Midtown International Theatre Festival Announces THEATRE STIMULUS PROGRAM, 12/18

The Midtown InterNational Theatre Festival (MITF) announces a unique Theatre Stimulus Program for its current (14th annual) season (including free wine and cheese).

"Whenever I talk to people about producing a show in the Festival," says the MITF's executive producer, John Chatterton, "all I hear is how expensive it is to produce theatre anywhere in New York City. All the extras, like rehearsal space, insurance, storage, set design, lights.... I finally couldn't take it any more and decided to offer most of these things as freebies to any show coming into the Festival. If you're smart (and have smart friends in your company), you should be able to produce a show in our Festival for nothing (after paying a nominal participation fee). If I could figure out any more ways to make theatre cheaper, I'd do it!"

Chatterton and other members of the MITF staff will be explaining the MITF stimulus program at the fourth annual MITF Symposium on Tuesday, December 18, 2012 at 6pm at The June Havoc Theatre in the Abingdon Theatre Arts Complex, 312 W 36th St., first floor, NYC. Admission is FREE but reservations are requested (E-mail to midtownFestival@gmail.com).

This year's Symposium will feature a panel of Festival staff and previous Festival participants. The panel will discuss the Festival and why to produce in it. There will be a short presentation followed by a question-and-answer session; the panelists will also be available after the Symposium to address individual concerns. The Symposium, true to its name ("drinking together," in Greek) will end with a wine and cheese reception in the upper lobby of the theatre.

Extras included in the Theatre Stimulus Program include the following:

20 hours FREE rehearsal time
FREE external storage, availability permitting
FREE marketing consultation
FREE showcase insurance
NO side letter with Equity, so NO hidden costs
Festival participants COMPED to each other's shows
FREE wine and cheese (while supplies last LOL)

The Festival accepts submissions in all genres - any sort of stage play, musical or otherwise, new or classic, mainstream or specifically focused on an ethnic or cultural niche. To be eligible, each show must have a producer and production team attached to the project. In addition, the MITF will include a Short Subjects division, much expanded from previous years.

Mr. Chatterton created the MITF in 2000, a Midtown alternative to other theatre festivals, as a way to present the finest off-off Broadway talent in convenience, comfort, and safety. The MITF's artistic emphasis is on the script itself, and therefore the Festival focuses on minimal production values.

The 14th season will run from July 15 - Aug. 5, 2012. Application forms are available online at www.MidtownFestival.org (see the Festival Manual, "Application Process"). Applications must be completed online. Scripts must be sent by e-mail. A non-refundable reading fee of $30 must be mailed or sent by PayPal (no reading fee for Short Subjects). All submissions must be e-mailed or postmarked by January 21, 2013 to guarantee consideration for the 2013 Festival. Financial plans for shows are flexible, depending on the resources and ambitions of applicants.

The 2013 Festival will take place at the June Havoc Theatre, 312 W. 36th Street, 1st floor; the Dorothy Strelsin Theatre, 312 W. 36th Street, 1st floor; the Main Stage Theater, 312 W. 36th Street, 4th floor; and the Jewel Box Theater, 312 W. 36th Street, 4th floor.