UCSB's LAUNCH PAD's ALONE, TOGETHER Premieres Today

UC Santa Barbara Department of Theater and Dance LAUNCH PAD's ALONE, TOGETHER premieres today, Saturday, June 6. The festival joins acclaimed writers and directors with acting and directing students for a virtual presentation of new work and new talent.

LAUNCH PAD, UCSB's unique new play development program, created ALONE, TOGETHER to provide vibrant opportunities for theater students during California's Stay at Home order. A celebration of innovation, ingenuity, and generosity inspired by the prompt "Alone, Together" - this program brings together 24 distinguished LAUNCH PAD alumni playwrights, including Mia Chung, Yussef El Guindi, Idris Goodwin, Arlene Hutton, James Still, Cheryl L. West and others, who have written 39 short plays and monologues specifically created to be performed on Zoom. 61 actors, 23 directors and 3 designers are involved in the Festival.

"It is a dynamic mix of students and professionals working side by side on these wonderful new plays with the playwrights in virtual residence. The writers have created an enormous variety of material ranging from drama to farce and everything in between. We are so lucky to have this extraordinary roster of brilliant playwrights interacting with our students, faculty and guest artists. It is precisely what LAUNCH PAD is all about: creating the next great American play." - Risa Brainin, Artistic Director of UCSB's LAUNCH PAD

LAUNCH PAD's ALONE, TOGETHER performs in 4 chapters in one Zoom webinar, each approximately 90 minutes. The schedule includes Chapter 1 at 11am, Chapter 2 at 1pm, Chapter 3 at 4pm and Chapter 4 at 6pm (all times PST). LAUNCH PAD will host a "Chat and Chew" between Chapters 2 & 3 at 2:30pm and a Post-Festival Q & A after Chapter 4 at 7:30pm with artists and audience to talk about the plays and process.

Note: You do not need to watch the chapters in sequence to enjoy the Festival - each play stands on its own. To view the entire roster of plays and artists, go to https://launchpad.theaterdance.ucsb.edu/alone-together and click on the Chapter links.

To watch ALONE, TOGETHER click this link: https://bit.ly/2Aj0UmW. Viewing is free. Beginning on June 20 the full presentation for viewing, as well as a downloadable PDF of the plays, will be available at https://launchpad.theaterdance.ucsb.edu.

For more info about UC Santa Barbara's Department of Theater and Dance visit https://www.theaterdance.ucsb.edu.