REST, ZEALOT, MR. WOLF and More Set for South Coast Rep's 2014 Pacific Playwrights Festival, 4/25-27

By: Feb. 24, 2014
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Experience something(s) new: Three world premiere productions and four new play readings during South Coast Repertory's 2014 Pacific Playwrights Festival, April 25-27. Single and packaged tickets are available online at www.scr.org.

"Because this is South Coast Repertory's milestone 50th Season, we're doing some special things with this year's Pacific Playwrights Festival, beginning with an amazing line-up of plays," said John Glore, festival co-director and SCR associate artistic director. "We're adding a third full production-the world premiere of a new Adam Rapp plays in the Nicholas Studio. We're also inviting some of our favorite playwrights, local and national, to join us for the festivities."

"We have a powerhouse line-up this year," said Kelly Miller, festival co-director and SCR literary director. "It includes readings of important new plays by some of the best veteran and emerging playwrights working in the American Theatre."

This year's PPF features world premiere productions by Samuel D. Hunter, Rachel Bonds and Adam Rapp, and staged readings of new works by Theresa Rebeck, Eliza Clark, Rajiv Joseph and Melissa Ross.

As a special feature of the festival during SCR's 50th Season, The Purple Lights of Joppa Illinois by Adam Rapp, will be staged as a full production.

Full productions featured at the 2014 Pacific Playwrights Festival:

WHEN: Friday-Saturday, April 25-26, 8 p.m., with Saturday and Sunday matinees at 2:30 p.m. Segerstrom Stage.

A nursing home in northern Idaho is shutting down, and one of the three remaining patients has wandered off in the midst of a record-breaking blizzard. When the search for the missing man takes an unexpected turn, residents and staff alike find themselves powerless in the face of an uncertain future. A funny and heartbreaking new play from the author of The Whale.

WHEN: Friday-Sunday, April 25-27, 7:45 p.m., with matinees at 2 p.m. This show continues through May 4. Julianne Argyros Stage.

Jamie enjoys a quiet life in his small Pennsylvania town, fixing up his grandfather's old lake house and pining after Mary, his troubled coworker. When his brother comes back to town with a new girlfriend, Jamie's peaceful world is turned upside down. A tender story about those who stay and those who go away.

  • The Purple Lights of Joppa Illinois written and directed by Adam Rapp

WHEN: Friday, April 25, at 8 p.m.; Saturday, April 26, at 2:30 and 8 p.m.; and Sunday, April 27, at 2:30 p.m., Nicholas Studio.

Ellis Shook lives alone in a small duplex apartment in Paducah, Kentucky. He works nights buffing floors, keeps to himself-and always remembers to take his medication. But when two teenage girls arrive at his doorstep one autumn afternoon, their visit forces him to confront a tragic past while also offering him a glimpse at hope. This is a fully staged production.

Readings slated for the 2014 Pacific Playwrights Festival:

WHEN: Friday, April 25, at 1 p.m., Segerstrom Stage

At the British consulate in Mecca a tactical tea is interrupted by news of nearby violence. When a witness seeks asylum, a diplomatic battle of wits ensues, while a life hangs in the balance.

WHEN: Friday, April 25, 3:30 p.m., Segerstrom Stage

Chiara, the spoiled starlet. Peter, her obsessed, middle-aged stalker-fan. Add a stage mother, a bodyguard with a past and a security guard who really wants to be a cop, and fantasies collide-with each other and with reality.

WHEN: Saturday, April 26, 10:30 a.m., Julianne Argyros Stage.

The only world 17-year-old Theresa has ever known revolves around Mr. Wolf. He taught her the universe. When she's taken from him and thrust into the arms of well-meaning strangers, she must grapple with who she is and where she belongs. This play received its first reading in late 2013 in SCR's NewSCRipts series.

WHEN: Sunday, April 27, at 10:30 a.m., Segerstrom Stage.

Three sisters and their respective partners gather for the weekend at their late father's house in Cape Cod. As the drinks flow, so do the family feuds, witty banter and surprising confessions.

In addition, the festival will include the annual PPF Playwrights Panel, a discussion moderated by Julie Marie Myatt, SCR's Andrew W. Mellon Playwright-in-Residence, takes place on Sunday, April 27, from 9-10 a.m., on the Julianne Argyros Stage. The panel discussion is free.

Created in 1998, PPF has grown into one of the leading festivals of new plays in the country and showcases some of the best new work on SCR's radar. The festival offerings generate lively conversation, future world premieres and subsequent productions for numerous playwrights. Over the years, the festival has helped launch some of the most prominent plays in the American theatre, including Donald Margulies' Shipwrecked! An Entertainment, Lynn Nottage's Intimate Apparel, Nilo Cruz's Anna in the Tropics, Rolin Jones' The Intelligent Design of Jenny Chow and David Lindsay-Abaire's Pulitzer Prize-winning Rabbit Hole.

About tickets: The 17th Pacific Playwrights Festival has several ticketing options:

  • Tickets for individual readings are $16.
  • Packages to see all four readings and The Purple Lights of Joppa Illinois are $75.
  • Tickets for full productions range from $20-72 (Rest, Five Mile Lake and The Purple Lights of Joppa Illinois)

The Playwrights Panel is free and open to the public.

Tickets may be purchased by phone at (714) 708-5555, at the SCR Box Office or online at www.scr.org.

Location: South Coast Repertory is located at 655 Town Center Drive in Costa Mesa, at the Bristol Street/Avenue of the Arts exit off the San Diego (405) Freeway in the Emmes/Benson Theatre Center, part of the Segerstrom Center for the Arts. Parking is available in the parking structure on Park Center Drive, off Anton Blvd.

ABOUT SOUTH COAST REPERTORY: Tony Award-winning South Coast Repertory, founded in 1964 by David Emmes and Martin Benson, is celebrating its 50th Season. Now under the leadership of Artistic Director Marc Masterson and Managing Director Paula Tomei, SCR is widely recognized as one of the leading professional theatres in the United States. SCR is committed to theatre that illuminates the compelling personal and social issues of our time, not only on its stages but through its wide array of education and outreach programs. While its productions represent a balance of classic and modern theatre, SCR is renowned for its extensive new-play development program, which includes the nation's largest commissioning program for emerging and established writers and composers. Each year, it showcases some of country's best new plays in the Pacific Playwrights Festival, which attracts theatre professionals from across the country. Of SCR's more than 475 productions, one-quarter have been world premieres, whose subsequent stagings achieved enormous success throughout America and around the world. Two SCR-developed works have won Pulitzer Prizes, and another eight were named Pulitzer finalists. In addition, SCR works have won several Obie Awards and scores of major new-play awards. Located in Costa Mesa, California, SCR's David Emmes/Martin Benson Theatre Center is home to the 507-seat Segerstrom Stage, the 336-seat Julianne Argyros Stage and the 94-seat Nicholas Studio. More information is available at www.scr.org.



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