Theaters And Playwrights Announced For 22nd Annual Colorado New Play Festival

The Colorado New Play Festival (CNPF) (Artistic Director Andrew Leynse) is proud to announce the full lineup of theaters, plays, playwrights for the 2019 season. Now in its 22nd season, each summer the Colorado New Play Festival brings together five creative teams who work with a major theatrical institution to create a new theatrical work.

The 22nd Annual Festival, to be held on June 2-8, 2019 in Steamboat Springs, CO, will feature works from Jill Sobule and Liza Birkenmeier (FUCK7THGRADE), developed with City Theatre Company; Andrew Rosendorf (Refuge), developed with Curious Theatre Company; Martha Redbone & Aaron Whitby and Naomi Izuka (Daughter Of The Hills), developed with The Public Theater; Caroline V. McGraw (I Get Restless), developed with South Coast Repertory and Branden Jacobs-Jenkins (Untitled Play), developed with Steppenwolf Theatre.

The new works are presented with professional actors in a reading at the end of the week. Readings are open to the public and will take place June 7-8, 2019 at the Chief Theater (813 Lincoln Ave, Steamboat Springs, CO 80487). Full casting for all readings will be announced at a later date.

City Theatre Company (Pittsburgh, PA)

FUCK7THGRADE

Music by Jill Sobule

Text by Liza Birkenmeier

Directed by Lisa Peterson

"Is this weird? This is weird, isn't it."

Award-winning singer-songwriter Jill Sobule-whose 1990s hits include "Supermodel" and the original "I Kissed a Girl"-takes audiences on a Rock 'n 'Roll odyssey through her life starting with the trauma that is middle school. A raucous celebration of coming of age and coming out, this one of a kind musical event celebrates the power of owning one's voice at any and every age.

CURIOUS THEATRE COMPANY (Denver, CO)

REFUGE

By Andrew Rosendorf

Directed by Chip Walton

Refuge follows a young Honduran girl on her difficult journey from Central America through Mexico and into South Texas, a Rancher who finds her passed out on his land, and a female Latina border patrol agent who is trying to discover what is lost in the desert. And also, the animals who are just trying to survive - as everything is illegal in the desert. Through a cross-cultural exploration involving puppetry, original music, and bilingual storytelling, the fabric and landscape of South Texas are theatrically brought to life in this intimate and visual story. Refuge is an investigation of America - who we are and who we say we are. And an examination of the desert and the bodies that line the way to freedom, as the desert doesn't discriminate between young or old, human or animal, citizen or undocumented.

The Public Theater (New York, NY)

DAUGHTER OF THE HILLS

Composed by Martha Redbone & Aaron Whitby

Book by Naomi Izuka

Directed by Les Waters

Set in the mountains of Harlan County, Kentucky, Daughter Of The Hills tells the story of a multi-racial Cherokee/Shawnee and African American family as they confront the destruction in their community set in motion by a multi-national coal mining conglomerate. In this contemporary Appalachian opera-meets-blues musical, a family whose ancestors survived the Trail of Tears and the Middle Passage grapple with the threat of an impending ecological catastrophe.

South Coast Repertory (Costa Mesa, CA)

I GET RESTLESS

By Caroline V. McGraw

Directed by Kate Sullivan

Hazel just landed a job at a top law firm, bought a condo and married Mitch, who adores her. Then an accident on her honeymoon leaves her unable to remember anything about the past six years. Adrift in unanswered questions, Hazel must find who she is without knowing who she was. And what about a husband who's now a stranger? An eerily captivating drama about the mysteries of second chances by an up-and-coming new playwright.

Steppenwolf Theatre (Chicago, IL)

UNITITLED PLAY

By Branden Jacobs-Jenkins

A new family drama about the crumbling of a black political dynasty.

Single tickets for each reading are $20 in advance. Festival Passes start at $70 for all 5 readings. Tickets are available at cnpfsteamboat.org/schedule-tickets. For other information, please call 970-879-4335. For lodging and area information please contact the CNPF office for discounted hotel rooms at the official partner hotel or visit the Steamboat Springs Chamber Resort online.