Midtown International Theatre Festival Presents The First Annual MITF Symposium 12/17

The Midtown InterNational Theatre Festival (MITF) presents the first annual MITF Symposium on Thursday, December 17, 2009 at 7pm at The June Havoc Theatre at the Abingdon Theatre Arts Complex, 312 W. 36th St., first floor, NYC. Admission is FREE and reservations are not required.

The first annual MITF Symposium will feature a panel of festival staff and previous participants whose productions have had further showings beyond the MITF, on hand to discuss what the festival is all about and why to choose MITF. A short presentation will be followed by a question and answer session.

Panelists will include: Kyle Baxter, producer of I Hate Love, MITF 2009, Abingdon Dorothy Strelsin; Jon Crefeld, producer of The Sword Politik, MITF 2009, Abingdon Dorothy Strelsin; Brian Hampton, playwright of Checking In, MITF 2009, June Havoc; Bill Nabel, playwright of Take Me To America, MITF 2007, WorkShop Main Stage; among others.

"This panel will illustrate for self-producing artists and would-be Off-Broadway producers why the MITF is a valid alternative to bigger festivals," said John Chatterton, executive producer of the MITF.

The MITF plans to expand to The Beckett and The Clurman Theatres, Theatre Row, 410 W. 42nd Street, NYC, in addition to current theatres on 36th Street, for its eleventh season, to run from July 12 - August 1, 2010. Applications for the 2010 Season are currently available online at www.midtownfestival.org.

The Festival accepts submissions in all genres - any sort of stage play, musical or otherwise, new or classic, mainstream or specifically focused on an ethnic or cultural niche. To be eligible, each show must have a producer and production team attached to the project.

Mr. Chatterton created the MITF in 2000, a Midtown alternative to other theatre festivals, as a way to present the finest off-off Broadway talent in convenience, comfort, and safety. In 2008, the Festival added two 99-seat theatres and inaugurated the Commercial Division for upwardly mobile shows with commercial ambitions. All theatres are located near the MITF offices at 347 W. 36th Street (home of Mr. Chatterton's Where Eagles Dare rehearsal studios and theatre). The MITF's artistic emphasis is on the script itself and therefore the Festival requests minimal production values.

Application forms for the 2010 Midtown InterNational Theatre Festival are available online at www.midtownfestival.org. Completed applications, scripts, production materials and a non-refundable reading fee of $30 must be mailed to: The Midtown InterNational Theatre Festival, 347 W. 36th Street, 13th Floor, New York, New York 10018.

The 2010 Festival will also take place at the June Havoc Theatre, 312 W. 36th Street, 1st floor; the Dorothy Strelsin Theatre, 312 W. 36th Street, 1st floor; the MainStage Theater, 312 W. 36th Street, 4th floor; the Jewel Box Theater, 312 W. 36th Street, 4th floor; and Where Eagles Dare Studio Blackbird, 347 W. 36th Street, 13th floor, NYC.

For more information, visit www.midtownfestival.org.

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