Castillo Theater Showcases Winners of The Mario Fratti-Fred Newman Political Playwriting Contest in a Summer Reading Series 8/3-24

The Castillo Theatre follows many avenues to bring new, experiment theatre work to their 42nd Street stages, and to the American theatre. The Fratti-Newman Contest is the only contest in the United States designed to encourage and find new scripts that engage the political/social/cultural questions impacting on the world today.

This summer, the four winners of the 2009 Fratti-Newman Contest-selected from nearly 200 submissions and all of them previously unproduced-will receive readings directed by distinguished artists from various theatres around New York City. The readings will be held at the Castillo Theatre in the All Stars Project's performing arts and development center, 543 W. 42nd Street, between 10th and 11th Avenues, on four consecutive Monday evenings at 7:00 p.m.: August 3, 10, 17, and 24. TDF accepted; group rates available. For tickets call 212-941-1234.

The winners of the 2009 Mario Fratti-Fred Newman Political Playwriting Contest are:

Inside the Coma of Wayne Morse by Steve Lyons is a fantastical journey into the mind of Senator Wayne Morse as he lies dying. Morse was one of only two Senators who voted against the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution that gave President LynDon Johnson the authority to wage all out war on Vietnam. The play touches on numerous philosophical and ethical questions, and focuses on the continuing erosion of Congress' constitutional duty to declare war and its usurpation by the Presidency for the past 60 years-an issue of burning topicality as America continues to wage two wars authorized by the executive branch. Monday, August 3, 2009, 7:00 p.m.

Far Shore by Douglas Huff examines the life of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, a founding father of India and its most famous "Untouchable." He strove to free India's Untouchables from the slavery, oppression, violence and humiliation they suffer and to free Indian women of all castes from the oppression of men. He often came into conflict with the other leaders of the Indian independence movement, including Gandhi, all of who came were Brahmans, India's most privileged caste. Virtually unknown in the West, Ambedkar's story is important for Americans, in the age of Barack Obama's presidency, to be familiar with. Monday, August 10, 2009, 7:00 p.m.

The Owl Girl by Monica Raymond is a gentle magical realist allegory. The play is about two families who gradually find themselves mysteriously living in the same house, each claiming it as their own. As the play progresses, they find themselves getting along and enjoying each other's company. While the cutltural backgrounds of these families are never specified, it is believed that they represent the Israelis and Palestinians. This is a very personal look at the political and cultural impasse that has resulted in half a century of war in the Near East. Monday, August 17, 2009, 7:00 p.m.

Fire in the Garden by Ken Weitman is a one-person show in which a contemporary father-to-be contemplates the action of Norman Morrison, who set himself on fire in the Pentagon garden to protest the War in Vietnam in 1965. His ruminations center on what is worth fighting for in our own time and what it means to lead an ethical life and death. Monday, August 24, 2009, 7:00 p.m. Each reading will be followed by a brief Q&A with the authors.

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