Jenny Connell Davis News

With just one week left until the close of open submission the for National Playwrights Conference, it seemed like a perfect time to chat with a vet of the conference who also has a play lighting up the New York stage at Roundabout Underground - Lindsey Ferrentino.

The Eugene O'Neill Theater Center has announced a national call for submissions for the 2016 National Playwrights Conference. Applicants may submit new plays for development through the Open Submissions Process beginning today through Friday, October 16.

The Playwrights' Center has announced the plays and Core Writer playwrights to be featured in its 2015-16 season of free public readings, comprising the 2015 PlayLabs new play festival and the 2015-16 Ruth Easton New Play Series. The plays and playwrights:

Chance Theater is excited to present the Southern California Premiere of a bold look at the strength and true nature of enduring love told through an eye of fantasy... The Dragon Play. Written by Jenny Connell Davis and directed by Marya Mazor. The Dragon Play is currently in previews, with regular performances set to begin tomorrow, July 30, and continue through August 23 on the 2nd Stage at Chance Theater at Bette Aitken Theater Arts Center. BroadwayWorld has a first look at the cast onstage below!

American Theater Company (ATC) announces the second year of AracaWorks: Chicago, a new play development workshop in partnership with New York's The Araca Group, Broadway producers of Disgraced, Urinetown, Frankie and Johnny in the Claire de Lune, The Wedding Singer, Lend Me a Tenor, and A View from the Bridge. AracaWorks: Chicago emerged from a collaboration that led to the development of Disgraced by Ayad Akhtar, which received the 2013 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and a 2015 Tony Award nomination for Best Play. The program gives three playwrights a weeklong development opportunity at ATC, culminating in a weekend of private readings-with one of the three plays selected to receive a year of development attention.

The Gift Theatre's artistic director Michael Patrick Thornton, co-founder William Nedved and associate artistic director Paul D'Addario are proud to announce nine artists have joined the company ensemble: playwrights Will Eno and Laura Marks; directors Marti Lyons and Erica Weiss; and actors Cyd Blakewell, Darci Nalepa, Keith Neagle, Mary Ann Thebus, and Kyle Zornes. Conceived in 1997 by Michael Patrick Thornton and William Nedved, The Gift's mission was to grow and nurture an ensemble while laying roots in an artistically underserved Chicago neighborhood. Today, The Gift Theatre thrives in Jefferson Park as Chicago's most intimate Equity theater and is home to a nationally respected acting ensemble.

Center Stage has launched a new endeavor for local playwrights. Dubbed the Playwrights Collective, the program will allow a rotating group of writers to develop work, foster collaborative connections, and share professional mentorship within the framework of a resident regional theater. At the same time, it allows Center Stage to feed back into and help foster the local artistic ecology.

Hailed as the launchpad of the American theater, the two-time Tony Award-winning Eugene O'Neill Theater Center responsible for developing more than 1,100 new works for the stage as well as thousands of artists through the semester-long training programs of the National Theater Institute, recently announced the 2015 summer season of plays, musicals, and other works in development through the National Theater Institute, National Puppetry Conference, National Music Theater Conference, National Playwrights Conference, and the Cabaret & Performance Conference.

The Eugene O'Neill Theatre Center just honored stage and screen star Nathan Lane with the Monte Cristo Award, which he received last night, April 13 at the Edison Ballroom. Known for roles as Max Bailystock in the musical The Producers, Oscar Madison in The Odd Couple, and, and recurring roles in Modern Familyand The Good Wife, Lane has created a wide footprint on American stage, film, and television. Other memorable and award winning roles include Albert in The Birdcage, Gomez in The Addams Family, and the voices of Snowbell in Stuart Little and Timon in The Lion King.

Empire Travel Agency (ETA) is a show comprised of performance events ('trips') presented at multiple locations across the city. Featuring a cast of over 20 of New York's brightest performers and musicians, it's designed to allow New Yorkers to experience the city anew by re-imagining diverse pieces of architecture as settings for a series of unexpected happenings. From the Bethesda fountain to the L train, from the Bowery to your bathroom, ETA allows you to travel out of the mundane and into the inspired.

Empire Travel Agency (ETA) is a show comprised of performance events ('trips') presented at multiple locations across the city. Featuring a cast of over 20 of New York's brightest performers and musicians, it's designed to allow New Yorkers to experience the city anew by re-imagining diverse pieces of architecture as settings for a series of unexpected happenings. From the Bethesda fountain to the L train, from the Bowery to your bathroom, ETA allows you to travel out of the mundane and into the inspired.

Performances of Dead Behind These Eyes will take place at Sing Sing Karaoke (81 Avenue A) on August 29-31 at 7.30pm and September 3-5, 7, 10-14 and 17-19 at 7.30pm Tickets are $18 and can be purchased by calling 212.352.3101 or visiting www.abronsartscenter.org. Performance suitable for ages 21 and above.

Be among the first to hear the innovative new plays penned by today's freshest playwrights. Beginning Sunday, March 23 and continuing each consecutive Sunday through April 13, Asolo Rep will present its fifth annual Unplugged play festival. The 2014 festival will feature four specially selected new plays. All four performances will begin at 7pm in Asolo Rep's rehearsal hall, located at 5555 N. Tamiami Trail, in Sarasota. Festival passes are $21 and include admission to all four plays. Tickets for each individual reading are $7. Festival passes and tickets are available by visiting Asolo Rep's Box Office, located in the lobby of the theatre, or by calling the box office at 941.351.8000 or 800.361.8388, or online at www.asolorep.org.

Ars Nova (Jason Eagan, Artistic Director; Jeremy Blocker, Managing Director) is now accepting applications for Play Group, a vibrant and eclectic group of emerging writers who gather twice a month at Ars Nova to share new work and get peer feedback. The group offers members the chance to develop their plays with peer support; to be inspired by each other's work; to form collaborative relationships; and to build a strong sense of community within Ars Nova. All emerging playwrights are eligible for membership. If selected, new members will be invited to join for a period of two years beginning in January of 2014.

Articulate Theatre Company has announced the NYC premiere production of Jenny Connell Davis' DRAGON, directed by Cat Parker. DRAGON will play a limited engagement as part of the 4th Annual Planet Connection Theatre Festivity at the Robert Moss Theatre (440 Lafayette St., 3rd Floor). Performances begin tonight, May 29 and continue through Monday, June 17.

Articulate Theatre Company has announced the NYC premiere production of Jenny Connell Davis' DRAGON, directed by Cat Parker. DRAGON will play a limited engagement as part of the 4th Annual Planet Connection Theatre Festivity at the Robert Moss Theatre (440 Lafayette St., 3rd Floor). Performances begin Wednesday, May 29 and continue through Monday, June 17.