David Stallings Rounds Out PLAYWRIGHTS FOR A CAUSE Lineup at Planet Connections

 

The final writer for the annual Playwrights for a Cause benefit is Planet Connections Award Winning writer David Stallings.

The event will be Sunday, July 23, and will benefit the New York Civil Liberties Union with "The Protest Plays," stories of standing up to injustice written by celebrated authors, Catherine Fallout, Lyle Kessler, Jose Rivera, ReGina Taylor, and now, Mr. Stallings. A reception will follow the performance.

The cast and production team will be announced shortly - along with location of the event and how to reserve tickets. Benefit tickets for reserved seating will be $20 - $125.

Mr. Stallings was selected by Catherine Filloux, Lyle Kessler, Jose Rivera and ReGina Taylor to present alongside them this season. The selection process begins with submissions from past playwrights who have have won or been nominated for a Planet Connections Award specifically for writing. The Artistic Committee received over 30 submissions. Then 5 scripts are recommended to the featured playwrights for the benefit who then vote for the winner to be featured along with their pieces in this year's Playwrights For A Cause. This submission process continues and all eligible applicants are encouraged to apply for next season.

Mr. Stallings had this to say about his inclusion in the program: "It is invigorating to be involved in an evening of theatre with artists aligned towards the fight for activism through Art. The diverse voices assembled for this event who are inspired and interested in defending our right to protest, certainly show a more accurate tapestry of our American truth than the majority of our political representatives who threaten to defund art, and strip us from our basic rights as individuals. It is an honor to be selected from a pool of amazing Planet Connections Theatre Festivity colleagues, and to have my work presented among established playwrights I respect, not only for their skill, but uniqueness of voice and thematic bravery. I am truly humbled to share my work with the Playwrights for a Cause audience."

"Mr. Stallings' work exemplifies the type of works needed for this event," Planet Connections Artistic Director, Brock Hill, extolled. "His choice of topics show that David exemplifies the human experience on a national AND personal level," he concluded.

DAVID STALLINGS is the author of 15 full length plays and numerous shorts. His work has been presented in New York City and across the US. His play about the Louisiana oil spill, Dark Water, was the recipient of the 2014 New York Innovative Theater Award for Best Original Full Length Script; Ana?s Nin Goes to Hell won the 1st Prize at the 2007 Boston Theatre Works Unbound Festival, the 2009 Arthur W. Stone New Play Award at Louisiana Tech University, and a was semi-finalist for the 2008 Princess Grace Award; His play about Galveston, TX during hurricane Ike, Barrier Island, was nominated for the 2009 Williamstown Theatre Festival's Weissberger New Play Award; The Stranger to Kindness won the 2011 Planet Connections Playwriting Award Short Form, and Best Production of a One Act Play. David was the co-founder and artistic director of Manhattan Theatre Works (2006-2016). He is the associate artistic director & theater manager of the Theater at the 14th Street Y.