Irvington Theater's 4th Annual Arts Incubator Short Play Fest To Debut Seven New Plays

To kick off the festival, on Sunday, March 10 at 2pm, audiences are invited to gather at the Mercy University Lecture Hall in Dobbs Ferry for script-in-hand readings.

By: A.A. Cristi Feb. 13, 2024

Irvington Theater's 4th Annual Arts Incubator Short Play Fest To Debut Seven New Plays Image

For the 4th consecutive year, Irvington Theater will present the Arts Incubator Short Play Fest: a free celebration of short, new, in-development works of theater and the playwrights behind them! This year's Fest will once again exist in a hybrid format of free events online and in-person between March 10-16.

To kick off the festival, on Sunday, March 10 at 2pm, audiences are invited to gather in-person at the Mercy University Lecture Hall in Dobbs Ferry for script-in-hand readings of Several Miles From Nowhere by Marissa Alaniz, So You Bought a Fiddle Leaf Fig by Eric Craft, Salt by Merideth Maddox, and New York, 2098 by Kaley Roth Mamo.

This event will also include a special bonus presentation from our venue hosts: Lisa Peart-Velez's Please Remain Seated, performed by members of the Mercy University Theatre Club and directed by professor and playwright Marc Palmieri.

As part of the online component, Irvington Theater will stream Sparrows by Yide Cai, The Dishtowel by Danielle Frimer, and Everything We Need to Talk About Before We Talk About Sex by Tatiana Kouguell-Hoell from March 10-16. During that window, audiences can watch these plays on demand, for free, and as many times as they'd like — at Irvington Theater's website (https://www.irvingtontheater.com) and YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/irvingtontheater).

About the Artists

Marissa Alaniz is a New York City-based actor, writer, director, and burlesque performer whose work often explores queerness, trauma, and misfits. In Several Miles From Nowhere, at a divey trucker bar somewhere in New Mexico, Tory and Steven take in a whole lot more than just drinks. The play reveals how the people meant to be in our lives will always find a way back into them.

Yide Cai is a Shenzhen, China-based playwright playwright, poet, and theatermaker whose play The Gift was featured in Irvington Theater's 2022 festival. His latest work is set in 1947 at the dawn of the communist regime in China, and Sister Claudia must say goodbye to Sophie, the young orphan she raised. Sparrows is a profound examination of ideology as identity and the relentless march of time.

Eric Craft is a Newark, New Jersey-based playwright, poet, and budding novelist. In So You Bought a Fiddle Leaf Fig, Mrs. Powers has changed her mind about the expensive houseplant she just bought, and her attempt to return it becomes quite an ordeal, offering a humorous glimpse into the world of retail and the modern mythos of being a "Karen."

Danielle Frimer is a New Paltz-based playwright, actor, and conversation designer who was born and raised in Irvington. In her play, someone makes a phone call after nineteen years, gets the machine, and leaves a message that could change lives. The Dishtowel explores how everyday objects hold stories that can transport and connect us to lost parts of ourselves.

Tatiana Kouguell-Hoell lives in New York City and holds an MFA in Playwriting from Columbia University. Her play follows Sara who wants to, well, you know... Really, she does, but if only she could say what she's thinking out loud. Everything We Need To Talk About Before We Talk About Sex thoughtfully asks what it means to be intimate — and what it feels like taking your guard down again.

Meredith Maddox is an Ossining-based playwright, actor, and teacher. In Salt, over margaritas in a small Midwestern cemetery, Annie and Jason do anything but rest in peace. The play is a poignant meditation on the ways we grieve and choose — or choose not — to forgive.

Kaley Roth Mamo is a playwright and screenwriter from Katonah, now based in Brooklyn. Her play is set in 2098, when another building in Manhattan is sinking; this time it's a school, and Beth and Antoinette are stuck inside. New York, 2098 is a story of our innate interdependence, set in a not-so-distant future ravaged by climate change.

Irvington Theater's Arts Incubator Short Play Fest

Irvington Theater's Arts Incubator Short Play Fest takes place from March 10-16, with 3 plays streaming online throughout that week, and in-person readings of 4 Fest selections on Sunday, March 10 at 2:00pm at the Mercy University Lecture Hall, located at 555 Broadway in Dobbs Ferry, NY. Ample parking is available. For full details and to RSVP, visit www.irvingtontheater.com/shortplayfest2024.