New Rep to Host National New Play Network's 2015 Conference Next Week

On Thursday, June 11, 2015, New Repertory Theatre will host the National New Play Network's Annual Conference at the Arsenal Center for the Arts in Watertown, MA. The National New Play Network (NNPN) is the Country's alliance of nonprofit theaters that champions the development, production, and continued life of new plays. The organization is comprised of 29 Core Members and 66 Associate Members from all over the country. New Repertory Theatre has been a Core Member since 2006 and serves as the Boston area's representative for the NNPN.

"New Rep has had a deep commitment to the production of new works over our 30 year history," says New Rep Artistic Director, Jim Petosa. "Our association with the National New Play Network has allowed us to foster and develop new plays on a national level in cooperation with dozens of like-minded professional theatre organizations. It is with great pleasure that we welcome fellow NNPN members to our home for this annual meeting, and we look forward to future collaborations and especially the NNPN Rolling World Premiere production of BLACKBERRY WINTER next season."

"New Rep is proud of the new play ecology that has developed in this region over the past decade," says New Rep Associate Artistic Director and NNPN Literary Chair, Bridget Kathleen O'Leary. "We have enjoyed being a part of the efforts to cultivate new, local voices that help define storytelling in the Boston area. NNPN has supported us tremendously in this effort, and we are honored to host this year's Annual Conference."

"The National New Play Network is delighted to be convening its membership for its 17th Annual Conference at New Repertory Theatre this year," says NNPN Executive Director, Nan Barnett. "New Rep is the perfect place for us to come together, with its beautiful setting and great facilities, and an amazing staff, led by Artistic Director Jim Petosa and Managing Director Harriett Sheets, who also serves on NNPN's Finance Committee. This year is special for NNPN, as we will approve at this meeting a long range plan that will take us through the lead up to our 20th Anniversary in 2018. We will also celebrate playwright Kathleen Cahill who received the organization's 2013 Annual Commission for her play HARBUR GATE."

A private reception will be held on Thursday, June 11 to welcome NNPN members, followed by a free public reading at the Arsenal Center for the Arts of 2013 NNPN Commission Kathleen Cahill's play HARBUR GATE, directed by Adrienne Boris and featuring a cast of New Rep favorites. Space is very limited. For inquiries, contact Bridget O'Leary at artistic@newrep.org.

New Repertory Theatre is the award-winning, professional theatre company in residence at the Arsenal Center for the Arts in Watertown, MA. For over 30 years, New Rep has been a leader of self-produced theatre in greater Boston, producing contemporary and classic dramas, comedies, and musicals in both the 340-seat Charles Mosesian Theater and the 90- seat Black Box Theater. In addition to its mainstage productions, New Rep produces Next Voices, a program dedicated to developing new plays through staged readings and world premiere productions. Under its Lifelong Enrichment Arts Programs (LEAP), New Rep also produces its Classic Repertory Company, Page to Stage, Insider Experiences, and Spotlight Symposium Series.

New Repertory Theatre produces plays that speak powerfully to the essential ideas of our time. Through the passion and electricity of live theater performed to the highest standards of excellence, New Rep expands and challenges the human spirit of both artists and audience. New Rep presents world premieres, contemporary and classic works in several intimate settings. We are committed to education and outreach, including special dedication to the creation of innovative in-school programming and providing access to underserved audiences. New Rep is an active advocate for the arts and a major voice in the national dialogue defining the role of theater in our culture.

The National New Play Network (NNPN) is the country's alliance of nonprofit theaters that champions the development, production, and continued life of new plays. They strive to pioneer, implement, and disseminate ideas and programs that revolutionize the way theaters collaborate to support new plays and playwrights. Since its founding in 1998, the NNPN has supported nearly 150 productions nationwide through its innovative Continued Life of New Plays Fund, which creates NNPN Rolling World Premieres of new plays; granted more than a million dollars to its Member theaters, their staffs, and affiliated artists; and provided hundreds of playwrights and other theater-makers with developmental workshops, commissions, and paid residencies. Now, after seventeen seasons, hundreds of thousands of audience members around the world have seen plays that were created and honed with support from NNPN.

EVENT DETAILS AT A GLANCE:

What: A free public reading of HARBUR GATE by Kathleen Cahill
When: June 11, 2015 at 7:30pm
Where: Arsenal Center for the Arts, 321 Arsenal Street, Watertown, MA

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