Williamstown Announces 'Fridays @ 3' Line-Up

The Williamstown Theatre Festival announced the lineup of new plays to be read in the "Fridays @ 3" reading series this summer in the Berkshires.  Coming to Williamstown this summer will be screenwriter Charles Evered (The Size of the World, "Monk"), playwrights Noah Haidle (Mr. Marmalade, Saturn Returns), John Shea (Erin Go Bragh-less, Huntington Theatre Playwriting Fellow), Beau Willimon (Lower Ninth, Faragut North), and Tracy Scott Wilson (The Story, The Good Negro), with one more play to be announced.

"Fridays @ 3" invites writers to work on their scripts with Festival artists and guests, and includes a reading of 2007 Weissberger Award winner Tracey Scott Wilson's play The Good Negro. Readings take place Friday afternoons from July 4th through August 8th at 3:00 p.m. at the Paresky Center on the Williams College campus.
 
This Season's schedule includes:

July 4:  The Science of Hitting (Film)

Screenplay by Charles Evered
In association with the Williamstown Film Festival
Directed by Steve Lawson
When Red Sox fan Danny O'Reilly treks cross-country on an unusual mission involving the contents of a cake box, will his hero's advice on hitting baseballs help him think – well – outside the box? The sixth collaboration between WTF and the Williamstown Film Festival (WFF), Evered's rollicking comedy deftly juggles a dysfunctional Boston family, politics, the missing part of a celebrity and love for the national pastime.

July 11:  Claire Silva
by John Shea
Directed by Justin Waldman
The Monaghan family is in turmoil as old wounds are opened anew.  A convicted child molester is about to be released and the neighborhood is fractured. As the media descends, the quest for closure may finally illuminate the truth buried in The Shadows of a dark past.  A lively, wrenching and frank portrayal of a family and a community searching for hope.

July 18: War Story
by Beau Willimon
Directed by Amanda Charlton
A friendship forged over a blackjack table has surprising ramifications for Shaun, an army truck driver serving his tour of duty in Iraq. Worlds away from Shaun's battle zone, the enterprising young Jeff is blazing a trail through the business world. Deftly weaving these young men's stories, Beau Willimon's play examines the choices people make to get ahead—or to just save their own skins.

July 25: What is the Cause of Thunder?
by Noah Haidle
Directed by Justin Waldman
After 27 years on the same Soap Opera, Ada is starting to confuse her art and her life. But after so many years of acting, her art is her life. Noah Haidle's poignant comedy brings us the hilarity of day-time drama alongside the harsher, but often equally funny, realities of life.

August 1: TBA

August 8: The Good Negro
by Tracey Scott Wilson
2007 Weissberger Award for Playwriting Winner
Directed by Liesl Tommy
Tracey Scott Wilson takes us into the heart of the 1960's Civil Rights Movement in Alabama. Against a constantly shifting landscape and under the ever-watchful eye of the FBI, a trio of emerging Black leaders must conquer their individual demons, everyday Black men and women must overcome their fears, and the local Ku Klux Klan fights for its old way of life.

"Fridays @ 3" readings are held in the Paresky Center Auditorium and there is a suggested donation of $5.00 payable at the door.  Reservations can be made by calling 413-597-3400, and are encouraged as seating is limited.  Information about "Fridays @ 3" and the rest of the 2008 Williamstown Theatre Festival season can be obtained by calling 413-597-3400 or by logging on to www.wtfestival.org

Photo by Walter McBride/ Retna Ltd.