Presented by The Department of Theater
February 21-24 in Keck Theater
Admission is free
The New Play Festival is a series of staged readings and workshop productions of student written plays.
No Heroes by Grayson DeJesus
directed by Joe Fria
Thursday, February 21 @ 8pm
staged reading
The Thing About Midnight by Molly Mermelstein
directed by Jessica Hanna
Friday, February 22 @ 7pm & Saturday, February 23 @ 6pm
workshop production
Side-Swiped by Cassidy North-Reist
directed by Adrian Alex Cruz
Friday, February 22 @ 9pm & Sunday, February 24 @ 6pm
workshop production
°ä³ó²¹±è±ô¾±²Ô’s by Karen Baughn
directed by Nancy Keystone
Saturday, February 23 @ 4pm
staged reading
Powerhouse by Hannah McDowell
directed by Michael Sargent
Saturday, February 23 @ 8:30pm & Sunday, February 24 @ 8pm
workshop production
Thine Angel Eyes by Conor Anderson
directed by Corey Madden
Sunday, February 24 @ 4pm
staged reading
Schedule by day
Thursday, February 21
8pm No Heroes by Grayson DeJesus
Friday, February 22
7pm The Thing About Midnight by Molly Mermelstein
9pm Side-Swiped by Cassidy North-Reist
Saturday, February 23
4pm °ä³ó²¹±è±ô¾±²Ô’s by Karen Baughn
6pm The Thing About Midnight by Molly Mermelstein
8:30pm* Powerhouse by Hannah McDowell
*with a special pre-show anniversary presentation featuring NPF alumni
Sunday, February 24
4pm Thine Angel Eyes by Conor Anderson
6pm Side-Swiped by Cassidy North-Reist
8pm Powerhouse by Hannah McDowell
Festival Producers
Laural Meade
Courtney Dusenberry
Associate Producer
Kari Swanson
Grayson DeJesus’s No Heroes is a finely crafted, full length drama that intricately examines the lives of a family of brothers (some dreamers and some living a dream) who deal with growing up and out of their Brooklyn roots. The play opens as Donny enters his apartment with his hands covered in blood. A strangely theatrical "dark night of the soul" ensues as he encounters his family, his failed career as an athlete, old flames and new crimes.
Molly Mermelstein’s The Thing About Midnight is a beautiful meditation on the idea that what we perceive is often not what is real. Based on the actual death of a close friend, this play smoothly moves between the present and the past as it examines friendship, honesty, the folly of love and the pain and potential of learning the truth.
Cassidy North-Reist takes her inspiration from the headlines with Side-Swiped, a play about the real-life kidnapping of a middle class wife at the hands of one of her husband's mistreated employees. Focusing on the aftershocks of this event on the family's two daughters, Side-Swiped takes a dramatic hard look at the long-term effects of consumer culture with wit, style and compassion for all sides.
Karen Baughn explores the harrowing true story of Charlie °ä³ó²¹±è±ô¾±²Ô’s first wife with °ä³ó²¹±è±ô¾±²Ô’s - a play for two characters and a coat rack. Written with humor, insight and a keen sense of suspense, this piece evokes the aura of the master comedian without ever bringing him on stage. Instead, his young wife and wisened butler battle for his affections and loyalty in a tense game of cat and mouse.
Hannah’s McDowell’s Powerhouse is a hysterical farce written in the great tradition of Orton and Durang: randy titillations, huge egos, boozy interlopers, skeletons in closets. Inspired by the true story of a mid-western family that begins a strange relationship with Manuel Noriega by requesting one of his hats, this play follows an absurdly funny passle of characters as they discover who really pulls the strings in their household.
Freshman Conor Anderson has written his first play with Thine Angel Eyes. Coming to the theater with an impressive background in poetry and creative writing, the playwright has envisioned a weird world where soothsayers shape-shift, landladies become your mother, and angels disappear.