MOMENTUM '17: City Theatre presents Festival of New Plays

City Theatre is excited to announce the plays and events included in Momentum '17: New Plays at Different Stages, the South Side theater company's annual festival of new play development. The annual festival will run from May 31 - June 4, 2017 and will include three public presentations of plays - plus one musical - at different stages in the development process, a closed reading of new work by a Young Playwrights Festival Alumnus, a Happy Hour/Artists Meet & Greet with Urbanist Pittsburgh, and an interactive opportunity to participate in conversation with local playwright Tami Dixon for an upcoming project. The readings and events are free and open to the public. Reservations are strongly encouraged to guarantee seating and can be made at CityTheatreCompany.org or by calling the box office at 412-431-CITY (2489).

"This year's festival really does highlight the breadth of developmental work City supports", explains Director of New Play Development Clare Drobot. "From an early reading of playwright Caroline V. McGraw's I Get Restless to a workshop of Citizens Market by Cori Thomas, a play receiving its world premiere in City's 2017-18 season, each opportunity is tailored to individual artistic needs. Both The White Chip by Sean Daniels-also part of next season-and The Consequences by Kyle Jarrow and Nathan Leigh have had previous productions, but Momentum offers the freedom for City to assist in the evolution of these exciting projects."

Two workshop presentations of Citizens Market by Cori Thomas will take place throughout the weekend and the play will receive its world premiere March 3-25, 2018. It was previously read as part of a playwriting mini-residency at City Theatre in February 2016 under the title Akosua Means Sunday. A reading of The White Chip by Sean Daniels will take place on Sunday afternoon. The White Chip will receive its second ever production April 7-May 6, 2018, having premiered at Merrimack Repertory Theatre in 2016. Full play listing and events schedule is below.

MOMENTUM '17: THE PLAYS

Citizens Market by Cori Thomas

A good New York City supermarket has everything its neighborhood needs, including a charming cast of characters behind the counter. Citizens Market, the latest from City Theatre favorite Cori Thomas (When January Feels Like Summer), follows a hopeful group of immigrants as they form an unlikely family, working together to master the ups and downs of language, love, and staying afloat in the city that never sleeps. Full of laughter and life, this world premiere celebrates an ever-shifting and eclectic America.

Excerpts from:
The Consequences Music & Lyrics by Nathan Leigh & Kyle Jarrow; Book by Kyle Jarrow

A love story in twelve songs, The Consequences follows the rock'n'roll romance of Jeremy and Ellie. Ten years after they last saw each other, a song reconnects them. Jeremy's a software engineer about to get married and Ellie's still in a band looking for her big break. Has fate inextricably linked these two or can free will play a part in finding the perfect partner? Join us for a reimagined excerpt from this one of a kind musical by Kyle Jarrow (Whisper House with Duncan Sheik, The Spongebob Musical) and Nathan Leigh (A Life in Transit) directed by City Theatre Artistic Director Tracy Brigden.

The Desired by Lana Meyer

Set in a Chicago brothel in 1911, The Desired is a colorful portrait of a group of women fighting for love and their own slice of the Windy City. Now in its second year, the Young Playwright Festival Alumni Reading offers a private developmental opportunity to a playwright produced in City's nationally recognized contest. This year we are excited to feature the work of Lana Meyer, a two-time YPF Winner for her plays Roost (2012) and A Cradle of Beliefs (2011).

I Get Restless by Caroline V. McGraw

Hazel has just lost ten years of her life. One moment they were there and the next she's waking up in a hospital room newly married to a man she doesn't know. In this sharp, quirky, exploration of love and memory, she tries to fit the pieces of her old life back together only to discover that the brain's elasticity has its limits.

The White Chip by Sean Daniels

Sean is on top of the world: he's married, has good friends, and is steps away from his dream job running one of the hottest theaters in the country. He also happens to be an alcoholic spinning out of control. The White Chip follows his life from first sip to first love, critical hit to critical care, all the way to rock bottom where he carves an unusual path to sobriety. This highly entertaining autobiographical tale from Sean Daniels (director of The Lion), is a wry and wild theatrical journey to recovery.

Questioning Color: Conversations about Race with Tami Dixon

How often do you think about your skin color? In what ways does skin color shape experience? In preparation for a new work about identity, playwright Tami Dixon (South Side Stories) will engage in one-on-one conversations with patrons during Momentum 17 to ask candid questions and explore how people come to perceive racial identity and experience whiteness.

Interested attendees can sign up in City's lobby on Thursday from 6-7 p.m. and Friday between 5-6:30 p.m. Interviews will be scheduled on Saturday between 12-6 p.m. This is a special chance to be part of the artistic process.

City Connects/MOMENTUM

City Theatre extends its City Connects program beyond the season with the YWCA of Greater Pittsburgh. At all Momentum events, City will collect donations of toiletries for emergency kits the YWCA creates for trafficking and domestic violence shelters/organizations in the Southwestern PA region.

About the YWCA: Violence against women, in its many forms, has no demographic boundaries. It is known to all age groups, all races, all religions, and all socioeconomic backgrounds. A woman is battered every 15 seconds in the United States, and 700,000 women are raped every year. (Source: YWCA USA Week Without Violence.)

Throughout the year YWCA Greater Pittsburgh creates emergency kits for trafficking and domestic violence shelters/organizations in the SW PA region. These kits contain new personal hygiene and toiletry items, sorted and stored in individual Ziploc bags, for safe and easy distribution to women and children at residential facilities and shelters. Items of greatest need include new/unused travel size toiletries, including soap, shampoo, conditioner, toothpaste, lotion, tissues, toothbrushes, combs, deodorant, etc.

MOMENTUM '17 SCHEDULE:

Wednesday, May 31

The Desired by Lana Meyer
Closed reading
Directed by Spencer Whale

Thursday, June 1

7:00 p.m. - Citizens Market by Cori Thomas
Workshop presentation

Directed by Reginald L. Douglas

Friday, June 2

5:00-7:00 p.m. - Happy Hour/Artists Meet & Greet with Urbanist Pittsburgh
Meet the artists behind the plays, enter giveaways, get a behind the scenes tour, and enjoy drink specials in the Gordon Lounge.

7:00 p.m. - I Get Restless by Caroline V. McGraw

Reading

Directed by Anya Martin

Saturday, June 3

12:00 - 6:00 p.m. - Questioning Color by Tami Dixon
Audience Interviews, sign up at City on Thursday & Friday during Momentum

2:00 p.m. - Citizens Market by Cori Thomas

Workshop presentation

Directed by Reginald L. Douglas

8:00 p.m. - The Consequences
Music & Lyrics by Nathan Leigh & Kyle Jarrow; Book by Kyle Jarrow
Workshop presentation

Directed by Tracy Brigden

Sunday, June 4

1:00 p.m. - The White Chip by Sean Daniels

Reading
Directed by Sheryl Kaller

TICKETS:

Momentum 17 is free and open to the public, but reservations are suggested. You may reserve tickets online or by calling the box office.

WHERE:
All readings take place at City Theatre, in the Rehearsal Hall or Lester Hamburg Studio. See event website for details.

City Theatre, 1300 Bingham Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15203 (South Side)
Patron parking is available in the lot across from the City Theatre entrance for $8.

BOX OFFICE:

412.431.CITY (2489) or citytheatrecompany.org.

City Theatre is now in its 42nd season. Located in the historic South Side, City Theatre is Pittsburgh's home for bold new plays, commissioning and producing work by playwrights including Daniel Beaty, Jessica Dickey, Christopher Durang, Michael Hollinger, Willy Holtzman, Tarell Alvin McCraney, and Cori Thomas. Under the leadership of Artistic Director Tracy Brigden, Managing Director James McNeel, and the Board of Directors, City Theatre's mission is to provide an artistic home for the development and production of contemporary plays of substance and ideas that engage and challenge a diverse audience. CityTheatreCompany.org.

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