Leigh Silverman & More to Direct Lilly Award Foundation's (3) PLAYS FROM THE KILROYS LIST Readings

The Lilly Awards Foundation presents the Inaugural (3)Plays from The Kilroys' List: A Reading Series featuring new works by female playwrights Larissa FastHorse, Meg Miroshnik and Laura Schellhardt, with female directors Lear deBessonet, Leigh Silverman and Liesl Tommy on three consecutive Mondays, March 9th, 16th and 23rd at 7:00 p.m. at The Duke on 42nd Street (229 W 42nd Street). Admission is free but reservations are strongly recommended and can be obtained at http://www.thelillyawards.org or https://www.artful.ly/the-lilly-awards-foundation.

(3)Plays from the Kilroys' List: A Reading Series was created to support the Lilly Awards Foundation's mission to promote gender parity at all levels of theatrical production, and develop and celebrate the work of women in the theater. Released by The Kilroys in 2014, THE LIST consists of the 46 plays most recommended by industry leaders in a national survey of the best underproduced plays by female and trans* playwrights. It was created as "a tool for producers committed to ending the systemic underrepresentation of female voices in the American theater."

(3)Plays from the Kilroys' List: A Reading Series Schedule

Monday, March 9th at 7:00 p.m.
The Comparables
A play by Laura Schellhardt
Directed by Lear deBessonet

In Laura Schellhardt's play The Comparables three women vie for power in the cut-throat world of high-end realty. Bette runs her own female-dominated agency. Monica is her loyal second-in-command. Iris is the savvy new hire. When Bette's reputation falls under attack, the future of the agency is at stake. Who, if anyone, will survive the ordeal, and to what lengths will they go to ensure success? A dark comedy that begs the question: for women in the competitive world, is there more than one way to do business?

Monday, March 16th at 7:00 p.m.
What Would Crazy Horse Do?
A play by Larissa FastHorse
Directed by Liesl Tommy

Set today, What Would Crazy Horse Do? by Larissa FastHorse, is about two Native Americans who are facing the extinction of their tribe while the first female leader of the KKK is poised to bring a gentler version of the Klan into the limelight. When the two groups are brought together, they find that sometimes they are asking the same questions. When is race separation racism? And when is it essential preservation? It's a question both sides need to answer before it is too late.

Monday, March 23rd at 7pm
The Tall Girls
A play by Meg Miroshnik
Directed by Leigh Silverman

The Tall Girls takes place in 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. Inspired by the flourishing and decline of high school girls' basketball teams in the 1930s rural Midwest, The Tall Girls asks: Who can afford the luxury of play? And what is the cost of childhood?

The Lilly Awards were started in 2010 as a way to honor the work of women in the American Theater. The founders of The Lilly Awards are Julia Jordan, Marsha Norman and Theresa Rebeck. The Lilly Awards Foundation was named after Lillian Hellman, a pioneering American playwright who famously said, "You need to write like the devil and act like one when necessary." The Lilly Awards have expanded their mission to promote gender parity at all levels of theatrical production, as well as develop, celebrate and advocate for the work of women in the theater. The Lilly Awards Foundation created the Inaugural (3)Plays from The Kilroys' List: A Reading Series in order to support the sister mission of The Kilroys and their organization, and to put the work of women playwrights in front of the community that can produce and support them. For more information: www.thelillyawards.org.