QUEERLY BELOVED Readings Series and More Coming Up at Village Playwrights
By: BWW News Desk Feb. 08, 2017
Join the Village Playwrights on February 22, 2017 from 8 to 10 pm at the LGBT Community Center for QUEERLY BELOVED, staged readings of 10 minute plays to celebrate Valentine's Day.
Village Playwrights meet the second and fourth Wednesday at 8 pm at the LGBT Community Center. Everyone is welcome!
UPCOMING EVENTS AT VILLAGE PLAYWRIGHTS:
February 8
30 mins., Michael Hixenbaugh, "The Anniversary" -- Even death can't stop you from saying one last goodbye.
Michael Hixenbaugh have been writing since high school and has had a poem published and two short plays performed in school. I have been out since college and am very interested in doing positive things for the LGBTQ community. He has also written five short screenplays and one feature length.
30 mins., Christian Duhamel, "The Fifth" -- Two men light a fire and enjoy what they see.
Christian Duhamel is a nationally recognized playwright, composer, and lyricist. His newest musical, My 80-Year-Old Boyfriend, directed by Sean Daniels, will receive its World Premiere at Merrimack Repertory Theatre this spring. His other works include: Reinventing Romance (David Mark Cohen Playwriting Award finalist, National Playwriting Award finalist); Worlds Apart (Music Theatre Ventures' Young Creator's Award); Miss Mayor (New American Musical Award finalist, Puzzle Theatre Festival Selection). Wright State Alumnus, Dramatists Guild of America; BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop.
30 mins., Anthony Fusco, "Arch Enemies"-- When two corporate gay males discuss a business matter at lunch, it turns shocking. Anthony Fusco has been writing plays since 2006. His credits include "Big Naked Feet", "Str8 Men Are Bitches," "Rush Hour Madness," "Crossing Verrazano," "Fixation," "The Handbag Click Clack Girls," "Arch Enemies," "Sole Mates," "Psychic Cafe." He won best director award at the Strawberry One Act festival in the winter of 2013 for his one act play titled "Rush Hour Madness". His play made the top 4 best plays of the season at the Strawberry One Act festival in the winter of 2015. "Rush Hour Madness" will be presented at the Winterfest play competition at the Hudson Guild Theater on March 9th, 11th & 12th.
30 mins., George Bistransin, "Positions" -- Sean lets an older man take him to Europe.
President of the Village Playwrights, George Bistransin learned to write plays by translating and producing the comedies of the ancient Roman playwright T. M. Plautus. Among others he produced The Menaechmi Twins, The Braggart Soldier and The Haunted House at Boston's 1400 seat vaudeville era Strand Theater. In 1996 George was awarded a NEH grant to attend "The Art of Ancient Spectacle" at the American Academy in Rome where he organized a production of Plautus' Curculio in the Academy's garden. His most ambitious undertaking was the 1991 production of Moliere's The Would-Be Gentleman in collaboration with the Ken Pierce Baroque Dance Company, complete with fencing and a small pit orchestra of period instruments played by moonlighting Boston Symphony Orchestra members. Since joining the Village Playwrights, he has had many short plays produced including "Stop Loss," "Marriage, the Gay Way," "Entrapment," "Insider Steal," "Dueling Drag Queens," and "A.P. Sexology."
February 22 -- Queerly Beloved, staged readings of jury-chosen 10 minute plays to celebrate Valentine's Day from and LGBTQ perspective presented at the LGBT Community Center. The plays trace Lesbian and Gay relationships from Puppy Love, First Dates, Marriage and afterwards.
The seven plays that will be presented are:
1. "Counseling" by Fiona Gorry-Hines -- Iggy is looking for more from her camp counselor May than kayak lessons and wilderness preparedness tips, but May's training didn't prepare her for this.
Fiona Gorry-Hines is a current junior at New York University's Gallatin School of Individualized Study with a concentration in playwriting and dramatic literature. Her work was first performed beneath a kitchen table in Lexington, Massachusetts with an all Beanie Baby cast, but has since been produced by Gallatin Theatre Troupe and the Midtown International Theatre Festival. When not at the writing desk or in rehearsal, she can be found making zines, tap dancing, or eating garbanzo beans straight from the can. She is thrilled to be participating in "Queerly Beloved" and working with Village Playwrights for the first time!
2. "The Bar Club Experience" by Alex Rubin -- The dating world is a jungle, and the newly single Kate is no outdoors woman.
Alex Rubin's plays and songs have been produced at The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, The Dramatists Guild, Soho Playhouse, Theater for the New City, Primary Stages, NYU's Steinhardt School, 54 Below, The Samuel French OOB Festival, and more. She is the recipient of the Francis Ford Coppola Award, a SPACE on Ryder resident, National Winter Playwrights Retreat resident, 2015 Davenport Songwriting Competition finalist, O'Neill Summer Conference semi-finalist, Red Women's Theatre Award semi-finalist, the 2013/14 Big Vision Empty Wallet Playwriting Fellow, and the winner of The 85th Annual Writers Digest Award in Playwriting. www.AlexRubinWrites.com
3. "Regulars" by Karen Rind-Siegel -- Are Beth and Allison's disagreements normal quirks of a relationship or irreconcilable differences?Karen Rind-Siegel is a New York native playwright interested in exploring women-centered narratives, lesbian community, and Jewish cultural themes through her plays. Her work has been developed with Amios Theatre Collective. Her plays include Jane Meets Jean, In the Year of the Cicada, and Peanut Butter Oreos.
4. "Just in Case" by Natalie Wilson -- A close-call on the battlefield inspires Darryl to propose, but a quickie wedding isn't exactly what Andrew had in mind.....An opera singer in a former life, Natalie Wilson now enjoys creating works for others to perform. Her horror play THE TAMING OF CATS received glowing reviews as a Resident Artist Production at The Brick Theater in NYC this October. Other full-length works include THE INNKEEPER and BREAKING PAIRS, and the new musical SWEETHEARTS OF SWING. Natalie has four short works published by Indie Theater Now, and numerous short plays have been produced in NYC and elsewhere. Natalie is the co-founder of Lather Rinse Repeat: A Playwrights' Collective, and is also on faculty at Circle in the Square Theater School and Molloy College, where she teaches voice and sight-singing to up-and-coming Broadway performers.
5. "Knots" by Robert Moulthrop -- Joseph and Michael have one or two matters to, um, discuss before walking down the aisle.
Robert Moulthrop, playwright and author, lives in Greenwich Village. Awards include: Batchelder Award (best English translation of a foreign children's book, Cry, Heart..., ALA '17); Outstanding Playwriting (Half Life, NY Fringe Festival, '05, a top 10 NYTimes pick); NJ State Council on the Arts (prose fiction). Other Fringe: T. L. C. and Lecture, With Cello. Staged readings: The Abingdon Theatre, Urban Stages. Over 20 short stories published in journals; two collections available on Amazon.
6. "The Architects of Time" by Cayenne Douglass --Emma and Scarlett return to their favorite vacation spot and learn they can't have authentic connection until they unmask the truth of their past.
Cayenne Douglass attended CalArts, Theater Dept. and graduated from Goddard College. Her plays have been produced in the CalArts New Works Festival, ESPA Primary Stages Detention Series, and at Manhattan Repertory Theatre. In 2016 her first essay was published in Entropy Magazine. Cayenne has been accepted into the Midtown International Theater Festival for their summer 2017 short play contest and has just been offered a spot in The Woman's Work Lab at New Perspectives Theatre Company.
Charles Leipart Cream Cakes in Munich, 1st Prize Award 2016 Tennessee Williams/New Orleans Literary Festival. A Kind of Marriage, 2015 Arch and Bruce Brown Foundation LGBT Playwrighting Award. His musicals include: Pickwick's Haunted Christmas (in development); Me and Miss Monroe, Enchanted April, and Frog Kiss. Charles is proud to honor the men & women of the LGBTQ community with tonight's musical valentine. www.charlesleipart.com
March 8 -- 2 hours available
March 22 -- 2 hours available
April 12
30 mins, Melvyn Douglas Kaufman, "Thirty-Love" -- a young couple seem to get on track after a somewhat rocky surprise reunion, only to be thrust back into confusion by the arrival of an unexpected third party.
Mervyn Douglas Kaufman returned to playwriting a few years ago after pursuing a long career in magazine publishing. His view of the world tends toward the satirical, and there's always an edge to the topics he touches.
90 mins available
April 26
60 mins, Marguerite Masse, Act III Remorsing Lenny
Ross Hewitt's new show Rainbows & Ribbons will be on Saturday, March 25th at 5 PM at Don't Tell Mama, on West 46th St between 8th & 9th Avenues in Manhattan. . The show celebrates the music that influenced my life as a gay man, an actor and playwright, and as an AIDS doctor. It contains a wide variety of songs and stories, and two short plays that I wrote as well. The show is a fundraiser for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. There is a $20 cover charge plus a two-drink minimum, cash only. Reservations should be made by calling 212-757-0788 after 4 PM. All proceeds will go to benefit Broadway Cares.
Marjorie Conn's short play "A KITTEN BY ANY OTHER NAME" is being produced by Love Creek. Dates are Friday March 3 @ 8, Saturday March 4 @ 3 and 8 and Sunday March 5 @ 7 at Producers Theater 358 W 44th St.
The Village Playwrights meet at 8 PM on the 2nd and 4th Wednesday of the month at the LGBT Center, 208 W. 13th Street. Participation is open to all Playwrights and Screenwriters. Beginners are encouraged and helped. "This is a place to speak from the heart. This is a place to find one's voice. This is a place to take risks." For information about attending a Village Playwrights' meeting, call 614-285-2515 or e-mail villageplaywrights@gmail.com.
Find Village Playwrights on Facebook at www.facebook.com/pages/Village-Playwrights/120580224712564 or go to sites.google.com/site/villageplaywrights/news?pli=1 for more information.
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