Tina Benko Stars in JACKIE, Beginning Previews at Women's Project Theater Today

Tina Benko recently played the title role in Toni Morrison's play Desdemona directed by Peter Sellars at the Barbican Theatre in London. Other theatre credits include Katori Hall's Whaddaboodclot!! at Williamstown Theatre Festival, The Little Foxes and Restoration at New York Theatre Workshop, Marie and Bruce at The New Group, Age of Iron and The False Servant at Classic Stage Company, Ten High at Ensemble Studio Theatre, and Rough Sketch at 59 East 59. TV and film includes Admission, The Contest, The Avengers, Lucky Days, Photo-Op, Royal Pains, Unforgettable, and three seasons on the Showtime series Brotherhood. In addition to guest star roles in a number of Law and Orders, she guest starred in an episode of Ugly Betty with its star America Ferrera, who heads the cast of Women Project's Theater's current premiere, Bethany.

Director Tea Alagic directed Women's Project's highly acclaimed Aliens With Extraordinary Skills by Saviana Stanescu in 2008. An alumna of Women's Project's Directors Lab, she directed the world premiere of The Brothers Size by Tarell McCraney at The Public Theater and later at The Studio Theatre in Washington, D.C. and The Abbey Theatre in Dublin. Her original devised work includes The Filament Cycle, which performed at La Mama, the 4+4 Festival in Prague, BAC London, Philadelphia, Colorado, Denver, and Potsdam; and Zero Hour, about the Balkan War.

Women's Project Theater memberships for the entire season, start at $60 and may be purchased at www.womensproject.org or by calling 212 765-1706. Single tickets ($60+) can be purchased online at www.NYCityCenter.org, by calling CityTix at 212 581-1212, or at the New York City Center Box Office at 131 West 55th Street (between Sixth and Seventh Avenues).

Women's Project Theater, the 35-year-old non-profit theater dedicated to producing plays written and directed by women, will present its 2012-2013 season of new plays featuring women theater artists at a new home, New York City Center Stage II, 131 West 55th Street, January 11 to May 19.

Women's Project Theater was founded in 1978 by Julia Miles to address the significant under-representation of women in the American theater, and has since built a tremendous legacy. Although even today women playwrights and directors severely lack parity in pay and opportunity, the extraordinary women artists who have broken through the glass ceiling have all crossed the threshold at WP, including Eve Ensler, Lynn Nottage, Maria Irene Fornes, Suzan-Lori Parks, Diane Paulus, Sarah Ruhl, Paula Vogel, and Anna Deavere Smith, among the many. Throughout its 35-year history, Women's Project Theater has produced and/or developed over 600 plays and published 11 anthologies of plays.

Recently acclaimed plays produced by Women's Project Theater include last season's How the World Began and the Obie-winning Milk Like Sugar and, from season's past, Freshwater, Aliens with Extraordinary Skills, crooked, Sand, Or, Smudge, Lascivious Something and Apple Cove.

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