California Stage Theater Company Launches Award-Winning Playwright, Nedra Pezold Roberts, Onto National Stage

On March 29th, California Stage Theater Company will host one of the most nationally significant and unique theatrical events Sacramento has seen in years. The Theatre will premiere Nedra Pezold Roberts' The Vanishing Point as part of the American Association of Community Theatre's 1st annual AACTNewPlayFest-propelling Roberts and California Stage onto the national New Works scene.

For Roberts, this production ends her 7 year struggle to bring this widely acclaimed new play to the stage. The play received its first major reading at the Southern Women Writer's Conference in 2007, and went on to win the Southern Appalachian Repertory Theatre's 30th annual ScriptFEST. In 2011, The Eugene O'Neill Center Theatre named it as a finalist in its National Playwrights Conference. Now, California Stage and the AACTNewPlayFest finally give Roberts' powerful, poignant drama the premiere production the national theatre community has been waiting for. The playwright will attend the March 29th gala opening of her play and appear on Live Wire with Vanishing Point Director and California Stage Producing Artistic Director Ray Tatar.

Playwright Nedra Pezold Roberts' teaching and writing career spans decades with no sign of slowing. Originally a New Orleans native with Cajun and Catalan roots, Roberts earned her PhD at Tulane University. She taught English at Loyola University of the South before moving to Atlanta, GA to teach at the Westminster Schools. Currently, she has five plays in the works including The Vanishing Point as well as a series of murder mystery novels.

The Vanishing Point is one of six winning plays chosen from over 250 entries and presented by California Stage and other participating theatres during the national AACTNewPlayFest. Modeling its newest initiative on Texas Non-Profit Theatres' POPS (Producing Original Plays) program, AACT hopes to give talented playwrights greater exposure while developing new, relevant work for audiences around the country to enjoy. All winning plays will be published in anthology by Dramatic Publishing Company.

The Vanishing Point will open March 29th to run five weekends through April 27th, 2014 at the California Stage Theater in Midtown Sacramento; Fridays & Saturdays at 8pm Sundays at 2pm. California Stage Theater is located in the R25 Arts Complex, 2509 R Street at 25th Street. Ticket prices are $20.00 for general admission, $15.00 students, SARTA members, Military and seniors, and $12.00 for groups of six or more. Easy free parking available. Reservations: 916-451-5822 or order online at www.CalStage.org