Ensemble Studio Theatre/Youngblood's UNFILTERED 2012 to Run 11/9-12/7

Ensemble Studio Theatre/Youngblood, the under-30, 2012 Obie Award-winning playwright incubator at Ensemble Studio Theatre (EST), 549 West 52nd Street, that has produced talents such as Annie Baker, Amy Herzog, Jon Kern, Lucy Alibar, and Robert Askins, opens Unfiltered 2012 Friday, November 9, at 7:00pm.

The EST/Youngblood playwrights with plays in Unfiltered 2012 are Darcy Fowler, Chiara Atik, Angela Hanks, Alexander Borinsky and Ryan Dowler.

The festival features five brand new full-length plays from these playwrights in Studio Productions, with a new play opening each week and rotating in rep. Unfiltered productions frequently mark each playwright’s professional debut.

“The Unfiltered festival is where plays like last season’s Hand to God by Rob Askins can really get their first shot,” says William Carden, EST Artistic Director. “That’s often the most valuable thing you can give to a playwright – that first shot. You’ve never heard of these playwrights, but you will! People forget that EST debuted John Patrick Shanley, Richard Greenberg, Chris Durang, José Rivera and Albert Innaurato, among others. More recently, writers like Annie Baker, Amy Herzog, Lucy Alibar and Rob Askins saw their early plays produced in this program after they left college but before they established careers. Unfiltered is creative risk-taking at its purest. And the audience is key: the public response helps these new plays get going."

First up in the festival is The Secret Catcher by Chiara Atik, directed by Tom Wojtunik, in which a young woman negotiates her first romance while trying to determine the truth of a family curse. The play opens Friday, November 9, at 7:00 p.m. and continues Saturday, November 10, at 7:00 p.m.; Thursday, November 15, at 7:00 p.m.;Saturday, November 17, at 7:00 p.m.; and concludes on Sunday, November 11, at 3:00 p.m.

Next is Myrna In Transit by Angela Hanks, directed by Chuck Patterson. After her sister passes, Myrna is haunted by the sorrows of everyone in her Texas hometown. Wherever she goes, everyone feels a little bit better, except her. Performances are on Wednesday, November 14; Friday, November 16, at 7pm and conclude on Sunday, November 18 at 3:00 p.m..

The Bird and The Two-Ton Weight by Darcy Fowler, directed by John Giampietro is the third play in the Festival. Faced with an unhappy present, a woman discovers her late mother's journal and escapes into the wild times of a young actress in a bygone decade, in London and on her own for the first time. The play opens on Thursday, November 29, and continues on Friday, November 30; Saturday, December 1; Thursday, December 6; and Saturday, December 8. All performances are at 7:00 p.m.

Going Out and Coming Back by Alexander Borinsky, directed by Colleen Sullivan, is the tale of a young girl who spends two summers coming of age as a member of an all-women trombone ensemble. The play opens on Wednesday, December 5, at 7:00 p.m. and continues on Friday, December 7, at 7:00 p.m.; Thursday, December 13, at 7:00 p.m.; and Saturday, December 15, at 7:00 p.m.; and concludes Saturday, December 8 at 2:00 p.m.

Stiff by Ryan Dowler, directed by RJ Tolan, is the fifth and final play in the Festival. Terrence is ready to build a new life with his new girlfriend, but his grief-stricken, mortality-obsessed best friend Omar is mourning his dead wife in a unique and disturbing way. Performances begin Tuesday, December 11 and continue Wednesday, December 12 and Friday, December 14, with all shows at 7:00 p.m.

All seats for individual Unfiltered 2012 shows are $20; $15 for students/seniors and EST members. Multiple show packages start at $30 for two shows and $50 for three. To order tickets call 866.811.4111 or click www.ovationtix.com/trs/cal/134.

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