Tangent Theatre Kicks Off 2015 NEWvember New Plays Festival Today

Tangent Theatre Company and AboutFACE Ireland have made the final selections for their 5th NEWvember New Plays Festival -- a showcase of original plays by emerging playwrights to be held at the Carpenter Shop Theater, Tangent's 50-seat performance space in the center of Tivoli.

The 2015 NEWvember Festival (today, Nov. 5-8, 2015) will feature these works over a four-day weekend, presented via rehearsed readings and featuring professional actors and directors bringing these plays to life.

The finalists are from all over the country and represent a diverse range of background and storytelling:

1) THE THIRD RAIL by Jacob Perkins, of Brooklyn, New York. "Two couples are reeling (and concealing) as past secrets start coming to light and the fragility of love is examined in this sensitive, surprising drama set in winter-night Brooklyn." Perkins is an actor and playwright, and a graduate of The Guthrie Theater BFA program. (Thurs. Nov. 5 @ 8pm)

2) THE MONGOOSE by Will Arbery, of Evanston, Illinois. "Young Kay tries to hold the family together, with Mom missing, Dad knowing strange men, Joe's violence and Maddy talking with a mongoose in the walls, in this wild, astounding family drama." Arbery is an award-winning playwright and filmmaker, recently named one of Variety Magazine's "110 Students to Watch." (Fri., Nov. 6 @ 8pm)

3) LAST FLIGHT OF THE MERCENARY by Karen Howes, of Los Angeles, California and Madison, New Jersey. "A fantastical romantic comedy of star-crossed love and quantum mechanics, set at a Canadian cliff-side B+B, which hosts weddings that tend to turn out catastrophically." Howes is a playwright, novelist, artist and teacher. (Sat. Nov. 7 @ 2pm)

4) THE OTHER GENIUS by Steven Haworth, of Garrison, New York. "A razor-sharp comedy of love triangles, master criminals, art deals, family secrets, murder plots, Oedipal rivalry and Serbian ninjas." Haworth is an award-winning Hudson Valley-based playwright with an MFA in playwriting from Carnegie Mellon University (Sat. Nov 7 @ 8pm)

5) THE ORANGE GARDEN by Joanna Garner, of Austin, Texas. "In this political drama set in 1970s Iran and America, Peace Corps volunteer John finds himself caught up in a culture-clash whirlwind of danger and forbidden romance." Garner is a playwright, performer and musician, whose works are often created through immersive experiences. (Sun. Nov. 8 @ 2pm)

6) LOVE, LOVE: Last Stand at Helm's Deep by Peter Papadopoulos, of San Francisco, California. "It's the end of the world, and Kit, Von, Helen and Carter are trying to hold on, in this bold tale of love and loss, computers and cockroaches, and stardust." Papadopoulos is Co-Artistic Director of Mojo Theatre San Francisco and an award-winning playwright, whose writing has been performed and published in the United States and internationally. (Sun. Nov. 8 @ 6pm)

The spirit of NEWvember is to provide a dynamic, interactive and comfortable place where writers can hear their plays read by seasoned actors, and discuss their work and creative process. With the intimacy of the Carpenter Shop Theater, audiences will get a first look at fresh, original plays. The call for submissions is open to writers from any area. This year's call (via blind submission) garnered nearly 500 plays, from all over the world - with the final selections representing a cross section of the country, including one from the Hudson Valley.

The outstanding plays were selected based on originality, range, production potential, narrative quality and emotional resonance. For the third year in a row, the NEWvember festival was awarded a project grant from Arts Mid Hudson, to further spotlight this artist-driven event. The festivals have boosted visitors and business to Tivoli's eclectic village and have seen writers whose works have gone on to further development, production and acclaim. Of note, NEWvember alumni John Cariani's Love/Sick has been widely produced since it appeared at the 2012 festival, while Alex Merilo's The Widow of Tom's Hill and James McLindon's Comes a Faery both garnered 2015 Off-Broadway productions. NEWvember co-producer Paul Nugent reflects on the variety of stories selected: "These plays represent such a wide range of voices - bold, ambitious and engaging. From hilarious comedy to powerful political drama, examining relationships to ruminations on time, faith and the end of the world, once again NEWvember promises to be a storytelling feast for audiences."

It is the promise of new works and discovering new voices that gets the producing team energized. According to Tangent's Artistic Director, Michael Rhodes, "The word continues to spread about NEWvember, as evidenced by the almost 500 submissions we received this year. Playwrights love the pure, objective feedback our audiences give, and our audiences love experiencing the showcase of brand new work. NEWvember provides us such great access to incredible plays, some of which may be produced here at Tangent in the future."

Tangent was founded in New York City in 2000 by Dutchess County natives Andrea and Michael Rhodes and Keith Teller; the company re-located to Tivoli in 2009. Tangent is known for their productions of Lobby Hero by Kenneth Lonergan, The Vandal by Hamish Linklater, Sight Unseen by Donald Margulies, the American premiere of The Good Father by Christian O'Reilly, along with Doubt by John Patrick Shanley and The Zoo Story by Edward Albee - and their popular pub readings. NEWvember is co-produced by AboutFACE Ireland, led by New York-based Co-Artistic Directors Anna and Paul Nugent (also Tangent ensemble members) and Dublin-based Alan Walsh. AboutFACE has long been devoted to producing new plays - including the Irish premieres of Tape, The Laramie Project and The Glory of Living, and most recently the world premiere of Orson Welles' Christmas Carol. The two companies met in 2006 while the Rhodes were visiting Ireland and looked up Dublin theatre companies. They met the AboutFACE team and found a shared excitement in theatre, especially new works, and a valuable collaboration was born.

Pictured: Paul Nugent, Michael Rhodes and Ben Fundis (courtesy Tangent Theatre Company).

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