BPF Presents THE RAINBOW PLAYS at FPCT, Now Through 7/21

The Baltimore Playwrights Festival (www.baltplayfest.org) kicked off its Thirty-Second Season with the July 5th opening of "The Rainbow Plays", by Rich Espey, at Fells Point Corner Theater (www.fpct.org), 251 South Ann Street, Baltimore, MD 21231, 410-276-7837. Directed by Lisa Davidson, "The Rainbow Plays" will run through July 21st, with performances Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. There will be one Thursday performance on July 18th at 8 p.m. Tickets are $15 and can be purchased on-line at www.fpct.org, or at the door.

The Rainbow Flag that symbolizes gay pride and the gay rights movement was created more than thirty years ago. In its current version the flag consists of six horizontal stripes, each of which has a symbolic meaning: red (life), orange (healing), yellow (sunshine), green (nature), blue (harmony) and purple (spirit). The first six plays in this collection each address one of those themes; the seventh play incorporates them all.

In The Last Blackberries of Summer, Menika works to convince Leah that bringing new life into the world is their calling. In Hoya Saxa, David Offers healing to Poss, the quarterback he decked, as he tries to figure out who Poss really is. Tennessee sunshine overpowers fluorescent motel room lights as Marta struggles to convince Cyn to go through with their very public wedding in a very dangerous town in Choreography of Cyn and Marta. Bang Day shows Maria torn by her boyfriend Luke's and her girlfriend Rain's two very different views of nature and the universe. In Messages Deleted, Sam, Mark and Gene achieve a painful harmony on the most difficult day of their lives. Catch of the Day bears witness to the playful spirit of two women (and a fish) in a flirtatious pas de deux. Finally, Zoo Story 2.0 weaves together all six concepts as Bob and Buttercup, two male penguins, struggle to love freely in the Central Park Zoo.

Rich Espey's plays have been produced throughout the United States. Recent highlights include Three Andys produced by Single Carrot Theatre and Stand Up!, a monologue included in CENTERSTAGE's "My America" project. Rich is a three time winner of the Carol Weinberg Award for best play at the Baltimore Playwrights Festival for Fifty-Fifty, Hope's Arbor, and Following Sarah. Rich is the Baltimore Regional representative of the Dramatists Guild, a member of DC's Playwrights Gymnasium and the Playwrights Group of Baltimore, has served as Chair of the Baltimore Playwrights Festival and just completed a four-year stint as President of the Board of Single Carrot Theatre. He has taught playwriting at CENTERSTAGE and teaches at The Park School of Baltimore. Check out samples of his work and a production history at www.richespey.net.

During the last thirty-two years, The Baltimore Playwrights Festival has presented over 282 productions by 173 playwrights at 27 different theaters. The BPF nurtures the talents of Maryland and DC playwrights through public readings, discussions, critiques and workshopping of new plays. Participating local theaters offer productions of several of the submitted scripts during their summer season. Further information can be found on the BPF website,www.baltplayfest.org.

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