FOOL, ALLIGATOR, et al. Set for Eugene O'Neill Theatre Center's National Playwright's Conference

The Eugene O'Neill Theater Center announced today eight plays to be developed at the 2012 National Playwrights Conference (NPC): PROVENANCE by Anne Garcia-Romero, RECLAMATION by Ken Weitzman, TWO LAKES, TWO RIVERS by Laura Jacqmin, HYPE HERO (King Patch) by Dominic Taylor, ALLIGATOR by Hilary Bettis, ORANGE JULIUS by Basil Kreimendahl, THE TALL GIRLS by Meg Miroshnik, FOOL by Theresa Rebeck. Greg Kotis will also be in residence working on a new play.

Under the leadership of Artistic Director Wendy C. Goldberg, each will undergo the O'Neill's signature development process, employing acclaimed professional creative and support staff, including directors, dramaturgs, actors, and designers. Playwrights spend the month of July developing and presenting staged readings of their work during NPC's 48th season.

Seven of the eight selected works were chosen from among nearly 1,000 plays received through the O'Neill's open submissions process, which allows any playwright – with or without agent representation – to submit. Readers from across the country to choose works based on merit, without authorship attribution.

"I am so pleased to welcome these playwrights and their projects to The O'Neill for our 2012 National Playwrights Conference", says Artistic Director Wendy C. Goldberg. "Our commitment to finding the next generation of storytellers as well as serve as a home for writers throughout their careers is truly evident in this group of artists. Although there are many development programs that have grown up over the years, our original home of new work development keeps a unique and crucial place in the theatrical landscape. I am proud of the space we can provide collaborators in an effort to move their work forward into production."

Goldberg is in her eighth season as artistic director of the National Playwrights Conference. During her tenure, many of the projects developed at the National Playwrights Conference have gone on to great acclaim in New York and around the country.

Seven of the eight plays developed in the 2011 season have thus received full production commitments within eight months of their time at the O'Neill – a remarkable endorsement of the value of the O'Neill process. The Nether by Jennifer Haley recently won the 2012 Susan Smith Blackburn Prize and will be given a world premiere production by the Center Theatre Group in Los Angeles in 2013. Idris Goodwin's How We Got On, directed by Goldberg, garnered critical praise for its recent run at the Humana Festival of New American Plays at the Actors Theater of Louisville. Good Goods by Christina Anderson recently received its premiere production at Yale Repertory Theatre in New Haven, Connecticut.

Executive Director Preston Whiteway remarked, "Congratulations to the nine writers who will be with us for our 48th NPC season. Wendy has strengthened the program tremendously as Artistic Director, and I look forward to these eight plays joining the theatrical canon. The O'Neill's work is valuable and a leader in the field, and I also offer my congratulations and thanks to the nearly 1,000 writers who submitted work for consideration."

Box Office (860-443-1238) and online ticket sales begin Wednesday, June 8; advance ticket sales are available to O'Neill Members beginning Monday, May 16. Schedules are subject to change.

For further information, call the O'Neill at 860-443-5378, email theaterlives@theoneill.org, or visit www.theoneill.org.

2012 NPC PLAYS FOR DEVELOPMENT

PROVENANCE by Anne García-Romero
Performances: Wednesday, July 4; Thursday, July 5

In Los Angeles, two sisters receive a stolen painting created by their Mexican great-grandfather. Will the women keep the portrait in the family or sell the valuable artwork in order to survive?

RECLAMATION by Ken Weitzman
Performances: Friday, July 6; Saturday, July 7

It's 2020 in the American West, and water shortages are forcing entire towns to relocate to urban centers. On the brink of relocation, Leland and Zach, a water manager and his assistant, attempt an unusual deal to save their town and what they call the 'Spirit of the West.'

TWO LAKES, TWO RIVERS by Laura Jacqmin
Performances: Wednesday, July 11; Thursday, July 12

In a Midwestern town, college boys are drinking 'n' drowning for no apparent reason – despite whatever spells the Moms are casting at their 24/7 memorial. Then Peter disappears – without admitting to the crime his ex-girlfriend Bonnie is sure he's guilty of. As the town tries to solve the mystery of what's happening, Bonnie tries to understand what's already happened.

HYPE HERO (King Patch) by Dominic Taylor
Performances: Friday, July 13; Saturday, July 14

Large corporations have taken over the debt of poor citizens and one of these citizens {Rick (a patched man on his way to work)} has the temerity to ask the mayor a question. Since he cannot reach the corporation, he figured asking his local representative could answer his question. Since he is already in debt, how much will the answer cost us?

ALLIGATOR by Hilary Bettis
Performances: Wednesday, July 18; Thursday, July 19

Emerald and her twin brother, Ty, are orphaned 'gator wrestlers living in the backwoods of the Florida Everglades, but their sideshow days are close to an end when a doe-eyed runaway, Lucy, shows up on their porch in the middle of a thunderstorm. As Lucy's desperation to win Emerald over intensifies, she will do whatever it takes to please her…even if it leads to murder. The only hope left rests on Emerald who must face the demon that haunts her every waking moment.

ORANGE JULIUS by Basil Kreimendahl
Performances: Friday, July 20; Saturday, July 21

After being poisoned by Agent Orange in the jungles of Vietnam, Julius is dying of intestinal cancer. Nut, his queer daughter, tries to reconnect with her father as one man to another by caring for his decaying body, sorting through her childhood memories, and diving into war movie fantasies. As worlds and identities blur, Nut finds herself fighting for her father's life in ways she never expected.

THE TALL GIRLS by Meg Miroshnik
Performances: Wednesday, July 25; Thursday, July 26

Welcome to Poor Prairie, the dusty, desolate town where fifteen-and-a-half-year-old Jean has been exiled as caretaker for her wild-child cousin, Almeda. It's a grim, dangerous place to eke out an existence as a teenage girl-until a handsome man with a past arrives, a brand-new basketball in tow. As the town's girls come together to form a team set on making it out of Poor Prairie, a murky committee of townspeople threatens to stamp out girls' sports altogether.

FOOL by Theresa Rebeck; directed by Wendy C. Goldberg
Performances: Friday, July 27; Saturday, July 28

Two jesters go head to head: Who is funnier? A comedy about comedy, tyranny and the love of the king

UNTITLED Greg Kotis PROJECT
Eli's a stay-at-home dad. Eli's secretly in love with Ms. Melissa, his son's 5th grade teacher. Russell just lost his job, so now he's a stay-at-home dad, too. Russell's starting to fall for Ms. Melissa, which is a problem because Eli's been holding a torch for Ms. Melissa a lot longer than Russell. Ms. Harper is the school's principal. She's dealing with severe budget cuts - and now, two fathers who seem to be putting the moves on her favorite teacher. Set in a public elementary school in Brooklyn, this new play explores parenthood, education, and the perils of adults playing with fire.