Short Play Festival PICK OF THE VINE to Open This Winter at Little Fish Theatre

Little Fish Theatre is proud to present Pick of the Vine as the first production of its all-new 2017 season.

This year, we will be taking a Behind-the-Scenes Look at Life and Love and will feature a blend of faces familiar and new, both onstage and off. POV is a collection of original short-subject plays that has become the flagship production of this local arts landmark.

This year's program consists of:

Santa Doesn't Live Here Anymore by Patrick Gabridge of Medford, MA

The Way It Really Truly Almost Was by BrenDan Healy of Shoreline, WA

Thick Gnat Hands by Erin Mallon of Maplewood, NJ

I Don't Know by James McLindon of Northampton, MA

Wheelchair by Scott Mullen of North Hollywood, CA

A Womb with A View by Rich Orloff of New York, NY

Screaming by Stephen Peirick of St. Louis, NJ

The Holy Grill by Gary Shaffer of Point Pleasant, NJ

A Very Short Play About The Very Short Presidency of William Henry Harrison by Jonathan

Yukich of Hamden, CT

Like a nine-course prix-fixe feast, this selection of shows is sure to satisfy any theatrical craving, delivering a full meal of exceptionally engaging stories. The plays take a look at life from beginning to end and provide insight about what happens outside of the public eye: What happens when your adult son still believes in Santa? How does a young wife cope with a baby who won't stop crying? Will a nervous fiancee tell the truth when he's given the third degree during a pre-marriage counseling session?

The Pick of the Vine selection committee carefully combed through more than 710 plays submitted from around the world. Of these, 70 were put through to the semi-final round with out-loud readings by LFT Company Members. Through a painstaking process of elimination, the final nine plays were chosen for their ability to entertain, engage, and excite audiences.

The Pick of the Vine directing team features two Company Members and two newcomers to Little Fish Theatre. Returning for his third stint as a POV director is Richard Perloff (Private Eyes, Deathtrap) and for her fourth POV directorial outing (2009, 2010, 2015) is Madeleine Drake. New to the directing team are Gigi Fusco Meese, whom the Daily Pilot named "Woman of the Year in Theatre" and most recently directed at Long Beach Playhouse; and Elissa Anne Polansky, a Broadway World nominee who most recently directed in Los Angeles for the 2016 Hollywood Fringe.

The cast consists of LFT Company Members both familiar and new to LFT audiences. Jessica Winward and Olivia Schlueter-Corey will be making their first appearances with the POV troupe, both having been seen this past summer in Shakespeare by the Sea's Othello and Cymbeline. Returning to the POV stage are Holly Baker-Kreiswirth (StageSceneLA award winner, LFT's Panache) Geraldine Fuentes (LFT's Oh, Baby), Brendan Gill (POV 2016), Don Schlossman* (LFT's Table Manners), Rodney Rincon* (StageSceneLA award winner, LFT's Bus Stop), and Bill Wolski (StageSceneLA award winner LFT's Tryst).

Pick of the Vine will run Friday and Saturday nights at 8pm from January 13th through February 11th, Thursday nights at 8pm on January 21st, 28th and February 4th, and Sunday afternoons at 2pm on January 22nd and 29th. The January 22nd show features a special talkback session where audience members can interact with the cast and creative team. Over the years, Pick of the Vine has gathered a loyal and enthusiastic following, and, as in the past several seasons, this production is expected to sell out most performances.

Tickets can be purchased online at www.littlefishtheatre.org, by phone at 310-512-6030 or by text 424-226-6030. Popular subscription packages of Anytime Tickets are available now and can be used at any of Little Fish Theatre's regular season productions, at any time.

Founded in 2002, Little Fish Theatre presents classic and contemporary plays in an intimate setting on Centre Street in downtown San Pedro. Producing ten plays each year in a one-room, 65-seat venue, Little Fish delivers the quintessential close-up theatrical experience, where audience and performers share space and sight lines, making for eruptive laughter, highly-charged action, and palpable emotion.

*This production is presented under the auspices of the Actors' Equity Los Angeles Membership Company Rule.