Summer Shorts, with Plays by Howe, Etc., Begins Aug. 2

John McCormack and J.J. Kandel in association with The Open Book will present "Summer Shorts," a festival of new American short plays, at 59E59 Theaters (59 East 59th Street).  Performances begin Thursday August 2nd, and continue through Thursday August 30th.

"Summer Shorts" "offers nine one-act plays, eight having their world premieres, in two separate evenings. The two series will run in rotating repertory (a detailed description and schedule follows below). 'Summer Shorts' represents some of the country's best writing, directing and acting talents coming together to celebrate theatre, summer and the short form. In one evening of theatre, audiences will be able to sample a diverse range of voices and styles in an elegant and straightforward presentation," state press notes.

The playwrights contributing to "Summer Shorts" include John Augustine, Michael Domitrovich, Tina Howe, Skip Kennon, Warren Leight, Leslie Lyles, Eduardo Machado, Tom O'Brien, Keith Reddin, and Randee Smith. Maruti Evans will provide scenic and lighting design.

"The Open Book was founded by Bill Bonham and Marvin Kaye in 1975, and has been continuously operating ever since. The company was formed to develop a streamlined alternative to America's overproduced traditional theatre. Its mission is to present the best of all worlds of literature -- prose, poetry, drama, even nonfiction -- to our culturally diverse tri-state audience, with emphasis on new under-appreciated literature of excellence that is likely to be bypassed by traditional theatre companies.

59E59 Theaters is the state-of-the-art theater complex in a spectacular location on 59th Street between Park and Madison Avenues in Manhattan. Owned and operated by the Elysabeth Kleinhans Theatrical Foundation, a not-for profit operating foundation, 59E59 Theaters has set an invigorating policy of bringing new, challenging and experimental work to a new neighborhood."

Performances will be Tuesday through Saturday evenings at 8:15pm, with matinees Saturdays at 2:15 and Sundays at 3:15.  Tickets are $18 each (59E59 members $12.60). Tickets can be purchased from the Box Office (Monday 12pm-6pm, Tuesday-Saturday 12pm-9pm, Sunday 12pm-7pm), by phone through Ticket Central at 212-279-4200 or online at www.ticketcentral.com. Service fees apply to phone and web purchases.