard
Panelist
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