Theater for the New City's 5th DREAM UP FESTIVAL to Run 8/17-9/7

From August 17 to September 7, 2014 Theater for the New City (TNC), under the direction of Crystal Field, Artistic Director, will present its fifth "Dream Up Festival," a festival of adventurous theater featuring new works from across the country and abroad. Helmed by the theater's Literary Manager, Michael Scott-Price, the festival offers 24 plays, of which 19 are world premieres, two are American premieres and two are New York premieres. There is one workshop production.

Four productions come from overseas. From France comes "In the Ring" by Léonore Confino, which has already been nominated for a Molière Prize (French equivalent of a Tony award), and the musical "Tomorrow's Dawn" (Demain l'Aurore), performed by a young company named Company La Petite Famille that has made a sensation in ten different countries and two languages (French and English). Both productions deal with the nature of relationships and love. From Israel comes "Simple as Life and Death" by Meirav Kupperberg and Alexandra Zelman-Doring, a tale of two women artists, directed by Keren Tzur, who is a two-time winner of Israel's equivalent of the Academy Award. From Scotland comes "Messages From A Mental Institution" by Lee Gershuny, in which strange messages from her missing husband spark a woman's heroic quest to find his true identity.

There is one dance theater production, "Ravishing Medusa," written by Rachel Graf Evans and choreographed by Blaze Ferrer. An interdisciplinary production, "Summer Blue" by Akil Davis & The LoudSol collective, is a soulful composition of Aerial, Acrobatics, Dance, Mask work, Live Music and Theater rooted in Blues Music and Jazz.

The remaining 16 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-$20 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.

Photo by Bryan McNulty