Finalists Announced For the New Works Festival at Gulfshore Playhouse

This September, the annual New Works Festival will return to Gulfshore Playhouse for the first time since 2019. Gulfshore Playhouse is thrilled to announce the ten finalists from which three winners will ultimately be chosen to participate in the week-long Festival.

Each New Works Festival submission is reviewed during a months-long anonymous process by a committee of theater professionals. The ten finalists are then chosen by the theater's artistic team, and ultimately three winners will take part in the Festival.

The Annual New Works Festival will take place at Gulfshore Playhouse from September 7 through September 18, 2022. The Festival will include developmental workshops for the winning plays and will culminate with staged readings.

The ten finalists are:

• "Acts of Creation" by Brianna Barrett

• "Compromised" by Mike Bencivenga

• "Ellie" by Bruce Bonafede

• "Beheading Columbus" by Diana Burbano

• "James of Nazareth" by Lisa Dellagiarino Feriend

• "Welcome to Vital Vista Village" by Katie Forgette

• "Jagged Journey" by Elana Gartner

• "Un Hombre" by Stephen Kaplan

• "A Danger to Yourself and Others" by Colette Mazunik

• "Footprint" by Jennie Webb

"As a member organization of the League of Resident Theatres, we believe it is our duty to contribute to the creation of new work. Each of the winners chosen during our months-long selection process will receive much needed actor input, revision time, and a staged reading that will help in its development. These are plays we may or may not produce at the Playhouse, but believe they will be served by this detailed work and specific feedback that a professional director, talented cast, and invested audience can provide," said Kristen Coury, Founder and Producing Artistic Director.

In addition to the three winners, who will each receive 16 hours of rehearsal which will culminate in a staged reading, Gulfshore Playhouse will also workshop two new plays that it has interest in specifically developing for future production. These two plays have been selected for development by the artistic team at Gulfshore Playhouse and will receive a full two-week workshop. These plays will also be performed as staged readings with light blocking and some props alongside the three winners. A post-performance Q&A with the playwright of each show will follow each performance. This gives the playwright a vital opportunity to receive feedback from an audience, a vital part of a play's development process. Tickets to the staged readings are available to be purchased at www.gulfshoreplayhouse.org.

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