MCC Theater's '05 FreshPlay Fest Runs July 27-30

By: Jul. 19, 2005
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MCC Theater has announced that its 2005 FreshPlay Festival will be presented from Wednesday, July 27th through Saturday, July 30th at the Baruch Performing Arts Center's Bernie West Theatre (17 Lexington Avenue at 23rd St., 9th Floor).

The FreshPlay Festival takes young playwrights' words from page to stage by combining an original play written and performed by the MCC Theater Youth Company's (YC) Acting Lab and five ten-minute plays written by members of the YC's Playwriting Lab and performed and directed by professional theater artists.

The original plays in this year's FreshPlay Festival include:

In The Stand, written by the MCC Theater Youth Company with professional playwright Zakiyyah Alexander, and performed by the MCC Theater Youth Company Acting Lab, "A failing New York City public high school gets slammed with an extreme 'No Tolerance' policy and student liberties are thrown into a tailspin.  As the student body rallies together to speak out, they soon find that restoring independence won't be easy.  Is a fight to preserve identity and freedom of speech worth risking their futures?"

Hold the Fat is by Kyle-Steven Porter and is directed by Dominic Taylor.  "A growing line at a fast-food joint traps a troupe of teens in its gridlock.  The wait online becomes a hotbed for culture clashes as these youth confront their diets, their prejudices, and, ultimately, one another."

In Holland Hamilton's Providence,"When a babydoll starts talking to Damien, he first thinks he's losing his mind.  As it turns out, he's actually found some things: the joys of Baby Gap, a hot pink wedding ring, and the kind of family he's been looking for."  The play is directed by Shelley Butler.

Robert Tyc's Monipulit is directed by Josh Hecht.  "Naomi's never had her portrait drawn, so she's a little nervous when she's invited to be her step-brother's subject.  She's even more nervous when he requests that she poses in the nude.  In short order her boyfriend's involved, and this portrait quickly becomes more complicated than oil on canvas.  Where does the line between art and intimacy blur, and is there ever such a thing as 'just a muse?'"

Go-Go Gadget, by Veralyn Williams, is directed by Victor Maog. "Can Eva's boyfriend Dave handle a little competition…from a sex toy?  When Dave finds Eva's vibrator hidden in their apartment, he comes face-to-face with some serious relationship issues.  Front and center are his sexual insecurities, his trust in Eva, and the value of his mother's treasured satin bed sheets.  In the end, who will come out on top, man or machine?"

Nicole Castro's Beneath the Surface, directed by Jonathon Silverstein, is about, "Innnocence.  Identity.  Imagination.  How do the experiences that make up where we've come from merge to create who we are?  Through a series of monologues based on interviews with loved ones, Beneath the Surface explores the struggles and wonders of growing up."

The scenic design for the FreshPlay Festival is by Roberto Sanchez-Camus; the lighting design is by Maria Cristina Fusté; the sound design is by John Ivy, and costume design is by Jenna Rossi-Camus.

MCC THEATER was founded in 1986 by Artistic Directors Robert LuPone and Bernard Telsey, with the mission of bringing new theatrical voices to New York audiences.  Along with Associate Artistic Director William Cantler, MCC Theater accomplishes this through three interrelated programs: a three-play Off-Broadway season committed to New York, American and world premieres; a Literary Department that nurtures new and emerging writers; and an Education & Outreach Department which brings theater to more than 1,200 NYC high school students each year.  As a not-for-profit theater, MCC has presented Bryony Lavery's Frozen (four Tony nominations including Best Play, Award for Best Featured Actor), Tim Blake Nelson's The Grey Zone (four OBIE Awards), Margaret Edson's Wit (1999 Pulitzer Prize), Rebecca Gilman's The Glory of Living (2002 Pulitzer Prize finalist), and Neil LaBute's recent Fat Pig (Winner of 2004 Outer Critics Circle Award), The Distance from Here and The Mercy Seat.

The performance schedule for the FreshPlay Festival is Wednesday, July 27 through Friday, July 29 at 7pm; and Saturday, July 30, at 2pm and 7pm.  Tickets are $10 for students and $15 for adults and may be reserved by phoning 212.727.7722 ext. 60.
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