HOLD & MONSTER Plays As Part of The 2011 Planet Connections Theatre Fest

The 2011 Planet Connections Theatre Festivity will feature a quite dark and twisted pairing this year. Playwright Ruben Carbajal's ominous comedy HOLD and Sabrina M Paterson's psychological thriller, MONSTER have been paired up for 6 performances June 1 - 26 at Gene Frankel Theatre (24 Bond Street) in New York City.

Sabrina M Paterson's MONSTER, directed by Gregory Allen, is a disturbing look into the sinister. Annie's mind is broken. As the sole witness to the brutal murder of her father, she endures an agonizing interrogation to put the pieces back together and identify the killer. An upsetting story of unthinkable acts and irrevocable damage, who is the victim? Who is the perpetrator? Running at 55 minutes, proceeds will benefit Amnesty International's RAINN program.

In Ruben Carbajal's HOLD, directed by Kelly Johnston, audiences are let in on what is supposed to be a very private conversation. HOLD is a devious dark comedy about a distressed gentleman who calls into a hotline for help only to battle being put on hold...repeatedly. Each successive person he encounters is increasingly peculiar, outrageous and more disjointed than the next, until he encounters his worst fears over the phone. Running at 20 minutes, proceeds will benefit Suicide Prevention International.

The cast of MONSTER features Samantha Smart, George C. Peck, Kathleen Marsh, BrIan Edwards, Carrie Lynette Stringfellow and Tiffany Clifton.

The cast of HOLD features Krista Giffin, Selene C. Hawks, Kate Kenney, Hank H. Kim, James Lentini, Hank Offinger, and Gina Trebiani.

Performances for MONSTER and HOLD are on: Tuesday 6/7 at 8:00pm. Wednesday, 6/8 at 4:00pm, Sunday, 6/12 at 5:00pm. Saturday, 6/18 at 2:00PM, Sunday, 6/19 @ 7:30pm and Monday, 6/20 at 6:30pm.

Tickets are $18 and can be purchased online at www.planetconnectionsfestivity.com, by calling 866.811.4111 or at the box office prior to each performance.
ABOUT THE PLAYWRIGHTS & DIRECTORS

Sabrina M Paterson (Playwright of MONSTER) is a Brooklyn based writer of short stories, screenplays and stage plays. After receiving her B.S. from SUNY at Stony Brook, she completed a run of her world premiere play Limitations at Manhattan Repertory Theatre and is currently working on several new projects. She is currently creating a colorblind theater company to perform original works and bring meaningful theater for all audiences.

Gregory Allen (Director of MONSTER) is classically an actor/director from Baltimore, MD. He trained as an actor at The Actor's Conservatory in Baltimore and The Baltimore School for the Arts (High School). Gregory is a graduate of the North Carolina School of the Arts. He received a two-year resident director fellowship at Second Stage Theatre and a directing fellowship from the Drama League Director's Project. At Second Stage he directed Suzanne Lori Parks "Venus", "The Little Tommy Parker Colored Minstrel Show "by Carlyle Brown and "Oregon" and "Andy& Claire" both by Peter Hedges. He has worked many times with 52nd street project. Most notable was his production of the "Tempest" which was performed in New York as well as in London. As an assistant director he has worked with Marion Mclinton on Jar the Floor and August Wilson "Jitney" at Second Stage and Scott Ellis in "Rainmaker" on Broadway.

Ruben Carbajal (Playwright of HOLD) is the author of THE GIFTED PROGRAM and SUBDIVISION (both developed at the Soho Rep Writer/Director Lab), PORTLAND (winner of the 2009 Coastal Empire Festival), WHITE RAGE (Chicago Dramatists), and the radio plays HOLD (The Queens Players, The Museum of Radio & Television) and DARK PARK (WSUM Radio). He has served as writer-in-residence at the Millay Colony and the New Jersey Shakespeare Festival, where his first play, THE MAN WHO STOPPED was produced. His work has been produced by The Bridge Theater Company, Turnip Theatre Company, Gorilla Tango Theater, Shoestring Radio Theatre, Armstrong Atlantic University, St. Joseph's College, Pace University and others. In 2008, Laramie Dennis directed an adaptation of his film SUBDIVISION, screened at the New Filmmakers Series in Los Angeles. His work can be found in The Best Men's Monologues of 2005, More Scenes and Monologues from the Best New Plays and Outstanding Men's Monologues Volume 2.

Kelly Johnston (Director of HOLD) has worked in various regional theatres such as the Alley Theatre in Houston, TX, the GeVa Theatre in Rochester, NY, the West Coast Ensemble in Los Angeles, CA and the Laguna Beach Playhouse in Laguna Beach, CA. He has co-founded and run two different theatre companies: Sirius Theatre in Los Angeles and, most recently, the Arizona Shakespeare Festival in Prescott, AZ. At AzSF, he was the Artistic Director for its first twelve seasons. He now works and resides in NYC.

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON PLANET CONNECTIONS THEATER FESTIVITY:
www.planetconnections.org