Ross Valley Players to Kick Off RAW 2013 Spring Festival TURNING POINTS, 4/19

Ross Valley Players presents its RAW 2013 spring festival, TURNING POINTS, featuring four original short plays written by Bay Area playwrights, April 19 - 28, 2013.

Each season, RAW presents two festivals of short works or full-length plays, selected for their quality and originality. Each play is a short run production with minimal set pieces with full sound and lighting.

RAW 2013 Spring Festival plays include:

Between Floors by Linda Saldana, directed by Alex Kuskulis.

Jack Needleman's (Mark Fisher) day turns claustrophobic when he finds himself stuck in an
elevator with his bitter ex-wife Fran (Joan Cassin) and Kelly (Jayme Catalano) who turns out to be the best friend of his current lover.

The Packrat Gene by Margy Kahn, directed by Michael Cohen.

When Leigh (Glenda Vessey) flies out to the East Coast to try to help her aging mother Esther (Ann Armour) clean out her apartment, her out-of-work daughter Rachael (Olivia Harrison) quickly follows. A cross-generational struggle over possessions and their meanings morphs into a deeper conflict.

Beloved Eddie written and directed by Keith Jefferds.

In one little corner of the pet cemetery, it's a triangle of neediness: Doug the human (Keith Jefferds) and his two dearly beloved pets, Patricia (Diane Barnes) and Eddie (Mark Fisher). Nobody's quite ready to say good-bye in this little ménage, but things begin to sort out when free-spirit Amy (Pennell Chapin) arrives to put to rest the outrageous Bardolph (Steve Price), her recently passed-on Doberman.

Boat-Tailed Grackles by Stanton Klose, directed by Buzz Halsing.

Therapist Dr. Schadenfreude (Alex Ross, Sean O'Brien) is meeting with Gerald (Mark Shepard), his decidedly odd patient. But the therapy session seems to be interrupted by a number of visions (Emily Surface), and it becomes evident that the doctor's grip on reality has its limitations too.

Ticket prices are $15 general admission; $45 for Festival Pass (includes 4 tickets.) RVP Members receive half-price tickets with membership card. To purchase tickets online, visit www.rossvalleyplayers.com/RAW or call 415-456-9555, ext. 1 Audience members are invited to participate in "Talkback" with the playwrights after Sunday performances, April 21 and 28.

Shows run Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, April 19 through 28. Friday and Saturday shows start at 8:00PM, Sunday matinee shows at 2:00PM. All performances play The Barn Theatre, home of the Ross Valley Players - 30 Sir Francis Drake Blvd, Ross, Calif.

Now in its 83rd year, Ross Valley Players, a non-profit arts organization, is the oldest continually operating community theater on the West Coast. Created in 1930 as a way to escape the hardships of the Depression, Ross Valley Players has introduced live theater to thousands of Marin residents over the years. Each year, RVP presents a regular season of six full productions, running a total of 30 weeks. RVP offers special events and short-term productions outside the regular season. Plays include recent Broadway material, popular plays, classic theater, and a selection of works by well-known playwrights from around the world. RVP features all genres: comedy, drama, mysteries, and musicals. Their Ross Alternative Works (RAW) program presents short run, minimal set productions of original scripts by Bay Area playwrights in two festivals each season.

Pictured: Keith Jefferds as Doug and Pennell Chapin as Amy visiting their pet's graves at the pet cemetery in Beloved Eddie. Photo Credit: Michael Dougan.

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