Bekah Brunstetter News

Ars Nova (Jason Eagan, Artistic Director; Jeremy Blocker, Managing Director) is now accepting applications for Play Group, a vibrant and eclectic group of emerging writers who gather twice a month at Ars Nova to share new work and get peer feedback. The group offers members the chance to develop their plays with peer support; to be inspired by each otherʼs work; to form collaborative relationships; and to build a strong sense of community within Ars Nova. All emerging playwrights are eligible for membership.

59E59 Theaters (Elysabeth Kleinhans, Artistic Director; Peter Tear, Executive Producer) welcomes the return of Firework Theater (formerly Kids with Guns) with the NYC premiere of THE PILLOW BOOK, by Anna Moench and directed by David F. Chapman. THE PILLOW BOOK begins previews on Thursday, August 4 for a limited engagement through Saturday, August 20.

The Castillo Theatre (Dan Friedman, artistic director, Diane Stiles, managing director) is presenting three winning scripts from the 2011 Mario Fratti-Fred Newman Political Playwriting Contest, selected from over 150 entries including from U.S., Italy , New Zealand, Africa and the UK.

Primary Stages Marvin and Anne Einhorn School of Performing Arts (ESPA), the company's professional training school, has announced its 2011 Fall schedule of classes. ESPA will offer new classes including Acting the Song, Character Acting, and Directing and Producing. New instructors Liz Duffy Adams, Charles Busch, Dominic D'Andrea, A.R. Gurney, Michael Cerveris and Cheri Magid join returning faculty members Tanya Barfield, Karen Braga, Bekah Brunstetter, Michelle Bossy, Denis Butkus, Kara Lee Corthon, Carl Forsman, Jane Guyer Fujita, Jackson Gay, Randy Graff, Adam Gwon, Josh Hecht, Lila Rose Kaplan, Kait Kerrigan, Stephanie Klapper, Primary Stages Artistic Director Andrew Leynse, Linda and David Laundra, Michele Lowe, Rogelio Martinez, Winter Miller, Adam Reist, Richard Topol, Edwin Sanchez, Julian Sheppard, Daniel Talbott, Ken Urban and Kim Weild.

At the half-way mark of their 36th annual SAMUEL FRENCH INC. OFF OFF BROADWAY SHORT PLAY FESTIVAL, Samuel French, Inc. announces the first seven plays that have moved on to the Finals to be held on Sunday, July 24th in four sessions beginning at 1:00 pm in the Lion Theatre at Theatre Row: Create Me A Pegasus by Amy E. Witting, Hanksylvania by Travis Helwig, Mountain Song by Josh Beerman, Pluck & Tenacity by Daniella Shoshan, Chun Li by Camilla Maxwell, The Painter by Stacy Osei-Kuffour and Bubble & Squeak by Evan Twohy.

At the half-way mark of their 36th annual SAMUEL FRENCH INC. OFF OFF BROADWAY SHORT PLAY FESTIVAL, Samuel French, Inc. announces the first seven plays that have moved on to the Finals to be held on Sunday, July 24th in four sessions beginning at 1:00 pm in the Lion Theatre at Theatre Row: Create Me A Pegasus by Amy E. Witting, Hanksylvania by Travis Helwig, Mountain Song by Josh Beerman, Pluck & Tenacity by Daniella Shoshan, Chun Li by Camilla Maxwell, The Painter by Stacy Osei-Kuffour and Bubble & Squeak by Evan Twohy.

The Castillo Theatre (Dan Friedman, artistic director, Diane Stiles, managing director) is presenting three winning scripts from the 2011 Mario Fratti-Fred Newman Political Playwriting Contest, selected from over 150 entries including from U.S., Italy , New Zealand, Africa and the UK.

The world premiere of The Tenant, which will be performed free of charge at West-Park Presbyterian Church on the northeast corner of 86th Street and Amsterdam Avenue (entrance on 86th Street), begins performances Wednesday, August 10 at 8pm, and opens Wednesday, August 24 at 8pm. Conceived and produced by Woodshed Collective (Teddy Bergman, Gabriel Hainer Evansohn, Stephen Squibb, Artistic Directors), The Tenant is written by Bekah Brunstetter, Sarah Burgess, Paul Cohen, Dylan Dawson, Steven Levenson, and Tommy Smith with production dramaturgy by Stephen Squibb. The Tenant is directed by Teddy Bergman and Stephen Brackett and plays through Saturday, September 17.

Atlantic Theater Company (Neil Pepe, Artistic Director, Jeffory Lawson, Managing Director) is proud to announce its 2011-2012 season productions, featuring world premieres from Academy Award® winner Ethan Coen, Fernanda Coppel, Gabe McKinley, Adam Rapp, and Pulitzer Prize winner John Patrick Shanley, as well as a U.S. premiere from Simon Stephens starring Olivier Award winner Simon Russell Beale.

Partial Comfort Premieres Chad Beckim's AFTER from September 7 - October 1 at The Wild Project

59E59 Theaters (Elysabeth Kleinhans, Artistic Director; Peter Tear, Executive Producer) welcomes the return of Firework Theater (formerly Kids with Guns) with the NYC premiere of THE PILLOW BOOK, by Anna Moench and directed by David F. Chapman. THE PILLOW BOOK begins previews on Thursday, August 4 for a limited engagement through Saturday, August 20.

Eighteen of the theatre industry's highly regarded playwrights, theatrical agents and artistic directors will jury the 40 short plays featured in the 36th Annual SAMUEL FRENCH INC. OFF OFF BROADWAY SHORT PLAY FESTIVAL beginning July 19th at the Lion Theatre on Theatre Row (410 West 42nd Street). Six winners will be chosen to have their plays licensed and published by Samuel French, Inc.

The Castillo Theatre (Dan Friedman, artistic director, Diane Stiles, managing director) is presenting three winning scripts from the 2011 Mario Fratti-Fred Newman Political Playwriting Contest, selected from over 150 entries including from U.S., Italy , New Zealand, Africa and the UK. The plays are being directed by distinguished theatre professionals. They will be presented on Monday, August 1, 8, 22 at 7:00 p.m.

VIBRANT 2011 - A FESTIVAL OF FINBOROUGH PLAYWRIGHTS 5-30 JULY Twelve new plays, twelve Finborough playwrights...

Theater Breaking Through Barriers presents SOME OF OUR PARTS Seven ten-minute plays about disabilities - and the people affected by them. World-premiere short plays by Neil LaBute, Kate Moira Ryan, Samuel D. Hunter, Diana Son, Bekah Brunstetter, Jeff Tabnick and Emily Chadick Weiss.

Vineyard Theatre and Naked Angels will co-produce the world-premiere of Zayd Dohrn's play OUTSIDE PEOPLE, directed by Evan Cabnet at The Vineyard (108 East 15th Street), which will begin performances in December, 2011 and open in January 2012, it has been announced by Douglas Aibel, Artistic Director of Vineyard Theatre and Andy Donald, Artistic Director of Naked Angels. It is the first co-production for the two award-winning off-Broadway companies.

Theater Breaking Through Barriers presents SOME OF OUR PARTS Seven ten-minute plays about disabilities - and the people affected by them.

Atlantic Theater Company (Neil Pepe, Artistic Director; Jeffory Lawson, Managing Director) concludes its 25th Anniversary season with a celebration of its history with 10x25, an all-commissioned, one-act festival of ten-minute plays by twenty-five of the extraordinary playwrights who have been produced there since 1985.

Theater Breaking Through Barriers presents SOME OF OUR PARTS Seven ten-minute plays about disabilities - and the people affected by them.

The Playwrights Realm presents new works by Mattie Brickman, Christopher Oscar Peña, Bekah Brunstetter and Stefanie Zadravec in INK'D