Yale Presents Third Annual Carlotta Festival

Yale School of Drama (James Bundy, Dean; Victoria Nolan, Deputy Dean) presents The Third Annual Carlotta Festival of New Plays, May 9 to 18 at the New Theater, 1156 Chapel Street, New Haven.   The Festival is comprised of three fully-produced plays by graduating playwrights performed in repertory with twelve performances over two weeks.

The Festival is named for Carlotta Monterey, the widow of Eugene O'Neill, who chose Yale University Press as the publisher of Long Day's Journey into Night. The proceeds from this publication support playwriting at Yale University.  

The Carlotta Festival introduces New Haven audiences as well as theatre industry professionals to three new plays written by three fresh female voices: Grace, or the Art of Climbing by Lauren Feldman, Good Egg by Dorothy Fortenberry, and I Am a Superhero by Jennifer Tuckett.

Grace, or the Art of Climbing
By Lauren Feldman
Directed by Michael Donahue
Set design by Andrew Boyce
Costume design by Heidi Hanson
Lighting design by Jesse Belsky
Sound design by Charles Coes

"Dealing with her father's illness, a painful breakup, and the inertia of depression, Emm decides to launch into the world of competitive rock-climbing.  What ensues is her quest through the rugged (and often humorous) terrain of physical training and human relationships.  Poetic and athletic, Grace, or the Art of Climbing is the journey of a young woman suspended between muscularity and vulnerability, falling and climbing, and the ardor and grace of being human," press notes state.

Cast: ChrisTina Marie Acosta, Zach Appelman, Joby Earle, Slate Holmgren, Teresa Avia Lim, Barret O'Brien, and Rachel Spencer

Lauren Feldman is a playwright and performer from Miami, Florida.  Her plays include Fill Our Mouths (New Theatre/Miami; Yale School of Drama), Penguins (Lark Theatre - reading), and a one-act When it Rains (Yale School of Drama; published in In Times of Disaster).  Her short plays have been produced internationally and include Asteroid Belt (Heideman Award Finalist), The Kissing Play, Fugue 24, Monday in C Minor, and Tea Things (Royal Court Theatre - Exposure 2000), among others; as well as her solo piece Funny Story (Yale Cabaret - Going Public; Carlotta Festival '07 - Speaking Our Minds).  She co-created the devised/collaborative theatre piece The Apocryphal Project (Yale Cabaret).  Ms. Feldman has received two Downstage Miami Playwriting grants, and was a US Playwright Delegate for the Royal Court Theatre's "Crossing the Borders" Project and in World Interplay Australia's Young Playwrights Festival.  She received a BA in English from Cornell University and is an Alumna of "The Shakespeare Programme" through the British-American Drama Academy/Skidmore College.

Good Egg
By Dorothy Fortenberry
Directed by Snehal Desai
Set design by Sarah Pearline
Costume design by Amanda Seymour
Lighting design by Jesse Belsky
Sound design by Sarah Pickett

"Responsible Meg has always taken care of her bipolar younger brother Matt. But when she decides to get pregnant -- and have her embryos pre-screened for bipolar disorder -- is she taking the idea of 'being responsible' too far? Good Egg is a funny and surprising play about bioethics, siblings and the limits of unconditional love," press notes state.

Cast: John Patrick Doherty and Elizabeth Wisan

Dorothy Fortenberry- Yale Cabaret: Bicycling for Ladies (music by Colin Wambsgans, directed by Becca Wolff), We're Celebrities, We're Just Not Famous Yet (directed by Becca Wolff) and the solo piece Paint Show (Yale Cabaret- Going Public; Carlotta Festival '07 – Speaking Our Minds). Yale School of Drama: Bibles and Candy (directed by Mike Donahue), After the Flood (directed by Shana Cooper). Other productions include Burned Over (directed by Catherine Osborne, Journeyman Productions, NYC) and Theory of Everything (directed by Nicole Ruskin, Vital Theatre, NYC). In addition to writing, she has served for two years as an Artistic Associate of the Yale Cabaret. Ms. Fortenberry has taught playwriting in Washington, DC and New Haven, CT, and is a 2003 and 2005 winner of the Larry Neal Writers Award from the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities. Good Egg received a reading at Arena Stage in January.  Her play Bibles and Candy will receive a reading in March from Studio 42 in NYC.

I Am a Superhero
By Jennifer Tuckett
Directed by Shana Cooper
Set design by Scott Dougan
Costume design by Moria Clinton
Lighting design by Jesse Belsky
Sound design by Phillip Owen

"When her father dies, twelve year old Yasmin thinks she has the answer and sets out on a secret mission to bring her family back together again.  A lyrical and touching story of grief and finding new hope through the eyes of a child," press notes state.

Cast:  Nikki Berger, Austin Durant, and Laura Esposito

Jennifer Tuckett, originally from England and Australia, is the co-recipient of the UK's Old Vic New Voices Theatre 503 Award 2008 for I Am a Superhero.  Ms. Tuckett has been a finalist for the Heideman Award, a two-time semi-finalist for the O'Neill Conference, an award winner of the Clauder Prize and University of Tulsa's New Works for Young Women Award, a finalist for the Hangar Theatre Lab and writer in residence at New York Stage and Film.  She is a former a member of the invitation group at the Royal Court Theatre and a member of the Old Vic New Voices company for 2006 – 2009.  Other UK credits include Lucy's Brief Guide on How to Be Human (Old Vic New Voices 24 Hour Plays), Ways You Can Survive the World (Theatre 503), and George Bush Saved My Life Last Night (Hampstead Theatre/Menagerie Theatre Company).  Ms. Tuckett has also been the winner of the International Student Playscript Competition and the International Playwriting Festival, as well as a finalist for the RSC OTHER Prize. Credits elsewhere include the Short and Sweet Festival, Australia's World Interplay Young Playwrights Festival and Italy's Extra Candoni new writing festival.

All three productions will be performed in rotating repertory scheduled so that all three can be seen in as little as two days.  A pass to all three Carlotta Festival plays is just $30.00!  Tickets to individual plays are $18.00, $12.00 for students and seniors. Discounted rates for groups of 10 or more are also available.  Tickets may be purchased online at yale.edu/drama, or by calling 203-432-1234.  They may also be purchased in person at the Yale Repertory Theatre Box Office at 1120 Chapel Street (at York Street).  Visit www.drama.yale.edu/carlotta for additional information about the Festival, each of the new plays and to see the complete schedule.  

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