ZEITGEIST to Feature Playwrights from Austria, Germany, and Switzerland, 6/11-28

June 11-28, 2012 the international new play festival Zeitgeist: New Playwrights from Austria, Germany and Switzerland brings some of the most sought-after European playwrights and their works to Washington and New York for staged readings with the directors of leading theaters in each city: Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater, the Studio Theatre, and the Shakespeare Theatre Company in Washington, and New York Theatre Workshop, Playwrights Horizons, and Soho Rep in New York City.

Audacious and funny, timely and provocative – the playwriting coming out of Germany, Switzerland and Austria today breaks new ground and unabashedly tackles difficult subjects. Three new, popular plays from these countries will appear in Washington and New York in June 2012, in readings with directors and casts from American theaters. Each playwright will be in residence during the week of their play’s readings.

Expanding from its origins in Washington last year, this year’s Zeitgeist festival includes additional readings at New York theaters. The 2012 festival features German playwrights Nurkan Erpulat and Jens Hillje and their piece Crazy Blood (Verrücktes Blut), in collaboration with Arena Stage (Washington) on June 11, and with New York Theatre Workshop (New York) on June 14; Swiss playwright Reto Finger and his work Cold Country (Kaltes Land) in collaboration with the Studio Theatre (Washington) on June 18, and with Playwrights Horizons (New York) on June 21; and Austrian playwright Thomas Arzt’s Chirping Hill (Grillenparz) in collaboration with the Shakespeare Theatre Company (Washington) on June 25, and with Soho Rep (New York) on June 28.

Zeitgeist: New Playwrights from Austria, Germany and Switzerland is a project of the Austrian Cultural Forum Washington, the Goethe-Institut Washington, and the Embassy of Switzerland in Washington (www.zeitgeistdc.org) and of the Austrian Cultural Forum New York, the Goethe-Institut New York, and the Consulate General of Switzerland in New York (zeitgeistnyc.tumblr.com).

Following each reading, the director, playwright and cast will participate in a discussion with the audience; each evening will conclude with a reception and a chance to meet the artists.