Mission to (dit)Mars to Present ALL SYSTEMS GO: MISSION 3

Mission to (dit)Mars, a theatre arts collective serving Queens artists, is thrilled to announce All Systems Go: Mission 3 as the final event for the LAUNCH PAD Reading Series this year.

ALL SYSTEMS GO: MISSION 3, is an evening of excerpts from nine brand new plays by the Queens based writers group The Propulsion Lab. Participating Queens based playwrights for this event are Amy Witting, Mac Rogers, Tori Keenan-Zelt, Jonathan Alexandratos, Mrinalini Kamath, Elizabeth Seldin, Lisa Huberman, Kristine M. Reyes, and Tyler Rivenbark.

In talking about this year's lineup, Mission to (dit)Mars co-founder Meredith Packer says

"I am proud that with our third All Systems Go!, Mission to Ditmars continues to bring the highest level of theater development to the Queens community."

Co-founder Kari Bentley-Quinn adds "This is one of the strongest sets of plays we have seen in the Lab so far, with work that is fresh and, at times, truly groundbreaking."

"We're so excited to present all of the plays together in one night as our most diverse and bounteous All Systems Go! ever!" adds co-founder Laura Pestronk.

On the rise of new work in Queens, co-founder Don Nguyen explains "The breadth and scope of stories being told in the lab is truly remarkable. Equally remarkable are the sheer number of writers, directors and actors who have all come together to work on these plays, which is a great indicator that Queens is becoming a hotbed for new work."

The cast includes Hayley Treider, Dina Comolli, Jessica Cannizarro, Ava Eisenson, Elizabeth Seldin, Tara Pacheco, Gwen Sisco, Sara Thigpen, Wynne Anders, Evan Montgomery, Tom McCormick, Anthony Fazio, and Sean Williams.

The evening is directed by Dev Bondarin, Jordana Williams, Aimee Todoroff, Christine Zagrobelny and Laura Pestronk.

The evening will include excerpts from the following nine new plays:

BRIGHT ANGEL QUADRANGLE by Mac Rogers: A horror story about love at first sight. A contentedly married woman finds her life turned upside-down one evening when she falls instantly in love with her friend's new boyfriend.

WHAT HAUNTS YOU by Elizabeth Seldin: Theater ghosts in a theater. Having feelings. Feeling things.

THE SUCK by Tyler Rivenbark: Stephen Ajax is a Kid. Stephen Ajax is a Son. Stephen Ajax is a Boyfriend. Stephen Ajax is a New Father. Stephen Ajax is a Marine. Stephen Ajax is a Fragment.

DUCK by Jonathan Alexandratos: Teenage Duck Carl Duckett and his father are the only two Ducks living in a town populated entirely by Sheep. This is what happens when Carl tries to survive that.

ELEVEN SHADES OF BLUE by Amy E. Witting: Four women from different times touch the sky, swim with the fish, and experience the details of a timeless Coney Island.

THE NEW DEAL by Mrinalini Kamath: In the United States in the not-too-distant future, a violent act causes a state government to re-think capital punishment with a profit-bearing alternative.

EGGS ON ICE by Kristine M. Reyes: At Eggs On Ice, freezing your eggs has never been more convenient, affordable -- or fabulous! Hit the snooze button on your biological clock while you focus on your career, and let us take care of the rest. Your future's safe with us, ladies - we'll make sure of that.

AIR SPACE by Tori Keenan-Zelt: When Mack and Babs lost their house, they moved secretly into the wall... from which they watch as Glory and Kyle try to flip it. A surreal comedy about inventing home, managing family, and what we hold onto when nothing we do is enough.

PERSEPHONE by Lisa Huberman: A contemporary take on the Persephone myth set on an organic farm in California, in which a teenage girl attempts to assert her own identity separate from her loving but controlling Earth goddess of a mother.

This free play reading will be held at the Astoria Performing Arts Center at 30-34 Crescent Street in Astoria, Queens on Monday, June 22nd at 7pm.

To attend the reading, please make a reservation on our website:

http://missiontoditmars.com/reservations/