Geva Sets Festival of New Theatre 2015 Lineup

Geva Theatre Center unveils its line-up for the Festival of New Theatre 2015 to be held in the Fielding Nextstage from October 21 - November 1. FONT 2015 is a vibrant and innovative mix of new works by some of the most exciting playwrights from across the country and around the corner and is part of Geva's ongoing commitment to developing and producing new work for the American theatre.

FONT 2015 is a celebration of the theatrical imagination, an exciting glimpse into the creative process, and YOUR opportunity to contribute to the future of theatre in Rochester and around the world. During the Festival, you're invited to take a glimpse into the writers' studios as they work on new ideas, tell new stories and explore new forms. Your part in it all is crucial - writers need to hear an audience's response in order to fully understand the impact of their work. And because the readings of new plays are presented concert-style - with actors at music stands, facing the audience - the budget for the set, costumes and other effects is limited only by your imagination! Audiences will also have the unique opportunity for a post-reading discussion with the playwright.

Geva's Literary Director/Resident Dramaturg Jenni Werner commented, "When you think about the great plays we consider classics today - plays like To Kill a Mockingbird or A Moon for the Misbegotten in our season this year, for example - they were new plays once too. Playwrights take their plays through a process of development and revision, sharing them with people who help shape the stories. That's what happens at a reading - our audiences help to shape the plays that will become the classics of tomorrow."

Admission to the Festival of New Theatre 2015 readings is free, but reservations are required. Call the Geva Theatre Center Box Office at (585) 232- 4382 or visit www.gevatheatre.org for tickets. Play readings sell out quickly, but tickets often become available the night of the performance.

Here is the line-up for the 2015 Festival of New Theatre:

The Author's Voice with Molly Smith Metzler

Oct. 21 @ 7pm

Join playwright Molly Smith Metzler (The May Queen) in a conversation about her work. In a chat with Geva's Literary Director Jenni Werner, Molly will share stories about her craft and inspirations, as well as read excerpts from three of her plays, including a scene from the play which Geva will produce in May, 2016. Join us for an evening of art and laughter!

CRY IT OUT by Molly Smith Metzler

Directed by Amanda Charlton

Oct. 23 @ 7pm

A new comedy commissioned by Actors Theatre of Louisville. Home with a new baby in a new suburb, Jessie Gelb is in desperate need of a Mom Friend. When she learns that her neighbor Lina is also on maternity leave, she invites her for coffee and, despite their wildly different economic status, they become fast friends. But when a mysterious-- and extremely wealthy -- man begs them to befriend his wife Adrienne, a new mom who is "having a hard time," their coffee clutch gets very complicated. An honest, darkly funny new play about parenthood, friendship, and the impact that class has on both.

STRAIT OF GIBRALTAR by Andrea Lepcio

Directed by Melissa Maxwell

Oct. 24 @ 3pm

Miriam and Zameer meet at a party, and it's love at first sight. By the next day, they've learned just how little they have in common, and just how little that matters. When Zameer tells Miriam that he's been living in the U.S. illegally, she offers to help - but that turns out to be more complicated and more dangerous than she imagined.

FAULT LINES by George Sapio

Directed by Ralph Meranto

Oct. 25 @ 7pm

A Dramatists Guild sponsored reading, by Ithaca playwright George Sapio. Sisters Anastasia, Ginger and Theresa gather each week for a dinner cooked by Ginger's husband, even though years of sibling rivalry threaten to derail their attempts to get along with each other. When a robbery shatters their sense of security, secrets long buried begin to surface. While the sisters search for a new understanding, there just might be more on the menu than any of them bargained for.

SEPARATE ROOMS by Joe Calarco

Directed by Shelley Butler

Oct. 26 @ 7pm

A new play by Rochester native Joe Calarco. A mysterious woman hides in a closet while a marriage hits the rocks and the downstairs neighbor crashes the party, looking for love. When friends reunite at a wake, loss brings about the unexpected.

DROWNED by Bill Capossere

Directed by Jean Gordon Ryon

Oct. 28 @ 7pm

Winner of Geva's 2015 Regional Writers Showcase. How do neighbors deal with loss, mortality, and guilt after a tragic accident? A moving play about self-examination and honesty.

Rochester Bake-Off

Oct. 30 @ 7pm

This is a creative experiment, the outcome of which can never be predicted! Inspired by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Paula Vogel, Geva will present a challenge to five local writers (to be announced), and the brave volunteers who choose to participate with them! On October 27th, the group will receive a special tour of Mount Hope Cemetery. After the tour, they will be given three days to write something - anything - inspired by that tour, and including three common elements. The pieces, which could be scenes, songs, monologues, etc., will be read on October 30th. Audience members may be asked to participate in scenes, or the writers may read the scenes themselves. Will it be exciting and entertaining to see what these writers cook up in just three days? All signs point to yes.

Young Writers Showcase

Oct. 31 and Nov. 1 @ 3pm

In the spring, Geva presented staged readings of several short plays written by Rochester area writers, ages 13-18. Those plays were then given to local theatre artists, who have rehearsed over the summer for presentation in the festival. The young writers who participate gain a greater understanding of the process of moving a play from page to stage in a collaborative process. Join us as we celebrate these young artists and see how their plays have changed since their first reading.

The six plays which will be presented in this showcase are:

Exactly Right, by Betsy Hahm

Zach and Isaiah Return Me, by Elijah Hale

Hi, by Grace Judge

Tacos Tacos Tacos, by Dom Liotti

Made by the Media with Loving Care, by Mackenzie Reed

Normal Faces, by Brennan Saur

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