Found in Westport: Westport Country Playhouse Premieres Virtual Discussion Series with Host Mark Lamos

Westport Country Playhouse will present the premiere of “Cocktails with Mark,” a virtual discussion series hosted by Mark Lamos, Playhouse artistic director, on Thursday, November 19, at 7 p.m. The event will be streamed from Lamos’ home in Sherman, Connecticut, on Facebook Live and YouTube. The conversation will run approximately 20 minutes and is free of charge.

Kicking off the series will be a Q&A with Lamos about the upcoming season’s plans, productions, directors, casting, as well as his theatrical career. Lamos will answer questions that have been submitted by the Playhouse family: its donors, audience members, fellow art-makers, community, and friends.

“I’m hosting a cocktail party at my home, virtually, and you’re invited!,” said Lamos. “We’ll mix it up and have a chat about topics you’d like to explore. Let’s keep connected during the winter months until the Playhouse opens again.”

Lamos has helmed many plays at Westport Country Playhouse since 2008, earning Connecticut Critics Circle Awards for his direction of “She Loves Me” (2010), “Into the Woods” (2012), “The Dining Room” (2013), “Man of La Mancha” (2018), and “Mlima’s Tale” (2019).  Under Lamos’ artistic direction, the Playhouse was named “Theater Company of the Year” by The Wall Street Journal in 2013. Lamos’ extensive New York credits include “Our Country’s Good,” for which he received a Tony Award nomination. A former artistic director at Hartford Stage, he earned the 1989 Tony Award for the theater’s body of work.He was awarded the Connecticut Medal for the Arts as well as honorary doctorates from Connecticut College, University of Hartford, and Trinity College. In 2016 he was the recipient of the John Houseman Award.

“Cocktails with Mark” will continue monthly during the fall and winter, exact dates to be announced. “I’ll be asking other theater artists and Playhouse favorites to join in our chats,” Lamos added. “Cocktails with Mark” carries on in the tradition of the “Coffee Break” virtual conversations on Playhouse social media last summer.

To access the event, visit westportplayhouse.org, go to bottom of the homepage, and click on the Facebook (Westport Country Playhouse), or YouTube (WestportPlayhouse) icons.

Due to the global pandemic, the Playhouse remains closed since last March. Reopening plans will “follow the science,” according to Lamos.