Scripps Ranch Theatre Presents 7th Annual Out On A Limb New Play Series

Scripps Ranch Theatre, located on the campus of Alliant International University, presents their 7th Annual Out on a Limb (OOAL) - New Plays from America's Finest City. SRT is a leader in the Southern California Arts Community in developing and producing new plays. OOAL is designed to create and stage new one-act plays. The program strives to develop and produce new work that engages playwrights and theatre artists in Southern California. OOAL celebrates diversity while entertaining and expanding the horizons of patrons and contributing to the cultural and economic growth of the community. This year's festival runs from July 13-22.

Founder and Artistic Director of the Festival, Robert May, and Producers Charles and Jenn Peters shared "We are full steam ahead for our 7th Annual Out On A Limb at Scripps Ranch Theatre. We continue to look for ways to encourage development of new works from our diverse community that draw from various themes. This year we have three OOAL first-timers: playwrights Christian St. Croix, Gabino Cabanilla, and Salomon Maya - and we've lined up three really talented directors in Don Loper, James P. Darvas, and Hannah Logan. We're so proud to once again support area playwrights with their new work and have them produced on our stage - this seventh year of the festival is sure to be one of the best!"

2018 New Plays

MONSTERS OF THE AMERICAN CINEMA by Christian St. Croix

Directed by James P. Darvas

Featuring: John Wells III and Aaron Lugo

When his husband dies, Remy Washington, a black man in his late 30s, finds himself both the owner of a drive-in movie theater in Santee, California, and a caregiver to his late husband's white, 16-year-old son, Pup. Both enamored with classic monster movies, their relationship is warm and witty, but not without strain. Pup suffers from night terrors, Remy struggles with raising a teen he doesn't always understand. The duo's connection is tested when Remy learns Pup's been bullying a classmate: a boy who likes to paint his nails. "Monsters of the American Cinema" is a haunting and humorous tale about fathers and sons, ghosts and monsters.

DESERT OASIS GARDEN CLUB by Gabino Cabanilla

Directed by Don Loper

Featuring: Dori Salois, Pamela Brittain, Connie Terwilliger and M. Eliane Weidauer

Marge lives in a 55+ retirement community. She is alone now and her deceased husband has left her with enormous debt. Can she afford to live where she is? How will she pay for healthcare, food or everyday expenses? Her two BFFs have a creative solution to supplement Marge's financial woes. They invite her to join the DESERT OASIS GARDEN CLUB. With hypocrisy, humor and enlightened progressiveness, this play explores the importance of family and friends and embracing one of Mother Nature's botanical gifts.

ANOMALY.EXE by Salomon Maya

Directed by Hannah Logan

Featuring: Amara Young and John Carroll

Valerie and Brad have the perfect house...the perfect marriage...the perfect life. And in the not too distant future, revolutionary technology has allowed Valerie and Brad to build the perfect son before he even takes his first real breath. Yet as this happy couple begin choosing the traits for their child, they realize that perfection, or at least the pursuit of it, might very well disrupt the very symbiotic relationship they fought so hard to maintain. Breaking the very code that had sustained almost perfection.

CREATIVE TEAM BIOS:

MAY: (Founder and Artistic Director: Out on a Limb) Robert began working with new plays as an undergrad actor and continued his passion for new work with Out on a Limb and New Works Studio. One of his personal missions is to help playwrights develop and create new work that has a life after the initial development process. He is also an award-winning director, an actor and sound designer.

Charles Peters (Co-Producer: Out On A Limb) Charles is an award winning director and actor and has twice toured nationally. In San Diego he has worked professionally as a director, actor, sound designer, and consultant at ion theatre, New Village Arts, Scripps Ranch Theatre, OnStage Playhouse, Coronado Playhouse, Cygnet Theatre, Carlsbad Playreaders and more. He currently serves on the Board of Directors at Scripps Ranch Theatre and as their OutReach Director. For further information visit www.charles-peters.com

JENNIFER PETERS (Co-Producer: Out On A Limb) Jennifer has been involved with theater in and around San Diego for most of her life, from stage managing to directing, lighting design and everything in between. It is an honor to once again be participating in what has been a long tradition of the San Diego theater scene, bringing new works to the stage.

CHRISTIAN ST. CROIX (Playwright) MONSTERS OF THE AMERICAN CINEMA

Christian St. Croix is a short fiction writer, playwright, stage director and the Creative Director of Boy and Monster, an award-winning theatre collective. He's also the author of 'M.', a collection of prose, poetry and micro-fiction that Outword Magazine describes as, '"Raw. Real. Radical. Racy." His plays include 'Denim', 'Frisco' and 'Zack' and his original one-act, 'Princes', received the 2017 San Diego International Fringe Festival Award for Outstanding LGBT Performance. When he's not writing or performing, St. Croix collects word tattoos, stocks up on original issue vinyl albums and he loves 80s slasher flicks.

James P. Darvas (Director) MONSTERS OF THE AMERICAN CINEMA- James' directing credits include A Piece Of My Heart, Good People and Coyote On A Fence (OnStage Playhouse) Burn This (Different Stages) Night Mother (Lamplighters) and Rabbit Hole (CAT.) His acting credits include I Am My Own Wife, Rabbit Hole, Enron, Geeks The Musical, Mothers and Sons, The Shadow Box and Cloud Tectonics.

GABINO CABANILLA (Playwright) DESERT OASIS GARDEN CLUB

Gabino spent 23 years communicating employee healthcare and retirement benefits in the public and private sectors. His plays have been read at Diversionary Theatre's WordPlay Tuesdays and Scripteasers in San Diego. He studied creative writing at Los Angeles City College and UCLA. He is a member of The Playwrights' Center and Dramatists Guild of America. Gabino resides in Southern California.

Don Loper (Director) DESERT OASIS GARDEN CLUB

Some of Don Loper's favorite credits include: A Christmas Carol, Wings (San Diego Rep); 1776, Detective Story (Lamb's Players);Wet (Moxie Theatre); Travesties/Importance...Earnest, Arcadia, Laughter on 23rd Floor, The Adjustment, M Butterfly, Rough Crossing , Dancing at Lughnasa, Mastergate and Chekhov in Yalta (North Coast Rep). Most recently, Home Is Where The Light Is and Medea (Proud Mouse) and Waiting For Godot (Fruitless Moon)

SALOMAN MAYA (Playwright) ANOMOLY.EXE - Salomon Maya has written three full-length plays, Splitting Adam, Gridlock and The Mudanza: An Unapologetic Bilingual Play; works as Creative Director for Televisa San Diego/Tijuana; monthly columnist L'CHAIM Magazine and board member for Arts District at Liberty Station. Regional acting credits: San Diego Repertory Theatre: Beachtown (Benny Ramos-Leibowitz), Manifest Destinitis (Tomas); La Jolla Playhouse: El Henry (Mago); OnStage Playhouse: Coyote on a Fence (Sam)

HANNAH LOGAN (Director) ANOMOLY.EXE

Hannah Logan most recently assisted Delicia Sonnenberg directing BLISS! Or Emily Post is Dead at Moxie Theatre. Other credits include: Directing:God's Plan and El Valiente (Moxie / SDSU, #tenminuteplays) Birth Right (OOAL/Scripps Ranch Theatre),You're Hired (That 24-Hour Thing, 2017)Taming of the Crew (Hollywood Fringe 24-Hour Fest),Ten Tits and Five Tiaras(Tamarind Theatre, also co-writer), Call Me Ishmael, Graceland (Seattle Fringe), Crimes of the Heart (The Boston Conservatory); Assistant Directing: Robby Lutfy,Bad Jews (Cygnet Theatre), Claudio Raygoza, Reasons to be Pretty, This Wide Night (ion theatre). Hannah recently returned from attending Directors Lab West in Los Angeles, an invited conference for emerging professional directors.

Scripps Ranch Theatre is located on the campus of Alliant International University. Out On A Limb: New Plays From America's Finest City runs from July 13th - 22nd, Fridays and Saturdays at 8pm, Sundays at 2pm. To reserve best seats now, contact the box office at 858-578-7728. www.Scrippsranchtheatre.org Individual tickets are $20

Photo Credit: Daren Scott