Irvington Town Hall Theater Launches New Playwright Festival

The Irvington Town Hall Theater (ITHT) is excited to announce the inaugural year of its ITHT Stage Door Playwright Festival on November 11 and 12. A weekend of readings of original and diverse one-act plays by a varied line-up of outstanding writers, the festival will be broken up into four sessions (two on Saturday and two on Sunday), with each session featuring different playwrights. This festival will be a springboard for playwrights to get their work up on its feet, and a chance for ITHT audiences to participate in the process by talking with the writers and other industry professionals during a Q&A at the end of each session.

"I am thrilled by what our three-year-old Stage Door Reading Series has turned into," says Theater Manager, Greg Allen. "Previously we would have a few readings throughout the year, but to have that grow into a two-day festival is a wonderful opportunity for playwrights, the theater, and Irvington as a whole."

Festival Chair Judy Klein Frimer, along with a committee of volunteers, reviewed over 80 submissions this summer. Eight playwrights have been selected, and each session has been curated so that the shows will work well together. Some of the plays may not be suitable for children; however, the festival committee has made sure to curate one session that is completely family-friendly.

"There are many components that must come together to make a successful festival," says Frimer. "We are following in the footsteps of the theater's All Shorts Irvington Film Festival (As iFF) and truly showing how Irvington is an incubator for artists to display their talents."

The esteemed playwrights chosen are Samuel Harps with Goat Feed, Brian Wallace with Reunion, Reneè Flemings with The Brotherhood, Danielle Frimer with Between Friends, Jody Christopherson with AMP, Linda Tidwell Delaney with Bookworms, Jason Odell Williams with Dog Park, and Nancy Kelly with Backyard Desert.

festival is generously supported by ITHT Arts Champion Pamela Eskind, Real Estate Associate Broker of William Raveis Legends Realty, as well as by other local area supporting sponsors.

Check out http://www.irvingtontheater.com/theatre-festival for playwright bios, ticket information, and full session details and synopses.