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News Archives

Summer Theatre in the City: SPF

July 1, 2009 - This summer, SPF isn’t just for sun protection: it also stands for the Summer Play Festival, which kicks off the summer season with productions of original new plays and musicals by emerging writers. Selected from more than 1400 submissions, seven plays and one musical will run from July 7 to August 2 at The Public Theater.

Since its inception, SPF has produced over 450 performances and provided an opportunity for over a hundred writers, directors, designers, actors, and producers to present their material and craft in a protected environment. Many of the playwrights who have had their work showcased in the past have gone on to great heights. Beau Willimon’s Farragut North is currently being adapted into a movie with plans to be directed by George Clooney and star Leonardo DiCaprio. Melinda Lopez, whose play Sonia Flew appeared at SPF in 2006, was chosen as one of five playwrights for the 2009 Sundance at Ucross Playwright’s Retreat.

This summer’s performances include:

The Chimes by Kevin Christopher Snipes
Nick returns to his New England boarding school still haunted by choices he made 40 years ago. The past overwhelms the present as this thrilling drama flashes back to four young pranksters drawn together by their knack for Shakespeare and ripped apart by the onset of World War II.

Departure Lounge by Dougal Irvine
It’s the end of vacation as four guys wait for their flight home in this testosterone-driven new musical. With time to kill they recount the hilarious antics of the week, and as secrets tumble out we learn more about the lads than they know about themselves.

The Happy Sad by Ken Urban
Finding love is easy. Defining love is not. New York City provides the backdrop to a contemporary comedy of sex, love and dating in a city where there are too many options and not enough time.

Reborning by Zayd Dohrn
Art and life become disturbingly interchangeable when a sculptor of baby dolls meets a woman desperate to recreate the past. This dark comedy takes an unsettling look at work, latex, and the power of creation.

The Sacrifices by Alena Smith
At first glance the family has everything. But once they leave on a Caribbean cruise, the winds change, privilege becomes a prison, and their vacation will be anything but smooth sailing in this touching comedy drama.

Tender by Nicki Bloom
A random act of violence leaves a family shattered and searching for a way to be whole again. Amid the ramifications, mystery, memory and potential murder set the stage for this haunting drama about love, loss and grief.

We Declare You a Terrorist by Tim J. Lord
Eight hundred civilians are taken hostage during the performance of a hit Moscow musical. In the aftermath, the playwright is plagued by the story of his captor - a young woman willing to die for her cause - in an intense drama where one person’s patriotism is another’s act of terrorism.

Whore by Rick Viede
Sara just wants to be interesting, and an unexpected one-night stand propels her into a high stakes relationship with worldly Tim. As they are drawn into the fringes this thriller exposes a world of greed, lies and fear which threatens to break the rules that hold them together.

For tickets and schedule, go to www.spfnyc.com.

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