MCC Theater Announces 2009 FreshPlay Festival, Begins 7/30

MCC Theater (Robert LuPone, Bernard Telsey, Artistic Directors; William Cantler, Associate Artistic Director; Blake West, Executive Director) has announced its annual FreshPlay Festival of new plays by members of the youth company.

FreshPlay Festival tickets are $5 Students, $10 Adults suggested donation. Reservations are recommended. Reservations can be made by calling (212) 727-7722 x228.

The 2009 schedule is as follows: 

July 30th and August 1st

Dear Diary

By Alicia Ramsay

Directed by Donya K. Washington

A teenager in a family torn apart, Clarisse must come to terms with her past.

July 30th and 31st

Underground Bound

By Yasha Gruben

Directed by Joshua A. Kashinsky

On the run from their boss, two drug dealers discover a world beneath the very streets that they run, as well as a secret that could cost them their lives.

July 31st and August 1st

Taking Leave

By Cullen Golden

Directed by Samantha Tella

A soldier on leave from the army struggles to reconnect with his family and find his place in a world that he has left behind.

The FreshPlay Festival is an evening of original one act plays penned by New York City teens and produced for the stage by a roster of professional directors, actors, and designers. FPF merges the voices and creativity of urban youth with the experience of professionals in an evening of provocative, innovative, and fresh theater.

The MCC Theater Youth Company is a free after-school program for New York City public school students, ages 14 -20, who are interested in acting and playwriting. The Youth Company is designed to inspire young people to find and express their voices through the creation and performance of original theater pieces, while providing them with a safe artistic environment where they may grow and learn.

The FreshPlay Festival creative team includes Lucy Thurber (Co Artistic Director) Stephen DiMenna (Co Artistic Director), John Michael DiResta (Producer), Lee Taglin (Assistant Producer), Donya K. Washington (Director), Joshua A. Kashinsky (Director), Samantha Tella (Director), Laura Mroczkowski (Production Manager), Glenn Grieves (Stage Manager), Jenna Dempesy (Assistant Stage Manager), Katherine Foster (Sets, Costumes, and Props), Peter Hoerburger (Lights), and Daniel Kluger (Sound).

MCC Theater is one of New York City's leading Off Broadway theater companies, committed to presenting New York and world premieres each season. When MCC Theater was founded in 1986, its mission was simple: to bring new theatrical voices to theater-going audiences. MCC Theater continues to accomplish this yearly through presentation of its mainstage works; its Literary Program, which actively seeks and develops new and emerging writers and its Education & Outreach Program, allowing more than 1,200 students yearly to experience theater, increase literacy and discover their own voices in the arts. Notable MCC Theater highlights include: the 2008 Tony Award-nominated Reasons To Be Pretty by Neil LaBute, last season's Fifty Words, the 2004 Tony-winning production of Bryony Lavery's Frozen; Neil LaBute's Fat Pig; Rebecca Gilman's The Glory of Living; Marsha Norman's Trudy Blue; Margaret Edson's Pulitzer Prize-winning Wit; Tim Blake Nelson's The Grey Zone and Alan Bowne's Beirut. Over the years, the dedication to the work of new and emerging artists has earned MCC Theater a variety of awards.

For more information, visit www.mcctheater.org.