Kip Fagan, Jenny Schwartz & More Set for Clubbed Thumb's Summerworks 2014

Five-time Obie Award-winning company Clubbed Thumb has announced the lineup for their annual SUMMERWORKS festival of new plays, now in its 19th season. SUMMERWORKS 2014 will begin on Friday, May 30 and runs through Saturday, July 5 at The Wild Project (195 E. 3rd Street, between Avenues A & B). Single tickets, which are $18, will go on sale on April 15. Festival passes are on sale now for $45 at www.clubbedthumb.org, or by calling OvationTix on (866) 811-41111. For more information about SUMMERWORKS 2014, visit www.clubbedthumb.org.

With its track record for discovering and supporting new playwriting talent, in many cases providing writers with their very first production in New York or anywhere, SUMMERWORKS is one of the most eagerly-anticipated theatrical offerings kicking off the summer stage season in NYC. In seasons past, Clubbed Thumb's SUMMERWORKS has presented new works by Sarah Ruhl, Anne Washburn, Gina Gionfriddo, Ethan Lipton, Adam Bock, Rinne Groff, Jordan Harrison, Sheila Callaghan, Jason Grote, Sam Hunter and Lisa D'Amour.

SUMMERWORKS 2014 features 41-DERFUL, written and directed by Jenny Schwartz; I'M PRETTY FUCKED UP by Ariel Stess, directed by Kip Fagan; and 16 WORDS OR LESS by Peggy Stafford, directed by Portia Krieger. Performance schedules and casting details will be announced soon.

SUMMERWORKS 2014 will also feature various free events, including a collaborative piece and individual readings written by Clubbed Thumb's Early-Career Writers' Group: Jaclyn Backhaus, Adam Blodgett, Tasha M Gordon-Solmon, Ken Greller, MJ Kaufman, Dan Regelski, and Ariel Stess. Further details on these events will be announced soon.

ABOUT SUMMERWORKS 2014 plays, playwrights and directors:

41-DERFUL, written and directed by Jenny Schwartz
Two jaded co-workers discover their own version of civic responsibly in the shadow of a disgraced politician's public meltdown.

I'M PRETTY FUCKED UP, by Ariel Stess, directed by Kip Fagan
Three teenagers ditch school to drive through the mountains of New Mexico, while back on campus an addled security guard faces his demons.

16 WORDS OR LESS, by Peggy Stafford, directed by Portia Krieger
A lone and over-helpful flower shop clerk tries to contain the challenges of her customers' lives, but can't do the same for herself.

CLUBBED THUMB commissions, develops and produces funny, strange, and provocative new plays by living American writers. Since its founding in 1996, the company has earned FIVE OBIES, including the 2013 Ross Wetzsteon Award for sustained artistic excellence, and presented plays in every form of development, including over 80 full productions. Clubbed Thumb is an incubator for artists and their work, staging plays to critical acclaim while supporting an ever-growing creative community. "Funny, Strange, Provocative," an anthology of plays produced by Clubbed Thumb, is available through Playscripts. In May 2010, Ms. Striar was honored with the inaugural Lilly Award for Artistic Directorship, citing her as a "fierce champion of new works and new writers... who has helped launch and/or develop the careers" of scores of playwrights, especially women. Clubbed Thumb's Producing Artistic Director is Maria Striar; Nora DeVeau-Rosen is Managing Director; Michael Bulger is Associate Producer and Pam MacKinnon is Board Chair.

Photo by Walter McBride