Phoenix Theatre Announces Line-up For 12th Annual New Works Festival 7/10-8/1

PHOENIX THEATRE'S 12TH ANNUAL NEW WORKS FESTIVAL July 10-August 1, 2009

Festival sponsor: The Geordie and Jamie Hormel Trust

BLACK RIVER by Ken Love
Directed by William Partlien
In the spring of 1981, a young man and a young woman come to a small town in Georgia, from very different places and for very different reasons. The worlds they've left, the world they find, and the worlds they cannot leave behind collide in this compelling play, full of poetry, drama, and vivid characters, from a fresh Phoenix voice.
READINGS: July 10 at 7:30 pm, July 11 at 3:00 & 7:30 pm July 12 at 2:00 pm

THE WEIGHT OF BREATH by Ben Sahl
Directed by Mark Demichele
Alan, a teenager whose world spins like a merry-go-round witness his parents uncouple and recouple, with all the wit, sophistication, and devastation that come with love and marriage. A play that is funny, wistful, and moving by turns, with characters that are rich in nuance and believably real in their complexity and confusion.
READINGS: July 17 at 7:30 pm, July 18 at 3:00 & 7:30 pm.

CLONING PETER by Kirt Shineman
Directed by Robert Kolby Harper
Scientists have families, too. From the laboratory to the bedroom, no recent technological development has opened more possibilities and provoked more controversy than the science of genetics. Stem cell research may conquer terrible diseases, while the very concept of human cloning can seem irreverent, irresponsible, and simply wrong. This thought-provoking play engages the subject in a very human way, through the story of a family facing a unique situation with unique knowledge, and wrestling with the possibilities.
READINGS: July 24 at 7:30 pm, July 25 at 3:00 & 7:30 pm, July 26 at 2:00 pm

THE POWER OF BIRDS by Robin Rice Lichtig
Directed by Daniel Schay
A highly theatrical family drama about the ties that bind and the love that sets you free. THE POWER OF BIRDS is a new play about three generations of a highly unusual family. Zoe and Charlie are very dissimilar twins. Loretta is a modern mom - fit, attractive, busy. Grandma Lily divides her time increasingly between here and now and a very interesting world of her own. Can these generations find common ground - even if it is up in the air? Funny, charming, and magical writing from an acclaimed New York playwright.
READINGS: July 31 at 7:30 pm, August 1 at 3:00 & 7:30 pm

AN AUDIENCE DISCUSSION WILL FOLLOW EACH PERFORMANCE
$9 per reading - see all four for $33