June 2024 :
Second Stage Season
Every year, Burning Coal Theatre uses its theatre space in Raleigh, NC to foster young and emerging innovative theatre talent in a series of new works and plays in the summer months. For more, see below.
WHAT IS SECOND STAGE?
The 2024 Second Stage series will include four unique productions, each performing for six performances over three weeks. See below for show details, dates, etc.
Second Stage, also known as our “Wait ‘Til You See This!” series, is typically performed in repertory in June at our usual space, the Murphey School Auditorium (224 Polk St., Raleigh, NC 27604). It is an opportunity to experiment with form, present new works, and / or collaborate with up-and-coming artists.
There is no physical second performance location at Burning Coal’s space. The name is derived from the type of work typically seen on the smaller upstairs or second stages of larger theatres. Historically, these spaces have been a hub for new, innovative and contemporary works – exactly what we aim to bring to our summer series.
SECOND STAGE, JUNE 2024
We are thrilled to bring in four different Triangle-area professional-level performing artists and groups to present a wide array of unique work from June 5 – 23, 2024:
Learn more about each piece (including CONTENT WARNINGS) in the tabs below and catch them all to support local, professional, visceral theatre.
Burning Coal is committed to contributing as much as possible to the vitality of the Triangle’s theater community. That’s why, in addition to presenting four Main Stage plays each year, we also make our Murphey School Auditorium available to up-and-coming performing artists for our Second Stage Series.
Radio by Al Smith directed by Lucy Jane Atkinson, produced by Burning Coal Theatre Co.
Wednesday, June 5th at 7:30 pm
Saturday, June 8th at 4:30 pm
Thursday, June 13th at 7:30 pm
Sunday, June 16th at 4:30 pm
Saturday, June 22nd at 7:30 pm
Sunday, June 23rd at 2 pm
Ex-Boyfriends by Dani Coan directed by Barbette Hunter and Amelia Lumpkin, produced by Dani Coan
Thursday, June 6th at 7:30 pm
Friday, June 7th at 7:30 pm
Wednesday, June 12th at 7:30 pm
Saturday, June 15th at 4:30 pm
Saturday, June 22nd at 2 pm
Sunday, June 23rd at 4:30 pm
A House (After Ibsen’s Ghosts), by Lucius Robinson and Jerome Davis, directed by Jerome Davis, produced by Burning Coal Theatre Co.
Saturday, June 8th at 2 pm
Sunday, June 9th at 4:30 pm
Friday, June 14th at 7:30 pm
Saturday, June 15th at 2 pm
Friday, June 21st at 7:30 pm
Saturday, June 22nd at 4:30 pm
Home by Samm-Art Williams, directed by Jade Arnold, produced by Pure Life Theatre
Saturday, June 8th at 7:30 pm
Sunday, June 9th at 2 pm
Saturday, June 15th at 7:30 pm
Sunday, June 16th at 2 pm
Wednesday, June 19th at 7:30 pm
Thursday, June 20th at 7:30 pm
Radio
Burning Coal Theatre Presents:
RADIO
by Al Smith
directed by Lucy Jane Atkinson
Featuring Ben Apple
directed by Lucy Jane Atkinson
Featuring Ben Apple
On the Burning Coal Theatre Stage
Synopsis: Radio tells the story of Charlie Fairbanks, who was born in the dead center of the United States at the dead center of the 20th century. Americans are going to the moon, and Charlie’s sure he’ll be the first one there. But as he shines his spotlight on the moon, so too does it illuminate the darker side to his nation’s history.
Dates:
Wednesday, June 5th at 7:30 pm
Saturday, June 8th at 4:30 pm
Thursday, June 13th at 7:30 pm
Sunday, June 16th at 4:30 pm
Saturday, June 22nd at 7:30 pm
Sunday, June 23rd at 2 pm
Tickets: $10.00
Home
Pure Life Theatre and Burning Coal Theatre Present:
Home
by Samm-Art Williams
directed by Jade Arnold
directed by Jade Arnold
On the Burning Coal Theatre Stage
Synopsis: Optimistic and strong, Cephus Miles is content to work the land on the small North Carolina farm he inherited from his family. Everything is as it should be until his childhood sweetheart rejects him and goes off to college. Opposed to the war in Vietnam, Cephus refuses to serve and is imprisoned as a draft evader. By the time he is released, Cephus has lost his land to the tax collector, so he heads north to build a new life. With a good job and a slinky new girlfriend, he finds the big city exciting and rewarding. But soon the dream begins to fade—he loses his job and becomes involved in drugs and prostitution. Pulling himself together, Cephus returns to the land and his old sweetheart. They left to seek happiness elsewhere, and they have returned to one another older, wiser, and aware of the true meaning of HOME.
Dates:
Saturday, June 8th at 7:30 pm
Sunday, June 9th at 2 pm
Saturday, June 15th at 7:30 pm
Sunday, June 16th at 2 pm
Wednesday, June 19th at 7:30 pm
Thursday, June 20th at 7:30 pm
Tickets: $20-$32.50
Ex-Boyfriends
Dani Coan and and Burning Coal Theatre PRESENT:
Ex-Boyfriends
Written by Dani Coan, directed by Barbette Hunter and Amelia Lumpkin
the Burning Coal Theatre stage
Synopsis: Step into Maya’s world of love, laughter, and heartbreak as she takes you on a wild ride through the complex landscape of her past relationships in Ex-Boyfriends. This thought-provoking and hilarious show delves into the depths of Maya’s psyche, where her ex-boyfriends double as manifestations of her inner struggles. From grappling with religion to challenging toxic masculinity, each former flame represents a unique facet of Maya’s emotional journey. Get ready to laugh, cry, and reflect on love, life, and the tangled threads that connect us all.
Dates:
Thursday, June 6th at 7:30 pm
Friday, June 7th at 7:30 pm
Wednesday, June 12th at 7:30 pm
Saturday, June 15th at 4:30 pm
Saturday, June 22nd at 2 pm
Sunday, June 23rd at 4:30 pm
Tickets: $10
A House (After Ibsen's Ghosts)
Burning Coal Theatre PRESENTS:
A House (After Ibsen’s Ghosts), adapted by Lucius Robinson and Jerome Davis, directed by Jerome Davis, featuring Lucius Robinson
On the Burning Coal Theatre Stage
Synopsis: In Burning Coal’s production of A House (After Ibsen’s Ghosts), adapted by Lucius Robinson and Jerome Davis from the play by Henrik Ibsen, the ‘father of modern drama’ and a notorious ‘ladies’ man’, we meet the Alvings and the Engstrands, two families at polar opposite ends of the economic spectrum (and all played by actor Lucius Robinson). In this one-person show, Burning Coal regular and current Baltimore resident Lucius Robinson stars under the direction of Burning Coal Artistic Director Jerome Davis. In the play, we watch as a disease, not to be talked about in polite company, comes to infest not just its immediate victim, but the entire community in which he lives. Incest, syphilis, an overbearing mother, a dead but not forgotten father, a maid who may be more than she seems, its all part of Ibsen’s world, a world of secrets, shadows, lies and ghosts.
Dates:
Saturday, June 8th at 2 pm
Sunday, June 9th at 4:30 pm
Friday, June 14th at 7:30 pm
Saturday, June 15th at 2 pm
Friday, June 21st at 7:30 pm
Saturday, June 22nd at 4:30 pm
Tickets: $10.00
