Second Annual Midwinter Madness Short Play Festival Set for 2/13-3/4

John Chatterton and The Midtown International Theatre Festival (MITF) have announced the Second Annual Midwinter Madness Short Play Festival from February 13 through March 4, 2012. The Festival will take place at Roy Arias Studios' Payan Theatre, 300 W. 43rd St., 5th fl. Tickets (at $14 and $17, depending on a play's length; no discounts for seniors or students) are available at www.SmartTix.com (search by play title) or by calling 212/868-4444.

"I have a passion for short plays. With the Short Play Lab throughout the season and the MITF's Short Subjects in the summer, and the Midwinter Madness Short Play Festival in the winter, it's all short play all year 'round!" said John Chatterton.

In addition to a tie-in with the MITF Short Subjects, the Midwinter Madness Short Play Festival also echoes the MITF with some international plays, notably CIRCO POEIRA ("Dust Circus"), a solo play with puppets all the way from Brazil (written and directed by Caio Stolai; produced by Milena Nascimento). There is also a play about immigrants in Greece, ONE OUT OF TEN (originally created by Laertis Vasiliou; translated and directed by Aktina Stathak).

Other Midwinter Madness selections (30 in all) include COFFEE HOUSE, GREENWICH VILLAGE, by John Doble; NEVER UNDERESTIMATE KARMA, by Mike Durell; THE TOUPEE, by Tom Dunn; A MONTH OF SUNDAYS, by Tearrance A. Chisholm; NORMA JEANE ENLIGHTENED, by Joanne de Simone; HOLIDAY IN HEAVEN, a musical by Demetria Daniels; HUNGRY PEOPLE, THE MUSICAL. by Jung Han Kim; THE WALLS CAME TUMBLING DOWN and THE TOWER, by Paulanne Simmons; JIMMY AND JANICE, by Jason Cicci; REST, by Leonard D. Goodisman; THE SEVEN STAGES OF GRIEF, by Dimitri C. Michalakis; THE BABBLER, by Jeffrey Fiske; HIROSHI-ME,ME,ME, by Natalie Menna; ONCE, by Dan Bocchino; OUT OF THE CRADLE ENDLESSLY ROCKING,by Nikola Tesla Gojcaj; RED ALL OVER, by Mike Fresta; DICTATORS FOR HIRE, by Joe Beck; WITHOUT A NET, 5 short plays by Meri Wallace; FETAL ATTRACTION, by Sarah M Chichester; WAITING FOR DR. HOFFMAN, by Michele Willens; MEREDITH'S RING, by Andrew Rothkin; STRAWBERRY FIELDS, by Ashley Nicole Audette; LA PETITE MORT, by Joshua R. Pangborn; THE BRINK, by Eugenie Carabatsos; SOCIAL ANXIETY, by Gwen Baer; ANIMAL KINGDOM, by Laura Zlatos; and THE MAN IN THE WINDOW: The Building of the Brooklyn Bridge, by Donald Orwald and Linda Harvey-Burkley.

John 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. If anything, the Midwinter Madness Short Play Festival, and Mr. Chatterton's other showcases for short plays, take the theme of minimalism even further. As he puts it, "The shorter the plays, the more plays we have in one space, so the less space we have for each one. We learn to share."