The South Florida Theatre League Announces Summer Theatre Fest

This summer, South Florida audiences will have a chance to see theatre for free, check out new plays in development by South Florida Playwrights, and tell the world what the arts - and theatre - mean to them.

The South Florida Theatre League is inviting Florida theatre patrons to Get in Bed with the Artswith the return of Summer Theatre Fest, sponsored by WLRN.

The 2013 Summer Theatre Fest will mark the introduction of the Summer Theatre Fest Play Reading Series, and the return of Free Night of Theater, an audience development program that has proven to be immensely popular since the League first introduced it.

"Both these programs offer great opportunities for theatres and the League to develop a more meaningful interaction with our community," says South Florida Theatre League Executive Director Andie Arthur.

Free Night of Theater

Theatre Patrons looking to try something new can visit summerfestfreenight.southfloridatheatre.comand enter to win up to three pairs of tickets in two separate windows - one for shows between June 12 and July 15, and the other for shows between July 16 and August 15.

Free Night offers patrons an excellent opportunity to visit a venue they've never been to before, or sample a type of theatre they might not otherwise ever consider. Participating theatres include Actors' Playhouse at the Miracle Theatre, Fort Lauderdale Children's Theatre, GableStage, Lake Worth Playhouse, Mad Cat Theatre Company, Maltz Jupiter Theatre, Palm Beach Dramaworks, Sol Children Theatre, and Storycrafter Studio.

For performances between June 12 and July 15, patrons can enter to win up to three pairs of tickets beginning on May 28, with all entries finalized on June 7. All ticket winners will be notified by email on June 10th.

For performances from July 15 until August 15, patrons can enter to win up to three pairs of tickets beginning on June 24, with all entries finalized on July 8. Winners will be notified by email if they have won tickets on July 10.

The Theatre Communication Groups' Free Night of Theatre was originally introduced as a three city pilot-program in 2005; the program's the goal being to increase public awareness of The National Theatre community, while in turn attracting new and non-traditional audiences to the theatre. During 2011's Free Night of Theater over 400 participating organizations offered more than 55,000 tickets to over 1,800 performances in 19 states. The total value of the tickets offered was estimated at 1.75 million dollars! Historically, over 33% of patrons who attend a show offered at Free Night of Theater come back and buy a ticket at that theatre.

Summer Fest Free Night - the South Florida Theatre League's version of the program, began in 2008. The South Florida Theatre League is grateful to the LA Stage Alliance, the performing arts service organization of Greater Los Angeles, for facilitating the enter-to-win lottery system.