The Theatre League's Summer Theatre Fest has become an integral part of South Florida's cultural landscape, and in its fifth year South Florida audiences will once again have the opportunity to see theatre for free, and check out new plays in development by South Florida playwrights. The program's continued and growing success over of past four years has indicated to the League that theatre patrons are ready and willing to try new theatrical experiences, and even cross county lines to do it.
Every Monday from June 1 to August 31, a South Florida Theatre League member theatre will host a reading of a new play by a local playwright. Playwrights range from established local favorites, including Carbonell Award-winners and nominees, to emerging talents, with plays vastly ranging in subject matter and style.
"Over the past four years, Summer Theatre Fest has grown significantly. We've helped our member theatres incubate new plays that go on to have a life long after the reading is over. Just last week, I received a published copy of a collection of plays by Bob Bowersox - two of the plays in the collection had their start in the first two years of Summer Theatre Fest," says Andie Arthur, executive director of the South Florida
Theatre League.
"And our audiences have grown," says Board Member and Marketing Chair Carol Kassie. "We've seen full theatres - which is always exciting - and a good number of patrons who attend multiple readings. We've also found that patrons who attend a reading a particular theatre often return to that theatre to attend a paid performance. So we consider the program a great success on both sides of the footlights!"
In addition to the reading series, this year, Summer Theatre Fest will launch on June 5 with a full day of theatre artist focused activities.
Michael Leeds and Caryl Fantel, award winning director and musical director, will be leading a day long workshop on how to audition - which includes advice on choosing pieces that are right for you, how to prepare your audition material, and finding the right key for your song. The
Musical Theatre Workshop will run from 9:30 AM to 1:30 PM and the straight acting workshop will run from 2:30 PM to 6:30 PM. Actors can participate in either individual workshop for $20 or attend both for $30. Participants must be members of the South Florida
Theatre League and please contact Andie Arthur, executive director, at
andie@southfloridatheatre.com to sign up.
The day of workshops will end with an evening networking mixer for theatre professionals. This is free and open to the public and a great way for theatre artists to get to know each other in a casual setting. The traditional reading series begins on Monday June 12 with readings every Monday until August 28, when Summer Theatre Fest will close with readings of plays by South Florida
Theatre League Playwrights at the Miramar Cultural Center.
For more information on upcoming readings, please visit
www.southfloridatheatre.com. Please note that additional information will be added for readings as it is received. South Florida
Theatre League Summer Fest - Reading Schedule: June 5 - Summer Theatre Fest Launch Day at ArtServe - with two audition workshops led by
Michael Leeds and Caryl Fantel (Musical Theatre from 9:30 AM to 1:30 PM and acting from 2:30 PM to 6:30 PM) and a Networking Mixer at 7:00 PM
June 12 -- Storycrafter Studio, "A Tale of Africa" by Tyler Powell, 8:00 PM
June 19 -- GableStage, "1,000 Miles" by
Vanessa Garcia, 7:30 PM
June 19 --
Maltz Jupiter Theatre, "Goy Toy" by
Hannah Benitez, 7:30 PM
June 26 -- Area Stage, TBA
July 3 -- Mad Cat Theatre at the MTC Sandbox, "Expiration Date" by
Jessica Farr, 7:30 PM
July 10 -- TheatreXP at the Red Barn Theatre, "Heartbeat" by Georgia Searle Morris, 7:00 PM
July 10 -- Lost Girls Theatre, "Dreams of a Flock of Sparrows" by Andie Arthur, Time and Location TBA
July 17 -- Sociedad Actoral Hispanoamericana, "Pepe el Romano" by Ernesto Caballero, 8:30 PM (This reading will be in Spanish)
July 17 -- Mystery on the Menu at Andrews Living Arts, "It Happened on July 17" by Various Playwrights, 7:00 PM
July 24 -- Outre Theatre Company, "The Big Island" by Bob Lind, 7:30 PM
July 31 -- Actors' Playhouse, TBA
August 7 -- Conundrum Stages at the Betsey Hotel, "Play it By Ear" by Mo Schneider and Joe Feinstein, 7:30 PM
August 14 -- Fugitive Sister Stage and Screen, "The Song of Berndatte Jones" by Maura Campbell, Time TBA
August 14 -- Main Street Playhouse, "Full Circle" by Robert Coppel, 7:30 PM
August 21 -- Evening Star Productions, "Watchful Eyes: Part 2" by Jefferson. 8:00 PM
August 28 -- Miramar Cultural Center, "Stages of the Sun: New Plays by SFTL Playwrights" at 7:00 PM
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