PRESS
REPRESENTATIVE: JONATHAN SLAFF, 212-924-0496,
JS@JSNYC.COM
THEATER FOR THE NEW CITY SETS
ITS ELEVENTH
DREAM UP FESTIVAL AFTER A TWO-YEAR COVID HIATUS.
All events at Theater for the New City, 155 First Ave. (at E. 10th Street)
WHERE AND WHEN:
August 28 to September 18, 2022
Theater for the New City, 155 First Ave. (at E. 10th Street)
Presented by Theater for the New City
$12-$20, buy tickets: http://dreamupfestival.org
Photos of selected shows: https://photos.app.goo.gl/2ZcMkQty2PfkzmxK9
Festival's website: http://dreamupfestival.org
SKIP TO FESTIVAL LINEUP - ALPHABETICAL LISTING OF PLAYS
NEW YORK, July 27 -- From August 28 to September 18, 2022, Theater for the New City (TNC), under the direction of Crystal Field, will resume its annual Dream Up Festival, a feast of adventurous theater that had been suspended in 2020 and 2021 during the disruptions of Covid. The annual event is an ultimate new works festival, dedicated to the joy of discovering new authors and edgy, innovative performances.
The Festival is helmed by the theater's Literary Manager, Michael Scott-Price. This year it offers 23 plays, 21 of which are world premieres and two of which are American premieres. Audiences will savor the excitement, awe, passion, challenge and intrigue of new plays from around the country.
The festival lineup follows below.
Theater for the New City has consistently been the most inexpensive theater of its caliber and it continues its commitment to affordable tickets with this festival. Dream Up Festival tickets are $12-$20 for all participating productions.
The festival does not seek out traditional scripts that are presented in a traditional way. It selects works that push new ideas to the forefront, challenge audience expectations and make us question our understanding of how art illuminates the world around us.
Michael Scott-Price (Curator/Festival Director) has directed in New York City at venues including Chashama, Dixon Place and Collective Unconscious. He has written and directed productions that were presented nationally as well as in Canada, Ireland and England. Currently, he is also Curator of TNC's "New City, New Blood" reading series and "Scratch Night" (works-in-progress). He is Artistic Director of an experimental theater company, Asteroid B612 Theatre Company, which made its debut in the 17th Annual HERE American Living Room Series in August 2006. He has studied at the School of Physical Theatre in London, England, at the Odin Teatret in Hostelbro, Denmark and in the International School Theatre Anthropology (ISTA) in Wroclaw, Poland with Eugenio Barba and company. He is an alumnus of Lincoln Center Theater Director's Lab. He is a member of the Board of Directors of Theater for the New City.
Theater for the New City (TNC) maintains a distinctive commitment to high artistic values and community service. In an effort to make theater accessible to all, TNC presents an assortment of distinct, exceptional events each year, including the Lower East Side Festival of the Arts, which celebrates the artistic and cultural diversity of TNC's Lower East Side community; an annual Village Halloween Ball and an annual summer Street Theater tour that presents a free, live, original musical in thirteen neighborhoods in all five boroughs. Most of these are free of charge to the public. (www.theaterforthenewcity.net)
Theater for the New City is located at 155 First Ave., at East 10th Street. For Dream Up Festival tickets, go to: http://dreamupfestival.org. For additional info, call the TNC box office at 212-254-1109.
ALPHABETICAL
LIST OF PRODUCTIONS
All events at Theater for the New City, 155 First Avenue (at E. 10th Street).
BUY TICKETS: WWW.DREAMUPFESTIVAL.ORG
- (212) 254-1109
INFO AS OF JULY 27, 2022 - SUBJECT TO CHANGE.
"Adolsy," written and directed by Taylor Dodd Geu
"The Arranged Matrimony" by
Anwar Suleiman, directed by Barbara Schofield
"at
least he didnt die with antlers on his head!"
by Tommy LeVrier, directed
by Chris Sax and Mark Meir
"BrothaShakespeare," created by Keldrick Crowder and co-written and directed by S. Brian Jones.
"Carson and Huston"by Tommy LeVrier, directed by Dale Davidson
"Crescent City Rebirth" by Monique Pappas Williams, directed by Sabura Rashid
"Darkness after Night-Ukraine," written and directed by Stephan Morrow
"Directions" by Patrick McEvoy, directed by Patrick McEvoy
"Dollars to Doughnuts," written and directed by Susan Crawford
"Electric Serenade" written by Robert Kirkendall, directed by Laurence C. Schwartz
"The Minotaur" written and directed by Lilian Boyd.
"Nothing But Thunder," written by Duncan Pflaster
"One With the Current," written by Daniel Damiano, directed by Leslie Kincaid Burby
"Pandemonium" written by Claude Solnik, directed by Tony Chiofalo
"Protected" by Robert E. DiNardo, directed by Shela Xoregos
"Soledad" by J. E. Robinson, directed by Patricia Floyd.
“Strokes of Genius,” written and directed by Prasad Paul Duffy.
"There Is No Eden" written and directed by James Henry
"Two Truths and a Lie," written by Cate Wiley, directed by Madelyn Chapman
"Verse DiVerse," written by Amy Losi, directed by Ashley Adelman
"Yellow Sun of Neptune Ave.," written and directed by Denis C. Maguire
"Adolsy," written and directed by Taylor Dodd Geu
world premiere, 90 minutes
$15, Community Theater
9/4 5pm, 9/5 9pm, 9/7 9pm, 9/8 6:30pm, 9/9 6:30pm
Adolfo Quijano performs magic for the rich and famous, particularly the criminal elite. However, he has a secret: he evenly splits his time in another body. That body is Dolsy Ernez, a lesbian in a distant city with a stable relationship. And then, of course, something goes wrong. Adolfo seizures and possibly dies, leading his goons to investigate Dolsy. The secret is out, and now Dolsy and Adolfo find themselves caught between who they are and who they should be.
"The Arranged Matrimony" by Anwar Suleiman, directed by Barbara Schofield
world premiere, 50 minutes
$15, Cabaret Theater
9/11 8pm, 9/15 6:30pm, 9/16 9pm, 9/17 5pm, 9/18 5pm
The challenges of a marriage in the midst of cultural clashes
"at least he didnt die with antlers on his head!" written by Tommy LeVrier, directed by Chris Sax and Mark Meir, produced by Chris Sax
35 minutes, $15
Community Theater 9/9 9pm, 9/10 5pm, 9/11 8pm, 9/16 9pm, 9/17 5pm
A teen skips school in South Peeveetoe Texas to go hunting. He sees a Yankee put on a pair of antlers to attract deer and gets shot between the eyes. This story is so good that the people at the local diner, when they hear it, will clear the name of his white trash family going back generations.It doesn't work, they ridicule him, but he gets his revenge in the end. Cast of four.
"BrothaShakespeare," created by Keldrick Crowder and co-written and directed by S. Brian Jones.
world premiere 70 minutes
$18, Community Theater
9/2 9pm, 9/3 8pm, 9/4 8pm, 9/6 9pm, 9/7 6:30pm, 9/18 5:00 pm
A former successful Shakespearian actor, now homeless living on the streets of New York City is forced to make peace with his past and the brutal truth of the two America's in which he lives. When a local theater company mounts a new production called ‘Brother Shakespeare,’ he insists to anyone who will listen to him it's his story. A confrontation with the theatre company as to the “white” man on the poster causes him to go deep within and confront demons darker than any Shakespeare tragedy he's ever played on any stage. Stars Keldric Crowder and festures Cartier as the “rhythm” and Kathy Dee Harrison as the “voice.”
"Carson and Huston"by Tommy LeVrier, directed by Dale Davidson
world premiere, 90 min.
$20, Community Theater
8/28 2pm, 8/30 9pm, 8/31 6:30pm, 9/1 6:30pm, 9/3 5pm
"Carson and Huston" is about a meeting between novelist and playwright Carson McCullers and film director John Huston. Huston invites her to visit him in Ireland. He is half joking as she is in ill health from a stroke. McCullers, to his surprise, takes her up on the visit. Her black caretaker, who she has known all her life, refuses to let her go. McCullers is determined to go. She refuses to go out as an invalid and says she will go, “even if it is the last thing I ever do.”
"Crescent City Rebirth" by Monique Pappas Williams, directed by Sabura Rashid
world premiere, 90 min
$15, Johnson Theater
9/4 2pm, 9/6 6:30pm, 9/8 6:30pm, 9/9 9pm, 9/10 8pm 9/11 5pm, 9/16 6:30pm
After Hurricane Katrina destroys the family business, a self-focused actress embarks on a long awaited journey to New Orleans to quickly sell her family property and return to New York before a neighbor’s revenge plot to hide the past ruins her future. Cast of seven.
"Darkness after Night-Ukraine," written and directed by Stephan Morrow
world premiere, 80 min
$15, Johnson Theater
8/28 5pm, 8/29 9pm, 8/30 9pm, 9/1 9pm, 9/2 6:30pm, 9/3 8pm, 9/4 8pm, 9/5 9pm, 9/7 9pm, 9/17 8:00 PM
When Russian Comander Yuri Dubashin is traumatized after a children's hospital is bombed during the special military operation in Ukraine, he goes over to the Ukranian side. He is quickly captured by Russian forces and is condemned as a traitor destined for execution. As he lies back in his cell he goes over his life and career, including planning as a Logistics Officer and meeting a young woman, Andreyeva, who was assigned to his office and whom he falls desperately in love with. He introducers her to his old friend who has gone on to become 'Number One' and despite being Dubashin's fiancee, she caves into her unrelenting ambition and leaves him for Number One. Perhaps unhinged by this shortly thereafter he goes over to the Ukrainian side.
"Directions" by Patrick McEvoy, directed by Patrick McEvoy
world premiere, 20 min.
$12 Cabaret Theater
8/29 9pm, 8/31 9pm, 9/6 6:30pm, 9/9 9pm
Allyson is in a space looking to go somewhere except Ono and Zona are not exactly accommodating. They restrict her movement, blocking her at every turn. Except someone is in the distance, trying to get through. Eventually Allyson tries to get in their space to separate herself
from Ono and Zona. Cast of five.
"Dollars to Doughnuts," written and directed by Susan Crawford.
world premiere, 90 min.
$15, Johnson Theater
8/28 2pm, 8/29 6:30pm, 8/31 6:30pm, 9/1 6:30pm, 9/3 2pm
A comedy for for the 99% about a leftist almost-professor who unintentionally wins the lottery and the existential angst that ensues.
"Electric Serenade" written by Robert Kirkendall, directed by Laurence C. Schwartz
world premiere 75 min
$15, Johnson Theater
9/11 8pm, 9/12 6:30pm, 9/13 9pm, 9/14 9pm, 9/15 6:30pm, 9/17 2pm
Joanna’s boyfriend is slipping away and it’s breaking her heart. While feeling despondent at a friend’s anniversary party, she meets Mark. They get to know each other, express their hopes and dreams, debate their beliefs, argue over a misunderstanding, make up, and reveal themselves as they gradually become closer through a series of shared experiences. But Joanna still loves her old boyfriend, and events will take her to an unexpected crossroads.
"Goth Opera," story by Katharine Kaspar, composed by JVO Worthley, lyrics by Carey Burtt, choreographed by Arlee Chadwick, directed by Katharine Kaspar
American premiere, 40 minutes
$15, Cabaret Theater
9/2 6:30pm, 9/3 8pm, 9/4 8pm
This is a cautionary tale about lust and addiction set in the Downtown Gothic Rock scene of the 1990s. It is performed with marionettes and set to gothic rock music. Puppets performed by Arlee Chadwick, Katharine Kaspar, and Pamela Aveli.
"The Minotaur" written and directed by Lilian Boyd
world premiere, 30 minutes
$15, Cabaret Theater
9/13 9pm, 9/14 9pm, 9/16 6:30pm, 9/17 8pm, 9/18 2pm
In the wake of his defeat by Theseus, The Minotaur arrives in Tartarus, the primordial prison for the wicked of Greek mythology. Determined to damn the world in his wake, The Minotaur recounts the story of his life to the chorus of other half living souls around him. Holding up a mirror to his tormentors, taking the figures of both family and gods alike, The Minotaur begs the listeners to decide if a monster is born or created. Cast of five.
"Nothing But Thunder," Written by Duncan Pflaster, directed by Aliza Shane
world premiere 90 min.
$18, Community Theater
9/8 9pm, 9/10 8pm, 9/11 5pm, 9/12 9pm, 9/14 9pm, 9/18 2pm
In Ancient Greece, a young and arrogant Dionysus is tasked by Zeus with rescuing his mother Semele from Tartarus; if he succeeds, he will be elevated to Olympus with the other gods. With his slave Xanthias, he goes on a queer adventure that will humble him greatly. A sexy spin on Greek Mythology.
"One With the Current," written by Daniel Damiano, directed by Leslie Kincaid Burby
world premiere, 70 minutes
$15, Cabaret Theater
9/10 8pm, 9/12 6:30pm, 9/14 6:30pm 9/15 9pm, 9/17 2pm, 9/18 8pm
A North Carolina man named Cliff embarks on a fishing trip with an old friend during the pandemic, but events that ensue will change his life forever. With Daniel Damiano as Cliff.
"Pandemonium" written by Claude Solnik, directed by Tony Chiofalo
world premiere 1 hour 45 min
$18, Community Theater
8/29 6:30pm, 8/30 6:30pm, 8/31 9pm, 9/1 9pm, 9/3 2pm
There’s a knock on the door of a suburban house one rainy night. Two children look and see Peter Pan and then Captain Hook on the doorstep. We follow the characters and the family who discover these figures, as the parents decide what to do with them. Enter a girl who just happens to be named Wendy and there’s some romance in the story of Peter and Hook in the “real” world. When an unscrupulous rare book collector decides to make money from these celebrities, we see how reality becomes more complicated than living the same story every day. Will Peter and Hook thrive in the real world or end up overwhelmed? A play about finding and writing your own story, something we all must do, but this one involves Peter Pan, Captain James Hook, Wendy and, of course, Tinker Bell. Cast of eight.
"Protected" by Robert E. DiNardo, directed by Shela Xoregos
world premiere, 95 min.
$20, Community Theater
8/28 5pm, 9/2 6:30pm, 9/4 2pm, 9/5 6:30pm, 9/6 6:30pm
An autobiographical retelling of what it was like to grow up gay and bi-racial in a less open time in America. A story of harassment and triumph that captures how the formative years long ago inform a man's current reality. Gene Santarelli head a cast of four.
"Soledad" by J. E. Robinson, directed by Patricia Floyd
world premiere, 100 minutes
$20, Johnson Theater
8/28 8pm, 8/30 6:30pm, 8/31 9pm, 9/2 9pm, 9/3 5pm, 9/4 5pm, 9/5 6:30pm, 9/6 9pm, 9/7 6:30pm
Brother and Queenie wait in the colored chapel at Angola State Prison, Louisiana, for a Maundy Thursday foot washing during Holy Week 1934, their last before their death sentence. Floyd, another prisoner, kills Queenie in the chapel, and, in the second act, Queenie finds himself dining in the kitchen in Heaven with Floyd, posing as David, the New Orleans police officer who had Queenie sent to prison.
"Splitting My Sides"
American Premiere 50 min.
$20, Johnson Theater
9/14 6:30pm, 9/15 9pm, 9/16 9pm, 917 5pm, 9/18 8pm
This is a unique, collaborative work showcasing new work from legendary couturier Mr Pearl, Drag Diva Joey Arias, vocal supremo Breezy Lee and choreographers Alex Rigg (UK) and Laura Victoria Ward (US) alongside unique costumes from Oceanallover. It explores the idea of stepping out of your old skin in order to grow and highlights the need to preserve the unique ecology of reptiles. The show is made up of several short chapters, each section speaking to one reptile. Original music includes a collaboration between Joey Arias and Breezy Lee who will perform live.
“Strokes of Genius,” written and directed by Prasad Paul Duffy
world premiere, 110 min. w/ intermission
$18, Community Theater
9/11 2pm, 9/13 9pm, 9/14 6:30pm, 9/15 6:30pm, 9/17 2pm, 9/17 8pm, 9/18 8pm
“Strokes of Genius” is a three character drama about the abstract expressionist painters Lee Krasner, Elaine de Kooning, and Helen Frankenthaler, who struggled to be recognized in a patriarchal art world, overshadowed by their famous husbands, Jackson Pollock and Willem de Kooning. Told through their own words, this memory play explores their courage, perseverance, and creative process, as they prepare for the ground-breaking “9th Street Show” in 1951 Greenwich Village.
"There Is No Eden" written and directed by James Henry
world premiere, 80 min.
$12 Cabaret Theater 9/7 6:30pm, 9/8 9pm, 9/9 6:30pm, 9/12 9pm, 9/13 6:30pm
Some people do not live in a world of sunshine and roses, but understand the dark. There is a balance of truth and hope as we witness the experiences of combat veterans and things they live with in a personal and heartfelt way. A comedy about family, Jesus and the space time continuum.
"Two Truths and a Lie," written by Cate Wiley, directed by Madelyn Chapman
world premiere, 90-100 min.
$18, Cabaret Theater
9/4 2pm, 9/5 6:30pm, 9/7 9pm, 9/8 6:30pm, 9/10 5pm
The biggest secrets are the ones we keep from ourselves. An ensemble piece about stories that reveal and hide us, connect us and keep us apart. Di lives in her car. Samantha gets high. George is always late. Bobbi is a lesbian. The characters range in age from teens to seventies. They discover how truth and lies describe all of us.
"Verse DiVerse," written by Amy Losi, directed by Ashley Adelman
world premiere, 90 minutes
$18, Community Theater
9/10 2pm, 9/12 6:30pm, 9/13 6:30pm, 9/15 9pm, 9/16 6:30pm
A play about loss, love, dreams, jazz, and the power of poetry. Five main characters' lives interweave in unexpected ways. The play centers on the relationship of two couples. Poetry is at the heart of the play and informs the story, illustrating the curative influence of love in the human experience and the need for it in our lives no matter your age.
"Yellow Sun of Neptune Ave.," written and directed by Denis C. Maguire
world premiere 30 min.
$18, Cabaret Theater
8/28 2pm, 8/29 6:30pm, 8/30 9pm, 8/31 6:30pm, 9/1 6:30pm
A comedy about the shallow nature of dating apps that satirizes the cultural clashes that occur routinely in Brooklyn, highlighting how people misrepresent themselves on social media. Cast of three.
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