The Tank Kicks Off The Bad Theater Fest 2013 Today

The Bad Theater Fest, created as a safe, fun and open environment for artists to present their work, has announced their line-up of dramatic short plays, comedy shows, dance, puppet theater and short films. The Bad Theater Fest will run at The Tank, 151 w. 46th St. (b/t 6th and 7th Ave) 8th Floor, today, Oct. 29 - Nov. 3 with shows (most nights) at 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. Tickets are $10 online and $15 at the door and available for purchase at www.thetanknyc.org, www.badtheaterfest2.brownpapertickets.com or by calling 212-563-6269.

The Bad Theater Fest frees the playwrights and actors from the weight of trying to please the audience and, "...allows for the creation of art that entertains themselves." said Co-Founder Shawn Wickens.

The festival has attracted both first-time playwrights and eclectic material from more established artists. 2013 festival highlights includes Playlab NYC's Totally Crackers, a one-man exploration of Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker ballet, told through puppetry, clowning, and dance. Invasion of the Mesbians, a comedic spin on gender identity about two gay twenty-somethings going "gender-incognito" to crash a lesbian knitting circle. Then there's the award-winning play by Colby Day accepted to the festival by it's title alone - No Farting in Beantown: A Tragedy. The full schedule is available at www.badtheaterfest.com/home/schedule-2013.

The Bad Theater Fest has an exciting number of visiting artists to The Tank's off-Broadway stage. Tony Award winner (Tony's Pizza Eating Contest 1998, 1999) Eileen Tull brings The Eileen Tull Variety Hour Starring Eileen Tull from Cincinnati, Ohio. Nashville's Feeding the Subject had a guaranteed slot in this year's fest after Hurricane Sandy turned them away in 2012. The short film Dreamland 21 from The Upper Peninsula of Michigan, written and filmed specifically for the Bad Theater Fest according to co-producer Alice Pulaski, is a modern-day morality tale starring Fidel Castro and Che Guevara look-alikes.

Running until October 15, 2013 is the Bad Theater Fest's "Bad Promo Video Contest". Participants are encouraged to make a 30-second "bad" commercial for the festival. Videos will be screened at the closing night party with both the "best" and the "worst" submissions, as voted on by the audience, awarded $100. Guidelines and current entries are posted at badtheaterfest.com/home/promo-video-contest.

All festival information is available at badtheaterfest.com and on Twitter @badtheaterfest.