Players Theatre Short Play & Musical Festival Opens This Week

There is no place like New York! With a city this rich in culture, scandal and diversity, the possibilities for theatrical reenactment are endless. The Players Theatre Short Play and Musical Festival encourage playwrights to mine this precious resource by offering an annual NYC - themed festival each June. Celebrating its 6th year, "Only in New York" opens Thursday, June 9 and runs for three weeks. Each week five or six original short plays (and one musical), by a variety of playwrights (including two high school students) will be presented and a "Best of the Week" production will be selected by audience vote.

Playwrights from all over the country submitted their plays earlier this year. The festival panel selected 16 plays for presentation. The playwrights are responsible for their own production and act as producer for their piece. Many of the playwrights have participated in other festivals at the Players Theatre and several were award winners in past years. Artistic Director, Brenda Bell, commented "This year we could have almost called the festival MTA. A large number of our selections center on the NYC transit system. While a few of them focus on the rider frustration element, many focus on the interesting and unusual relationships that develop during something that affects most New Yorkers on a daily basis".

This year the festival will feature two plays in the first week by high school students. Kate August, an accomplished playwright and director who has been honored by the festival in the past noted "We wanted to offer young playwrights the opportunity to see their work presented without the burden of producing their piece". The festival took on the role of producer for these two pieces - "Stand Clear of the Closing Doors" by Ali Hussain and Stitches by Natalie Lifson.

The NYC Festival runs June 9th - 26st at the Players Theatre in the 3rd floor Steve and Marie Sgouros Black Box located at 115 MacDougal Street in the West Village. Performances are Thursday Saturday at 7p and Sunday at 3p. Tickets are $30 and can be purchased online at: www.shortplaynyc.com or at the box office. A complete listing of the plays is below. The Short Play and Musical Festival (SPF) is presented three times a year. The October theme is horror and the February theme is SEX!

Week One - June 9-12

Seasons of he N Train by Kate August

It Began Here by Patrick Blake

The Last Stop by Daniel Echevarria

Stand Clear of the Closing Doors Please by Ali Hussain

Stiches by Natalie Lifson

Week Two - June 16-19

Drama by Michelle Felice Hartley

A Bridge Story by Rayze Simonson

Estimated Wait by Kati Frazier

Strangers on the E by Ruthellen Cheney

Different Stops by Sean O'Shea

Philena , The lover of mankind by George Cameron Grant

Week Three - June 23-26

The Bard of MacDougal Street by Anne V. Grob

Tossed Salad by Fred Rohan-Vargas

F The MTA by Jonathan Rion Bethea

Tourist Troubles by Allan Yashin

"Hell's" Kitchen by Frank D'Agostino