THE RIVER CROSSES RIVER: A Festival Featuring 13 Short Plays By Women Of Color Runs 9/9-27 At The Ensemble Studio Theatre

The Ensemble Studio Theatre and Going to the River have lined up some of the most gifted women playwrights of color - some new, some established - for a three-week presentation of thirteen short plays in a new play series entitled The River Crosses Rivers, a three-week festival of short one-act plays by women of color, September 9 through 27 at the Ensemble Studio Theatre, 549 West 52nd Street.

"The goal, simply put, is to give women playwrights of color the kind of exposure that is provided by the Ensemble Studio Theatre, whose goal is to nurture individual theatre artists and to develop new American plays," said Ensemble Studio Theatre (EST) Artistic Director William Carden. "The River Crosses Rivers is a stellar lineup of playwrights whose voices add richness and texture to the American Canon."

The primary goal of Going to the River, founded in 1999 at the Ensemble Studio Theatre by the late Curt Dempster and Elizabeth Van Dyke*, the Producing Artistic Director of Going to the River, is to provide a major forum in which professional African-American female playwrights may develop, refine and present their work.

The River Crosses Rivers will present two series of short plays in repertory. Each evening will mix established playwrights like Kara Lee Corthron, Kia Corthron, Lynn Nottage, Ruby Dee and J.E. Franklin with emerging playwrights.

" The River Crosses Rivers is a new program of Going to the River," said Elizabeth Van Dyke, Producing Artistic Director of Going to the River who started the program ten years ago with the late Curt Dempster. "For the last decade, Going to the River has provided a forum through EST in which professional African-American women playwrights may develop, refine and present their work. The River Crosses Rivers broadens the criteria beyond African-Americans to allow a wider range of submissions and to give voice to all women of color."

Going to the River has presented staged readings of full-length plays, a solo program entitled Down By the River All By Yo'Self, a River Poetry Slam Jam, RiverFest of ten-minute pieces, a writer's unit, panels and distinguished guest speakers.

The River Crosses Rivers Schedule

Series A begins previews September 9 and opens September 11

Risen from the Dough by France-Luce Benson, directed by Holli Harms*

Two Haitian-American women in a bakery kitchen must grapple with the impending arrival of the health inspector.

France Luce-Benson is a two-time recipient of the Shubert Foundation Fellowship. Her play Fati's Last Dance received an honorable mention prize from the Kennedy Center. Ms. Benson has had several plays read or workshopped as part of prior Going to the River Festivals, including Silence of the Mambo, Destiny's Edge, Ascension and Floating Under Water.

The Kitchen or 9 1/2 Minutes of Subcontinental Absurdity by Naveen Bahar Choudhury, directed by Jamie Richards*

Two traditional Indian parents go to absurd lengths to stop their Americanized daughter from making what they believe to be a disastrous mistake.

Naveen Bahar Choudhury is a playwright and fiction writer whose work has been produced in theaters and festivals in New York City and around the country. Her plays have been presented or developed by Desipina & Co., at Second Stage Theater and at The Lark Play Development Center. She was a finalist for The Public Theater's 2008 Time Warner Emerging Writers Group.

Ladybug Gonna Getcha by Kara Lee Corthron, directed by Pat Golden

An aging punk queen, furious at being upstaged by Blondie, makes a drastic, last-ditch effort to become an international headline.

Kara Lee Corthron's plays have been produced or developed at the Ensemble Studio Theatre, The Vineyard, Center Stage (Baltimore), New Georges, ACT Seattle (Hansberry Project), HERE, ManhattanTheatreSource, New Dramatists and elsewhere. Her honors include the Princess Grace Award, Lincoln Center's Lecomte du Nouy Foundation Award (three-time recipient), and an EST/Sloan Commission.

The Step-Mother by Ruby Dee, directed by Chuck Patterson

A young woman struggles to learn compassion for her unhappy, aging step-mother.

Ruby Dee is an Emmy and Grammy award winning American actress, poet, playwright, screenwriter, journalist, and activist. She made several appearances on Broadway before receiving national recognition for her role in the 1950 film The Jackie Robinson Story. Her career in acting has crossed all major forms of media over a span of eight decades, including the films A Raisin in the Sun, in which she recreated her stage role as a suffering housewife in the projects, and Edge of the City. <wikipedia.org>

Angels in the Parking Lot by N.N. Ewing, directed by Seret Scott

A woman learns of her husband's unfaithfulness through signs from angels - who also compel him to confess his guilt.

Nancy Nelson-Ewing has been a writer/actor for over twenty-five years in New York City. As a playwright Ms. Nelson-Ewing has been a finalist in the prestigious Susan Smith Blackburn international women's playwriting contest in London for her play Leaving Watermaine. She has also won an artist-in-residence position at the Tribeca Performing Arts Center where she developed another noted play entitled Enemy of the B.R.E.A.D.

Banana Beer Bath by Lynn Nottage, directed by Talvin Wilks*

The true story of a young woman's narrow escape from marauding rebels in Uganda - and of her mother's ultimate sacrifice.

Lynn Nottage is a playwright and the author of the 2009 Pulitzer Prize winner Ruined, now playing at Manhattan Theatre Club. Her other works include Intimate Apparel (New York Drama Critics Circle's Best Play; Roundabout, Center Stage, South Coast Rep); Fabulation, Or The Education Of Undine (Obie Award; Playwrights Horizons, London's Tricycle Theatre); Crumbs From The Table Of Joy; Las Meninas; Mud, River, Stone and Por'knockers and Poof!. Ms. Nottage received the MacArthur Foundation "Genius Grant" Award, the PEN/Laura Pels Award, the 2005 Guggenheim Grant for playwriting, and fellowships from the Lucille Lortel Foundation, MTC, New Dramatists and the NYFA. (huffingtonpost.com)

Rally by Bridgette Wimberly, directed by Clinton Turner Davis

A young woman and her grandmother, raised in different eras, are inspired with hope at a presidential campaign rally.

Bridgette Wimberly's work has been produced, commissioned, and/or workshopped at The Alliance Theatre, Arena Stage, The Cleveland Play House, the Ensemble Studio Theatre, Karamu House, Manhattan Theatre Club, and Saint Louis Black Repertory Theatre. Her play Saint Lucy's Eyes starring Ruby Dee was produced by the Women's Project in 2001 and moved to the Cherry Lane Theatre after a sold out run. (womensproject.org)

Series A Performance Schedule:
Previews September 9 and 10 at 7:00pm; Opens September 11 at 7:00pm, and runs September 16, 17, 25 and 26 at 7:00pm with one matinee September 20 at 3:00pm.

Series B begins previews September 12 and opens September 14.

Truth Be Told by Melody Cooper, directed by Petronia Paley*

An American reporter deals with the kidnaping of her Iraqi news-anchor friend and the dangers that truth-seeking reporters face throughout the world.

Melody Cooper is the 2003 recipient of the Jane Chambers Award for Playwriting for Day of Reckoning, which also won the MultiStages New Works Competition in NY. Her one-act, Reading Zimbabwe, was a winner of a University of Louisville National Playwriting Award, and her one-act, Down Here, about 9/11 volunteers at Ground Zero, was produced by the Drilling Company in 2002. < www.new-theatre.org>

Dialectic by Kia Corthron, directed by Chuck Patterson

After a shocking act of domestic terrorism, two people struggle to come to terms with their own decisions and their new circumstances.

Kia Corthron is an accomplished playwright who has received the Mark Taper Forum's Fadiman Award, a National Endowment for the Arts/TCG residency, and a Kennedy Center Fund for New American Plays grant, among other honors. She has developed work through the National Playwrights Conference, Audrey Skirball-Kenis Theater Projects, A Contemporary Theatre, The Public Theater's New Work Now! Festival, and elsewhere. < www.newdramatists.org>

Hot Methuselah by J.E. Franklin, directed by Imani Douglas

A young man tries to persuade his mother not to walk out on his aged, philandering father.

J.E. Franklin [lower case "e"] is a native of Houston and a graduate of the University of Texas. She is the recipient of a Rockefeller Fellowship, a Drama Desk Award, two Creative Artist Public Service grants, and a fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts. Her work has been performed at the Theatre of the Open Eye (New York), the George Street Playhouse (New Brunswick, NJ), the McGinn-Cazale/Second Stage (New York) and elsewhere. <reelsisters.org>

Jesse by P.J. Gibson, directed by Lydia Fort

A young woman, surprising her husband on his birthday, almost receives a horrific surprise herself.

P.J. Gibson has written over thirty plays, with Long Time Since Yesterday alone having upwards of sixty productions. Her other works have been presented throughout the United States, Europe, and Africa. She has received a Shubert Fellowship, a playwriting grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, two prestigious Audelco Awards, two PSC-CUNY Research Award grants and six playwriting commissions. <jjay.cuny.edu>

Sloppy Second Chances by Mrinalini Kamath, directed by Kel Haney

A young woman, unimpressed by her slovenly blind date but charmed by his self-deprecating honesty, decides to give him a second chance to make a good impression.

Mrinalini Kamath is a member of the Ma-Yi Theatre Writer's Lab and an alumnus of Youngblood, the emerging playwrights' collective at EST. Her plays Roulette, Confessions from the Afterlife, Views, Some of All Parts, A Rush of Wings and many others have been performed around the country, as well as in the United Kingdom, Australia and India. Her play Celestial Motions won first place in the 2005 East West Players (LA) Got Laughs? Asian-American Comedy Play Contest.

Spirit Sex: a Paranormal Romance by Desi Moreno-Penson, directed by Adam Immerwahr

A young man calls a paranormal investigator into his house to look into the presence of a beautiful, ghostly intruder.

Desi Moreno-Penson is a playwright and actress based in NYC. Her play, Devil Land, was selected for the 4th Annual Summer Play Festival produced by Arielle Tepper Madover on Theatre Row in July/August 2007. Other productions include Making Tracks: 3 One-Act Plays, Devil Land, and 3 to a Session: A Monster's Tale. Her solo piece, A Latina Prepares won for Best Performance Short at the 2004 DUTF at Henry Street Settlement and was part of the outreach/touring program with Urban Stages.

Series B begins previews September 12 at 7:00pm and September 13 at 3:00pm;
Opens September 14 at 7:00pm, and runs Sept 18, 19, 23 and 24 at 7:00pm and Sept 27 at 3:00pm

Ensemble Studio Theatre is a not-for-profit developmental theatre founded in 1972 with two primary goals: to nurture individual theatre artists and to develop new American plays. Under the guidance of the late founder Curt Dempster, the theatre's membership grew from a core of 20 artists to a flourishing community of over 500 theatre artists of the highest caliber. Among them are winners of accolades and higher awards including Pulitzer Prizes, Oscars, Tonys, Emmys, and Obies. E.S.T. is a lifelong artistic home for its member playwrights, directors, actors, designers, technical personnel and administrators. Each year, the Ensemble produces over 300 projects, including readings, staged readings, and fully produced mainstage full-lengths.

Box Office Info

The Ensemble Studio Theatre is located at 549 West 52nd Street, west of Tenth Avenue. River Crosses Rivers performs September 9 through 27 except September 15, 21 and 22. Tickets are $18 and $25 for a pass to see both series. To order tickets call 866.811.4111 or click www.ovationtix.com/trs/cal/134.

Photo credit Walter McBride