The ever-prolific actor/writer/director/lecturer/poet James Franco has recently announced that he will be making his theatrical directorial debut at the Rattlestick Playwrights Theater in New York City this summer.
Franco, 36, will direct the premiere of "The Long Shrift," by author Robert Boswell. This will be presented as part of Rattlestick's 20th anniversary season.
"The play tells the story of a convict just released from jail who was accused of rape as a teenager," said the New York Times. The cast includes Ally Sheedy, Scott Haze, Ahna O'Reilly, Brian Lally, and Allie Gallerani.
Oscar-nominated Franco is currently part of the Broadway production of John Steinbeck's "Of Mice and Men with actors Chrish O'Dowd and Leighton Meester.
According to reports, this will overlap with "The Long Shrift"--"Of Mice and Men" at the Longacre Theatre will end on July 27, and "The Long Shrift" will run at the Greenwich Village neighborhood from July 7 to August 23.
Franco's most recent directorial projects have all been on film. Some of this most recent projects include an adaptation of William Faulkner's 1930 novel "As I Lay Dying," and "Bukowski"--which is about poet Charles Bukowski's early years--set to be released this year. A documentary about his own life is also near completion.
The Guardian reported that Franco currently has a total of 14 films in production, and has recently opened a drama school in Los Angeles that teaches techniques taught by famous theatremaker Sanford Meisner.
Aside from these projects, Franco is also working (read: writing, directing, and starring in) on Stephen Elliott's crime thriller "The Adderall Diaries."
His first collection of poetry--entitled "Directing Herbert White: Poems" was also released earlier this year.
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