Festival of Originals (FOO) at Theatre Southwest

Theatre Southwest Presents The Festival of Originals – otherwise known as The FOO

The Festival of Originals is an annual occurrence, in which playwrights all around the world have an opportunity to submit a short play that they’ve written. There are some requirements that must be met, including that they’re supposed to be approximately 20 minutes in length for the performance.

Theatre Southwest selects 5 of these plays from the thousands that we receive each year. These five shows are assigned to different directors. Each of the directors selects their own cast. These 5 plays are then put together in a single show on the stage, and they are all performed back-to-back (with an intermission between shows 3 & 4).

Shows, playwrights, directors, and casts:

Bully - Written by Fernando Dovalina

Directed by Justin Holloway

A distraught father of a girl who has been bullied in school goes to the home of the bullies and confronts him and his parents with a gun.

CAST:

Sylvana McIntyre as DOROTHY TURNER

Joseph "Chepe" Lockette as PATRICK TURNER

Rylan Barr as EDWARD TURNER

Brian Heaton as DENTON

At The Drop of a Hat - Written by Priscilla Anderson

Directed by Pam Pankratz

A milliner seeks the help of a friendly wizard to find True Love. Along the way, she learns the value of what she already possesses and how to win love without losing herself.

CAST:

Abdullah Bitar as NARRATOR

Mackenzie Kelso as GLYN

John Patterson as ROLAND

Bloody Footprints - Written by Michael Yale

Directed by Shawn Havranek

Frank is struggling with memory loss after suffering a head injury. Returning home from the hospital he is slowly piecing life back together with the help of his devoted wife. When the grown son comes to dinner one evening things begin to take an unexpected turn.

CAST:

Jay Menchaca as FRANK

Janye Anderson as LINDA

Amal Abdallah as CHRIS

Two Couples - Written by Mindy Roll

Directed by Steve Carpentier

Two couples arrive at a restaurant to celebrate milestones. One is ambitious and arrogant. The other is not. What do the walls remember? What does it mean to make it?

CAST:

Haylee Feng as JENNIFER

Cesalina Davidson as NOR

Dolly Cruise as ELEANOR

Kenneth Barrett as ROBERT

Just for the Horror of it - Written by Stephen R. Stewart

Directed by Ashley N. Peters

A successful businesswoman interviews a high-priced call girl for the position of having an affair with her unknowing husband of many years.

CAST:

Michael Barrick as EDGAR

Molly Carnes as GLORIA

Keri Wolfe as LUCY

Joe Wendt as PHIL

Performances run from July 25 – August 9. Showtimes are Fridays & Saturdays at 8 pm, and a Sunday matinee (July 27) at 3 pm.

Performances will be held at Theatre Southwest, 8944-A Clarkcrest. Tickets range from $20-$22 and can be purchased through www.tswhouston.com/tickets.