Repertory Theatre of St. Louis' IGNITE! FESTIVAL OF NEW PLAYS Set for March

The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis (The Rep) continues the Ignite! Festival of New Plays. Taking place in March, the festival will include commissions of nationally recognized playwrights, culminating with three public readings including This Thing of Ours by Caridad Svich and directed by Emily Mendelsohn; The Full Catastrophe by Michael Weller, based on the novel by David Carkeet and directed by Seth Gordon; and Molly's Hammer by Tammy Ryan, based on the book Hammer of Justice by Liane Ellison Norman and directed by Seth Gordon. The festival productions will take place in the Sally S. Levy Opera Center, located at 210 Hazel Avenue, directly behind the Loretto-Hilton Center.

Ticket prices are $10 for individual readings or all three for $25. To purchase, visit The Rep Box Office, located inside the Loretto-Hilton Center, charge by phone by calling (314) 968-4925, or visit The Rep's Online Box Office at http://www.repstl.org/ignite.

Funding for The Rep's new play festival has been provided by Mr. & Mrs. David P. Gast, the Gertrude & William Bernoudy Foundation and three anonymous donors.

This Thing of Ours
by Caridad Svich
Directed by Emily Mendelsohn
Saturday, March 21, 3:00pm
When an act of violence strikes an American city, how do we react? It's happened before. We say we will put our lives back together, but years will go by. We will grow apart, come together and some of us will wonder how to keep going, as we turn to myths and seek lessons there. This Thing of Ours is the latest play by Caridad Svich, winner of the Obie Award for Lifetime Achievement and author of the loving adaptation of Love in the Time of Cholera, read in The Rep's 2012 Ignite! series.

The Full Catastrophe
by Michael Weller
From the novel by David Carkeet
Directed by Seth Gordon
Wednesday, March 25, 7:30pm
Jeremy Cook, once a celebrated linguist, is suddenly out of work and out of sorts. In desperation, he takes a job as a live-in marriage counselor for Roy Pillow, a shadowy, wannabe-scientist billionaire. Confused by his mission and at a crossroads in his personal life, Jeremy finds himself confronting the ghosts of his failed relationships past, and the mortal danger of repeating his big mistake over again. Michael Weller is the author of the American classic Moonchildren and the Broadway-bound musical adaptation of Doctor Zhivago.

Molly's Hammer
by Tammy Ryan
Based on the book Hammer of Justice by Liane Ellison Norman
Directed by Seth Gordon
Saturday, March 28, 3:00pm
In 1980, Molly Rush took a stand. The Pittsburgh housewife and mother of six walked into a G.E. plant and took a hammer to a nuclear warhead to protest the buildup of America's nuclear arsenal. Molly's Hammer is the story of the Plowshares Eight, Molly, and her husband's wish to stop his wife from sacrificing herself to save the world.

The purpose of the festival is to commission, develop and produce new plays to premiere at The Rep; thereby increasing both the audience's appreciation of new American plays, as well as the visibility and stature for The Rep in the national community. Locally, it gives St. Louis audiences exposure to new works, as well as the opportunity to experience the creative process.

For more information on Ignite! or to purchase tickets to the readings, visit The Rep's website at http://www.repstl.org/ignite.