The Hunter MFA First-Year Playwrights Festival
June 14-24, 2015
IN RESIDENCE: June 14-24, 2015
The Hunter First-Year Playwrights Festival is a public reading series in June 2015 happening at IRT and Manhattan Theatre Club Studio One featuring six new plays from the four first-year MFA playwrights, all created under the guidance of Arthur Kopit and Tina Howe.
Manhattan Theatre Club Studio One:
New Plays by Women Playwrights
311 W 43rd Street, 8th Floor
Monday, June 15: Skeleton in the Pantry by Elisabeth Gray
Tuesday, June 16, Wednesday, June 17: Achilles and the River by Lindsay Joelle
Wednesday, June 17: Rumpl by Sari Caine
IRT
154 Christopher Street, 3rd floor
Sunday, June 14th at IRT Theater: Testament by Elisabeth Gray|
Sunday, June 21 at IRT Theater: One Breath by Nick Robideau
Wednesday June 24 at IRT Theater: Dog Dreams by Sari Caine
Free general admission, must RSVP
Tickets available by contacting rsvp@slightlyaltered
The Plays at Manhattan Theatre Club Studio One:
Skeleton in the Pantry (Monday, June 15 @ 7PM)
By Elisabeth Gray
Meet the Falters, a well-to-do Southern family living in a plantation without a care in the world—except for the skeleton that keeps howling in the pantry. When the neighbors come for dinner and bring with them a one-legged Messiah, the Falter family must decide what lives and what dies. Skeleton in the Pantry is an ensemble tragicomedy that reminds us of the residual nature of both grief and redemption.
Achilles and the River (Tuesday, June 16 and Wednesday, June 17 @ 7PM)
By Lindsay Joelle
Directed by Celine Rosenthal
In this modern reimagining of the Iliad, cultures clash when an inner-city Achilles jeopardizes his mission by falling in love with the enemy. When his protection causes her capture, Achilles must wage war against a sadistic River God to get her back.
RUMPEL (Wednesday, June 17 @ 2pm)
By Sari Caine
Directed by Sherri Eden Barber
When a new drama therapist shakes up his school’s routine, ten-year-old trauma survivor Zac finds an unlikely alter ego in the form of Rumpelstilskin. As “Rumpel,” Zac imagines an elaborate world in which he can once again connect with others. But as his fantasy becomes a prison, he has to free his voice or stay in the forest forever. Exploring fairy tales, family, and the special education system, RUMPEL takes a dark and comic look at the healing power of storytelling.
The Plays at IRT:
Testament (Sunday, June 14 @ 8PM)
By Elisabeth Gray
The great Southern writer Flannery O’Connor once described the South as “Christ haunted.” In Testament, Southern writer Elisabeth Gray explores the continued imprint of Biblical narratives on the Southern psyche. Commissioned by the Rothermere American Institute in Oxford, England.
One Breath (Sunday, June 21 @ 8PM)
By Nick Robideau
Medea has been called the greatest monster in literary history. What, though, goes into making a monster? And where is the line between “monster” and “human”? This riff on the classic myth moves the action to WW1 Europe, and examines themes of life, death, truth, and sacrifice.
DOG DREAMS (Wednesday, June 24 @ 8PM)
By Sari Caine
Directed by Gage Steenhagen
A lot has changed since Ally disappeared last year. Her boyfriend is engaged to another woman, her brother-in-law moved to a trailer behind the house, and her sister is putting vodka in her cheerios. Ally has some secrets of her own. How far would you go to reclaim your past? Can we move far enough away to allow those we love to rediscover themselves, if so can we find them again?
The Hunter MFA First-Year Playwrights Festival is made possible by a generous grant from the Anne Freedman Student Theatre Production Fund, a program of the Department of Theatre at Hunter College, and the 3B Development Series residency at IRT. Produced by New Umbrella Inc. and Slightly Altered States.
ELISABETH GRAY “The talented writer and actress Elisabeth Gray” (TheNew Yorker) is a playwright and winner of the Fringe First Award for Innovative and Oustanding New Writing for her first play, the dark comedy Wish I had a Sylvia Plath, which has gone on to have successful productions Off-Broadway and around the globe, most recently at the National Theater of Norway. Her gothic comedy Southern Discomfort ran Off-Broadway last year after touring the US and the UK. She wrote the award-winning short film Socks and Bonds, the mockumentary web series Understudies (www.UnderstudiesTheShow.com) and has a feature screenplay in development.
LINDSAY JOELLE Lindsay’s first full-length play, A Small History of Amal by Amal, Age 7 was a 2014 O’Neill NPC finalist and received a staged reading from Primary Stages/ESPA. Her second play, TREIF is a 2015 O’Neill NPC finalist. She is currently developing her third play, Achilles and the River, which received a Lark roundtable and the 2015 Anne Freedman Student Theatre Production Grant. Alumna of Columbia University, the BMI Workshop, and pursuing her MFA in playwriting at Hunter. www.Lindsayjoelle.com
NICK ROBIDEAU is a Brooklyn-based playwright. His plays include THE SAMPO (staged reading, The Silent Barn), PROPHET IN PINK (New York International Fringe Festival), DISTRACTION (readings at ARTNY and CAP21), ROBOT HEAVEN (American Avant-Garde Arts Festival), EVERYTHING (HB Studio), AMENDS (semi- finalist, New Works of Merit),and THE RAINBOW LETTER (Montreal Fringe Festival), a solo show in which he also performed. Other selected acting credits include THE LARAMIE PROJECT (Edinburgh Fringe Festival), THE JUNGLE BOOK (national tour, Missoula Children’s Theatre), GRADIENT HAIRCUTS (Title:Point), and the audio book version of David Levithan’s BOY MEETS BOY. Nick is a current MFA playwriting student at Hunter College, where he studies under Arthur Kopit and Tina Howe. Nick is a member of Playsmiths, where he sits on the Board of Directors, and the Dramatists Guild.
SARI CAINE is a NYC-bred actress, playwright, and chess teacher. Her plays (which include: Mr Landing Takes a Fall, The Chess Lesson, The Thing About Dan, Rabbit on the Landing, The Cafe Plays, Brunch!, Endicott, Needs, and Christmas Island) have been produced at The Flea Theater, IRT, Jimmy’s No. 43, Roy Arias Theater, Dixon Place, The Strawberry Festival, St Clements Theater, Manhattan Repertory Theater, Hells Kitchen Festival, and published on Indie Theater Now. Upcoming short film: Jack The Ripper’s First Time. She is currently writing RUMPEL, which received a Lark roundtable this spring, under the guidance of Tina Howe. Dog Dreams, developed under Arthur Kopit, also received a reading at the Lark in the fall. Awards/residencies include: Space at Ryder Farms, Manhattan Theater Source Neighborhood Playhouse, the Albert and Beatrice Sydney award, LIT’s Space Grant, and multiple residencies with IRT and Jimmy’s No 43. Her play Mr Landing Takes A Fall was the 1st place recipient of the Canadian $1000 Bottletree Award, a PlayPenn semi- finalist, accepted into the Women’s Theater Festival of Memphis, and shortlisted for the UK’s Ronald Duncan award and 24/7 festival. She has also won awards for her fiction, non fiction writing, and poetry. As an actress, she has appeared on Orange is the New Black, The Knick (upcoming), Mr Destiny, and lots of NYC theater. Co-artistic director/co-founder: Slightly Altered States theater company. She is currently studying under Tina Howe and Arthur Kopit at Hunter’s MFA playwrighting program. Sag, Equity, Dramatist Guild, NYWIFT, and LIT. www.saricaine.com www.slightlyaltered.org