Louisville's Theatre [502] has one eye on the end times and the other on next year. On Wednesday, the company will present their last Small Batch event of the year, a staged reading of Eric Pfeffinger’s “Accidental Rapture."The Small Batch Series is Theatre [502]’s roving side stage—their opportunity to produce events that don’t quite find a place in the company’s mainstage season.Directed by co-artistic director Mike Brooks, "Accidental Rapture" is a play about two families, connected by a haunting past, with divergent views on the end of the world. Brooks says the company had considered Pfeffinger's play for a full production for the past two seasons, but ultimately decided a Small Batch staged reading made more sense.“It contains a couple of really delicious, impossible stage directions that frankly made it a little bit daunting as a full production prospect," says Brooks. "But with the upcoming ostensible end of the Mayan calendar and the potential winking out of all of existence, we thought, let’s go ahead and get this off our chest.”“Accidental Rapture” will be performed Wednesday evening in Whiskey Row Loft’s the Baron’s Theatre on Main Street, in the space formerly known as Squirrely's Magic Tea Room.In an optimistic move, considering the theme of the evening, the co-artistic directors will also announce Theatre [502]'s 2013 mainstage season at the event. The season, the company's third, will run July-November and includes at least one mainstage production in the Baron's Theatre. "We're taking a risk here, making a big deal about our season announcement," says co-artistic director Amy Attaway. "We hope it will pay off in excitement and buzz about these plays for people who want to work on them with us and for people who want to come see them." Rolling out this season is part of a bigger next step for the company, Brooks says. "A couple of these shows have been with us since we started planning for season one. It's now that we've introduced ourselves to the audience, we've gone on a few dates, we feel we can open up a bit more," he says. "These plays, we weren't ready to produce them out of the gate."“They weren't quite ready because they are so meaty for the actors and so technically challenging and design challenging that we’re really stepping up our game in both of those areas with season three,” adds Gil Reyes, [502]'s third artistic director. Doors to the Baron's Theatre open Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. for a pre-show reception, followed by the season announcement at 7 and the show at 7:30. ArtCraft will have an exclusive preview of Theatre [502]’s third season Wednesday evening.
