Looking Glass Presents Their Winter 2011 Writer/Director Forum

The Looking Glass Winter 2011 Writer/Director Forum, a festival of new works featuring emerging women playwrights and directors, runs December 1 - 18 at Looking Glass Theatre (422 West 57th Street). Performances are Thursday-Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 5 p.m. Tickets are $15 and available at http://lookingglasstheatrenyc.com.

The Looking Glass Writer/Director Forum is part of Looking Glass Theatre’s mission to reflect life on the stage with truth and theatricality while exploring a female vision and aesthetic. Created in 2001, the festival is held twice a year at Looking Glass Theatre. This year’s winter festival features the work of ten women directors tackling new works. Throughout the three-week festival, directors will present a wide range of styles, from a piece based on the various works of Shakespeare, to new plays such as Azaleas by Leigh Steiner and Pedestrian Casualty: Bronx, USA by Nina Mansfield.

Within a developmental and workshop environment, this three-week presentation encourages artists to find and share their own unique voices, take risks and experiment with the extraordinary.

In honor of their outstanding efforts and creative work, artists are recognized with the Forum Awards, voted for by audience, Looking Glass staff and at-large members. Forum Audience Awards – weekly and overall, voted for by audience members – are given for Best Actor, Best Actress and Best Production.

The Looking Glass Forum Producer is Aliza Shane. Light designers for the Winter 2011 Forum are Ryan Metzler (Week 1), Daisy Long (Week 2) and Elizabeth Elliot (Week 3). The full performance schedule:

WEEK 1 – DECEMBER 1-4
Assistant Directors/Stage Managers: Francesca Galbo, Taylor Reynolds
Light Design: Ryan Metzler

The Golden Ticket by Jennifer Barclay, directed by Anais Koivisto
Featuring Kati Rae Cowardin, Joey Lozada & Thami Moscovici

Garden of Ashes by Jan O’Connor, directed by Estefania Fadul
Featuring Alison Burke & David Harrell

Pedestrian Casualty: Bronx, USA by Nina Mansfield, directed by Christina Neubrand
Featuring Manny De La Cruz, Shannon Harris, Alexandra Hiotakis, Keenen Jones, Darla Juniper, Josh Mahaffey, Norma Perez-Hernandez & Austin Young

WEEK 2 – DECEMBER 8-11
Assistant Director/Stage Manager: Caroline Angell
Light Design: Daisy Long

Azaleas by Leigh Steiner, directed by Laura Hirschberg
Featuring Rory Kulz & Chanel Thomas

Thursday Morning by Elizabeth Swearingen, directed by Jessy Grossman
Featuring Daniel Blatman, Olivia Boyle & Lesley Noyes

‘Frailty, Thy Name is Woman…’
Based on the works of William Shakespeare, Adapted and directed by Katherine Sommer
Featuring James Bascomb, Samantha Cains, Kevin Hoffman, Lilli Stein & Nick Zappetti

WEEK 3 – DECEMBER 15-18
Assistant Directors/Stage Managers: Gina Femia, Kitty Lindsey
Light Design: ElizaBeth Elliott

The Stakeout by K. Alexa Mavromatis, directed by Sarah Simmons
Featuring Anna Drezen & Kiley Rothweiler

He Says His Name is John by Laura Rohrman, directed by Ashley Marie Scoles
Featuring Hazen Cuyler, Josiah Laubenstein & Caitlin Morris

Sidewalk Cracks by Brit Hawkins, directed by Gretchen Ferris
Featuring Kate Dickinson, Billy Roberts & Jodi Lynne Savitz

Friends by Karin DiAnn Williams, directed by Karyn Joy DeYoung
Featuring Nathalie Frederick & Kea Trevett

Looking Glass Theatre’s mission is to theatrically and truthfully reflect a female vision on the stage while creating a community of artistic freedom. We fulfill this by presenting female directors' visions of original works or the classics and by staging new plays either written or directed by women. This includes children’s shows and educational programming as well as our semi-annual festival of new works, featuring emerging women playwrights and directors, each season.

THE LOOKING GLASS WINTER 2011 FORUM
December 1-18, 2011
SCHEDULE: Thursday - Saturday @ 8PM, Sunday @ 5PM
TICKET PRICE: $15
ADDRESS: 422 West 57th Street, between 9th and 10th Avenues
SUBWAYS: A, C, B, D, 1 to 59th/Columbus Circle; N, R, Q to 57th/7th
RESERVATION #: (212) 352-3101
WEBSITE: www.lookingglasstheatrenyc.com