Theresa Rebeck, Robert Lupone Set for TAKE TEN Panel; 2014 Playwrights Festival to Kick Off in Aspen, 2/2

Aspen's acclaimed Theatre Masters will present its 2014 National MFA Playwrights Festival and Aspiring Playwrights Competition -- an exciting, fast-paced evening of 10-minute plays by the next generation of American Playwrights - for three nights beginning February 2nd (7:30PM) at Aspen High School Black Box Theater (235 County Road 13A, Aspen, CO, 81611).

The evenings will feature 8 plays by MFA playwriting students from Carnegie Mellon, Columbia, Northwestern, NYU, University of Iowa, University of Texas at Austin, and Yale. In addition, two plays from local Roaring Fork Valley high school students will get their theatrical premiere. In addition, guest adjudicators, Theresa Rebeck, Andrew Leynse, and Robert LuPone will participate in the Aspen Institute Panel Discussion on February 1st (5PM) at the Koch Building.

Award winning playwright Theresa Rebeck, Artistic Director Andrew Leynse, and Broadway actor and Artistic Director Robert LuPone will all arrive from New York and serve as guest adjudicators along with Theater Masters' Artistic Director, Julia Hansen and Artistic Associate Naomi McDougall Jones. This panel selects the playwrights and then arranges for the students to come first to Aspen and then New York, for workshops and performances of their pieces. The final Equity showcase in New York City is scheduled for April 22-27, 2014 at The American Theater of Actors.

Theresa Rebeck is a widely produced playwright throughout the United States and abroad. Her recent works include Dead Accounts, Seminar, and The Understudy. She is also executive producer of the NBC Series, SMASH. Andrew Leynse is Artistic Director at Primary Stages. He has produced, managed, and directed in the New York Theatre community for more than twenty years. Robert LuPone has appeared in countless Broadway and TV shows. He was nominated for a Tony Award for his role as "Zach" in the original production of "A Chorus Line."

The following are the 2014 Winning Playwrights along with their Universities and the titles of their plays: Raquel Almazan (Columbia) Dar a Luz; Will Arbery (Northwestern) The Logic; Nathan Cann (NYU) Came Tumbling After; Julie Jigour (Carnegie Mellon) Celebration of Life; Brian Kettler (UT Austin) Clown Room; Ryan Oliveira (University of Iowa) Dogs in the Debris; Eva Suter (UT Austin) Nona Who Swallowed a Bird; Emily Zemba (Yale) The House That Blows Down; Jamie Harris (Glenwood Springs High School) Death of Decisions; Talitha Jones (Aspen High School) Who's Paying?.

Directed by Stephen Cedars, Daisy Walker, and Joseph Ward, the evenings will feature Franz Alderfer, Dan Bosko, Jimmy Coates, Ed Foran, Julia Foran, Kirsten Frantzich, Nina Gabianelli, Nick Garay, Dani Grace Kopf, Rett Harper, Naomi Havlen, Web Heyliger, Naomi McDougall Jones, Wendy Perkins, Jacqueline Quillupangui, John Rios, Sophie Schlosser, Jack Seamans, Eileen Seeley, Sean Warnecke, Chris Wheatley, and Chip Winn Wells.

Theater Masters is dedicated to nurturing, developing, and producing or causing to be produced the work of the next generation of American Playwrights. Their goal is always to enhance audience understanding of, and support for, theater. Each year, Theater Masters hosts a national 10-minute playwriting competition among the MFA students at the top MFA playwriting programs in the country.

Tickets for the 2014 National MFA Playwrights Festival and Aspiring Playwrights Competition on Sunday, February 2nd; Monday, February 3rd; and Tuesday, February 4th (7:30PM) at Aspen High School Black Box Theater (235 County Road 13A, Aspen, CO, 81611) are $25. Student tickets are $12. For reservations email theatermasters@gmail.com or call (970) 618-5219. Tickets also available at the door. The Aspen Institute Panel Discussion with Theresa Rebeck, Andrew Leynse, and Robert LuPone on Saturday, February 1st (5PM) at the Koch Building is FREE and open to the public.