Theater Masters Presents TAKE 10 National MFA Playwrights Competition at Theatre Row, Now thru 4/6

Aspen's acclaimed Theater Masters will present its seventh annual "Take 10," an evening of nine 10-minute plays from award-winning MFA graduate playwriting students across the country as part of its National MFA Playwrights competition tonight, April 2nd - 6th at Off-Broadway's The Studio Theatre on Theatre Row (410 W 42nd Street).

"Theater Masters' Associate Producer Naomi Mcdougall Jones and I read over 100 scripts submitted from twelve of the top graduate playwriting programs in the country, and award-winning playwright Theresa Rebeck served as our guest adjudicator to help us select the six winning plays. These remarkable new plays are from some of the finest young playwrights this country is developing," said Julia Hansen, Theater Masters founder/Artistic Director - and former President of New York's Drama League and founder of its esteemed "Directors' Project." "In many ways, how I started the Drama League's "Director's Project" and helped launch the careers of Diane Paulus, Christoper Ashley and Michael Mayer --- is how I am now developing new playwrights and giving them their first chance to have their work receive a New York premiere."

The 10-minute plays are:

The Punk's Mother by Brian T. May (UCLA): When a wayward punk-turned-business-student raises the price of the drugs he sells to his widowed mother, a routine drug deal becomes an examination of guilt, opportunity cost, and familial responsibility.

Dogfight by Diana Small (University of Texas- Austin): Kate loves her boyfriend. Mary's feeling frisky. Silvio's got brain freeze. A play about young love, growing old, and great escapes.

La Migra Taco Truck by Raquel Almazan (Columbia): The American future in the Arizona desert finds two border patrol officers divided in their suspicions that their local taco truck vendor is delivering more than their lunch, a dangerous collision of cultures and politics ensue.

The Offspring Relief Program by Brittany J Thurman (Carnegie Mellon): Ellery and Micah were just two teenagers being teenagers, that is until their own parents decided to ship them off to a program known as Offspring Relief. With brainwashing and shock therapy on the menu, there is only one small savory way out.

Pass the Lingonberries by Nick Carr (NYU): An unexpected guest interrupts a quiet evening in the Zaremba family home, which just happens to be the showroom of a popular Swedish furniture store.

Shot for Shot by Kit Williamson (UCLA): A dorm room seduction turns into an impromptu photoshoot. Will the guy get the girl or will the girl get him?

Safe City Haven by Emily Dendinger (University of Iowa): In the early morning light at bus stop next to a hospital, Piper and Ainsley are faced with a difficult decision that will change both of their lives.

Handful by Amanda Jane Shank (CalArts): When the ashes of their recently deceased mother suddenly disappear, stoic and grief-stricken David suspects that his younger brother Michael is up to no good.

The Drive by Mary Laws (Yale): A family goes on a heart-wrenching drive to the church.

The plays will be directed by Stephen Cedars, Shana Gozansky and Nancy Robillard, and casting will include: Jeremiah Burch, James Caulfield, Paul Cosentino, Elizabeth Elson, John Haggerty, Brad Koed, Tyler Lansing Weaks, Emily Louise Perkins, Kathy McCafferty, Valeri Mudek, Alvin Nieves, Daniel Pollack and Ted Sutherland.

Based in Aspen, Colorado, Theater Masters is a non-profit organization whose core mission is to seek and nurture the next generation of artists for the American Theatre and present their work.

All performances of "Take 10," at The Studio Theatre on Theater Row (410 W 42nd Street) tonight, April 2nd - Saturday, April 6th are at 7:30PM. General Admission is $18. (Special reserved seating available for $50, which includes a contribution to Theater Masters' seventh season sponsor campaign). For more information visit www.theatrerow.org, and to purchase tickets visit www.telecharge.com.

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