Corkscrew Theater Festival Opens with Dark Comedy, HIGH SCHOOL COVEN

Corkscrew Theater Festival presents the world premiere of HighSchool Coven by Kaela Mei-Shing Garvin, directed by Felicia Lobo. Running August 9-20, High School Coven is a dark comedy about female friendship, witchcraft, and sexual assault in the educational system. Performed by Swati LaPerre, Rachel Franco, Serena Berman, Jillian Brocki, Amanda Centeno, and Asel Swango, High School Coven opens the inaugural season of Corkscrew Theater Festival, a new summer theater festival that provides early-career artists with a high level of production support.

"TBH high school is v v v hard, especially if you're a witch!" Liana, Naomi, Rachel, and Trina form a coven to cope with the pressures of being a teenage girl, like finding the perfect homecoming dress, locating a suitable familiar, and something more sinister - reporting sexual assault within the education system. Join us for this irreverent dark comedy about female friendship and the art of magick!

Presented by TheBrewing Dept. and Fortress Productions, Corkscrew Theater Festival features five world premieres and five readings performed in repertory over four weeks. Special attention has been given to theater makers who are developing work through innovative and unusual collaborative models. A majority of the participating artists identify as female.

The creative team for High School Coven includes Shakhed Hadaya (sets), Barbara Begley (costumes), Charlotte Seelig (lighting) and Manny Rivera (sound).

Performances of High School Coven will take place August 9-20 (see schedule above) at Paradise Factory (64 E 4th St, Manhattan). Critics are welcome as of August 9 which serves as the official opening. Tickets are $24 and can be purchased at corkscrewfestival.org or by calling 347.954.9125.

Kaela Mei-Shing Garvin is a Brooklyn­-based writer, producer, designer & performer. Founding member of Undiscovered Countries, co­-creator of original series 2 Girls | 1 Asian. Recent credits include Ambition: the female American serial killer musical (Ars Nova, Tom Noonan's Paradise Factory, Dixon Place); wardrobe at Blue Man Group; writer for upcoming series BKPI created by Hye Yun Park. BFA, NYU. www.kaelameishinggarvin.com

Felicia Lobo is a Brooklyn-based Director who specializes in horror and fantastical theatre. BFA: NYU Tisch Drama, Atlantic Acting School (2014). Co-Artistic Director of Insomnium Theatre Company and Literary and Community Manager of Pipeline Theatre Company.

About Corkscrew Theater Festival

Corkscrew Theater Festival is a partnership between The Brewing Dept., a nonprofit theater collective that seeks to improve and remake the traditional model of theatrical production according to the principles of artistic collaboration, and producer Alexander Donnelly's Fortress Productions, whose work on Broadway includes Sunday in the Park with George, Waitress (co-producer) and Oh Hello. Donnelly's other credits include Dream Ticket (Fringe Festival, winner for best director) and Plath (Fringe Festival, sold out run and nationally reviewed), both of which made the Producer's Perspective list of "10 shows that stand out at Fringe." Most recently, Fortress co-produced Providence, RI in The Tank's Flint and Tinder series.