Theater for the New City's 4th Annual DREAM UP FESTIVAL Set for 8/18-9/8

From August 18 to September 8, 2013 Theater for the New City (TNC), under the direction of Crystal Field, Artistic Director, will present its fourth "Dream Up Festival," a festival of adventurous theater featuring new works from across the country and abroad. Curated by the theater's Literary Manager, Michael Scott-Price, the festival offers 24 plays, of which 23 are world premieres and one is an American premiere.

There is one musical: "Flambeaux, a Caribbean Musical" by Nandi Keyi (August 18-September 1), with musical direction by Jeff Bolding, a carnival play about a community caught in three different worlds in colonial Trinidad. There are three plays based on literary classics: "Coq tôt" by Concrete Timbre (August 21-29) is a multidisciplinary ensemble creation based on works by Jean Cocteau, plus newly created works inspired by him. "The Diary" by Gregory Aaron Nussen (August 18-31) is an absurdist piece based on Gogol's "Diary of a Madman." In "Wilde Tales" (August 19-September 2), Kevin P. Joyce adapts stories of wit, whimsy and wisdom by Oscar Wilde.

There are also experimentalist works, including "Down the Garage" by DJ Mendel (August 30 to September 7), described as "an experiment in the art of distraction," and "Upcoming Train/Stopped Clock/Untitled Waiting" (August 24 to 30) by Dennis Yueh-Yeh Li, which explores the ritual of waiting with living characters who interact with mannequins. "To Dream of Trees," written by Lavinia Roberts (August 19-27), is a play with puppetry in which a young girl searches in a post-apocalyptic landscape--a giant trash mound--for the strange creatures of her dreams: trees. "Jack the Bird" by Isaac Hoffer (August 18-29) depicts a bird in love with a female student and "Once and Future" by VILLAINS performance group (August 23-31) sets King Arthur legends into different random combinations for each show.

Three productions are from Europe. From Hungary comes "Lisolette in May" by Zsolt Pozsgai (August 28-September 8), about a lonely woman whose prospective partners each die on their first date. From France comes "Coq tôt" (mentioned above) and "The Goldfish/Le Poisson Rouge," a dark comedy in which two girls, Perrine and Lisa, hit a young man with their car, killing him, and take the body back to Lisa's apartment until they find a solution to get rid of the body.

The remaining ten shows represent a variety of styles and origins. Descriptions of all productions in the festival are available at: www.jsnyc.com/season/dream_up_alphabetical.htm.

Theater for the New City has consistently been the most inexpensive theater of its caliber and it continues its commitment to affordable tickets with this festival. Dream Up Festival tickets are $12-$18 for the participating productions. All of the productions will be staged at least five times. Performances are entirely at Theater for New City, 155 First Avenue.