Five Titles Announced For The Actors' Fund's New Works Virtual Festival

From Sunday October 25th to Saturday the 31st, the New Works Virtual Festival will stream video readings of 20 new scripts featuring the work of a diverse group of writers and all-star cast members. The festival will now also be streamed at no charge, though donations will be encouraged and all proceeds will go to the Actors Fund. The event received roughly 700 script submissions and all selections will be announced leading up to the festival.

One of these 20 pieces will be a TV pilot, "Bloomer Girls" by Emily Brauer Rogers about female baseball players in the late 1800s. The cast will include Brynn Williams, Mary Chieffo, L Morgan Lee, Adrienne Walker, Leigh Ann Larkin, Christy Carlson Romano, Megan Cavanagh, Zo Tipp, Sharone Sayegh, Kate Loprest, Kevin Pollack, and Jim Auld.

The play, "Family Game Night" from playwright Peter Kennedy, follows an evening starting with a mildly irritating board game featuring glitter and Grim Reaper hand puppets, suddenly turned dark as three generations of the Morton family struggle with articulating wildly different views about their individual end of life (and afterlife) choices. The piece will star Tony nominees Richard Kind, Carmen Cusack and Liz Larsen, as well as Mehret Marsh, Thomas Tulak, Vishal Vaidya, and Jon Patrick Walker.

Also featured will be the new stage play, "A Mighty Road to Heaven," written by Andre Zucker. In it, the backstage drama of an 1859 production of "Hamlet" in Richmond, Virginia will irreversibly and irreconcilably change the course of American History. This reading will also star Kind as well as Tony winner Shuler Hensley and nominee Marc Kudisch. Also featured in the cast will be Miguel Cervantes, Joseph Melendez, and TV/Radio Broadway host Seth Rudetsky. The play combines themes of historical anxiety, toxic masculinity, patriotism, and a rousing twist of truth.

Dan Lauria's play, "Til Jason Comes," will feature Lauria, Ali Ewoldt, and Leigh Ann Larkin in the cast. The play deals with issues of abuse and abandonment with colorful, loveable characters.

"We the People," a new play written by Harrison Zeiberg, follows the founding fathers in attendance at the Constitutional Convention as they work to helm the new country. It will feature Adam Jacobs, Keith Byron Kirk, Richard Pryor, Jr., Conrad Ricamora, Jon Rua, Adam B. Shapiro, and Sal Viviano.

NWVF's mission statement reads; "Our goal is to create a diverse team supporting diverse works from many perspectives, cultures, religions, and voices. We strive for inclusivity in all areas. We are committed to works that connect us as human beings and bring us closer to a better understanding of who we are." The team is proud to be working with their official media sponsor, Broadway World, Robin Carus Casting, and raising money for the Actors Fund, the national human services organization dedicated to meeting the needs of the entertainment community, providing services like emergency financial assistance, affordable housing, health care and insurance counseling, senior care, secondary career development and more. Learn more about them at www.actorsfund.org.

NWVF's lineup of 20 plays in 7 days will consist of non-musical pieces; both full length and one-act plays, screenplays, and television pilots. Also featured in the 19 other readings to be announced will be Krystina Alabado, Amir Arison, Matthew Arkin, Jos N. Banks, Christina Bianco, Ron Bohmer, Larry Joe Campbell, Kevin Chamberlin, Bryan Terrell Clark, Eddie Cooper, Anthony Crivello, Robert Cuccioli, Lee Curreri, Eden Espinosa, Felicia P. Fields, Joely Fisher, Santino Fontana, Ellis Gage, Alan H. Green, Tyce Green, Elaine Hendrix, Philip Hernández, Rodney Hicks, Zach Infante, Jawan M. Jackson, Daniel Jenkins, Donnie Kehr, Ted Louis Levy, Kecia Lewis, Marsha Mason, Jeff McCarthy, Joseph Morales, Mia Moravis, Eva Noblezada, Stuart Pankin, Tonya Pinkins, Vincent Rodriguez III, Drew Sarich, Laura Schein, Adam B. Shapiro, Ray Shell, Mary Testa, Tracie Thoms, Robert Torti, Kathleen Turner, Bruce Vilanch, Sal Viviano, Nik Walker, George Wendt, Richard White, Michael-Leon Wooley, Robert Wuhl, and Necar Zadegan.

Due to recent developments, a new play in lieu of the previously announced "Something's Coming" will be announced soon, to kick off the festival.

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