Sixteen Plays Announced for This Year's SPF

The eagerly anticipated Summer Play Festival has announced the 16 plays to be part of its 4th anniversary season. The plays were selected from a record-breaking number of submissions. More than 1000 scripts were received from all over the world. The Summer Play Festival will run at Theatre Row on 42nd Street in New York City from July 10th-August 5th. Tickets remain $10 each. The plays selected this year are:

Alice in War by Steven Bogart
Blueprint by Bixby Elliot
Cipher by Cory Hinkle
Devil Land by Desi Moreno-Penson
Flesh and the Desert by Carson Kreitzer
The Gabriels by Van Badham
Half of Plenty by Lisa Dillman
Lower Ninth by Beau Willimon
Minor Gods by Charles Forbes
Missing Celia Rose by Ian August
My Wandering Boy by Julie Marie Myatt
The Nightshade Family by Ruth McKee
Not Waving by Ellen Melaver
Novel by Anna Ziegler
Unfold Me by Joy Tomasko
Vrooommm! A NASComedy by Janet Allard

Descriptions of the plays follow:

Alice in War by Steven Bogart "follows young Alice, Bianca, and Rabbit who discover a war zone, bizarre generals, creepy creatures and other mysterious surprises on the other side of their basement wall," state press notes. 

Blueprint by Bixby Elliot "questions professional and personal interests after an architecture professor develops a complicated relationship with his ambitious student that may or may not cross the line."

Cipher by Cory Hinkle is "a dark and timely investigation of an anxious world constantly under the threat of attack. The play is about two clerks who monitor the thoughts of terrorists and what happens when they ask questions surrounding a troubled teenage boy." 

Devil Land by Desi Moreno-Penson is "a dark and gothic fairy-tale for the contemporary world about a childless couple who kidnap a young girl to build their own family, and what happens when the girl's imaginary friend comes to life to help her."

Flesh and the Desert by Carson Kreitzer is "a kaleidoscopic biography of the living and breathing Las Vegas complete with Elvis, Liberace, Siegfried and Roy, Bugsy Siegel and Showgirls."

The Gabriels by Van Badham is "a dark comedy about an unconventional family reunion involving two sets of partners and their children over Easter weekend." 

Half of Plenty by Lisa Dillman "shows what happens when a suspiciously-named family moves across the street and two neighbors take matters into their own hands." 

In Lower Ninth by Beau Willimon, "two men are stranded on the roof of their house after a horrific storm. They battle heat, hunger, thirst and each other while keeping their strength and faith"   

Minor Gods by Charles Forbes is "about Henry, a geneticist who hires a male prostitute the night before he plans to reveal a world-changing scientific breakthrough. The play poses the question: should man play god?" 

In Missing Celia Rose by Ian August, "a town that harmoniously integrates its white townspeople with its black slaves after the Civil War faces a troubling future when a young white boy uncovers the truth surrounding the disappearance of the beloved black Minister's wife." 

My Wandering Boy by Julie Marie Myatt is "a journey across the vast landscape of America about a private detective hired to find a lost boy who discovers a trail filled with those who fiercely protect his secrets." 

The Nightshade Family by Ruth McKee is "about Hannah and her estranged brother who appears one day and refuses to leave, unraveling what sanity if left in her life. The dark comedy is about why familial bonds are impossible to break." 

Not Waving by Ellen Melaver is "a tender play about the lines drawn and crossed by three couples at the beach over the course of one day; leaving them to decide if they can rely on the one they love the most. " 

Novel by Anna Ziegler is "about a widowed writer at a conference who discovers a group of unusual world-record holders, and what happens when their presence sparks his imagination." 

Unfold Me by Joy Tomasko is "a love triangle involving a woman diagnosed with an illness, her boyfriend, and death." 

Vrooommm! A NASComedy by Janet Allard is "about Holly 'Leggs' Nelson, the first woman in NASCAR, 'Hotshot,' the rookie with the hots for her, and the fast-paced life on the car-racing circuit.

The plays were narrowed down by a panel of distinguished theatre professionals: Elissa Adams, Neena Beber, David Binder, Matthew Byam Shaw, Jeremy Dobrish, David Dower, Gordon Edelstein, Jordan Harrison, Lisa McNulty, Richard Nelson, Sheila Nevins, Barbara Pasternack, Leigh Silverman, Daniella Topol, and John Weidman.

Under founder Arielle Tepper Madover (a producer of Broadway's Frost/Nixon, Monty Python's Spamalot, The Pillowman, A Raisin in The Sun, and Freak), the non-profit organization The Living Room for Artists Inc./Summer Play Festival provides emerging writers, directors, designers and producers an opportunity to work on their material and their craft in a protected environment, guided by established professionals at no cost to them.

Memberships to SPF are on sale. Members can purchase tickets now before they go on sale to the public May 22nd. Membership information can be found online at www.spfnyc.com or by calling 212-279-4040.