Conundrum Theatre Company to Present Inaugural New Works Festival Featuring New Plays by LA Artists

Burbank-based Conundrum Theatre Company will present its inaugural New Works Festival, programmed with fresh new plays and shorts written, directed, and performed by artists local to the Los Angeles area. The festival runs in partnership with the Victory Theatre Center in their Little Victory space, located in Burbank, CA, from February 23rd-25th and March 1st-3rd. 

Conundrum Theatre Company's New Works Festival includes the following pieces:

Between the Pages - written and directed by Nick Roy

• Synopsis: A rainy afternoon. We find Tanner protesting the demolition of the Bradford Hill library, one of the last remnants of his childhood in this ever-changing small town. Grace, who's visiting home, doesn't at first recognize this library, but after getting closer with Tanner, her fond memories rush in and the two of them reminisce. Will this trip down memory lane spark a new chapter of love? Or will it remain much like the first kiss they shared here almost 20 years prior... between the pages?

Hurt People - written by LaDarrion Williams, directed by Ignoisco Miles

• Synopsis: Thirty-year-old, Marcel Bennett, has come back home to Alabaster, Alabama, to unlearn the things that shaped him, which are deep-seated childhood issues that seep into his artistic endeavor. When Marcel catches up with his old high school friend, old feelings arise, and an emotional truth must be sacrificed for Marcel to move on and begin anew. In this coming-of-age story, this play takes on the art of Black masculinity, sexuality, and how true the saying 'hurt people, hurt people' is.

Irreconcilable Differences - written by Christopher Akens, directed by Kamila Boga, assistant directed by Shawn Rios

• Synopsis: When Quincy and Gwen go to therapy, they are given a task on how they can keep their marriage alive and away from divorce. When it feels like everything seems to be going wrong, they have to decide whether their marriage is worth fighting for.

Practice Makes Perfect - written by Christina Healey, directed by Bird, assistant directed by Giacomo Thillet

• Synopsis: Lily has just been asked on her very first date with the high school hottie, Aaron. She's never been on a date, and Lily takes dating VERY seriously. In an effort to best prepare herself, she phones her best friend ROGER, who teaches Lily a thing or two about the fun of firsts.

Scalene - written by Garry Kluger, directed by Rachel Rogers

• Synopsis: Twenty-somethings Ricky, his girlfriend Laura, and his sister, Jessie have a big problem. Ricky is in love with his girlfriend Laura, and she loves him...and Jessie. Jessie loves her brother, but is IN love with his girlfriend, and no one seems to know what to do about it. What do you get when besties get into a triangle - you get Scalene.

The Ballad of Timo and Mel - written by AJ Layague, directed by Aliza and Talia Berger

• Synopsis: Based on the story of Athenians Meles and Timagoras, and the god Anteros, this is a re-telling set in the Old West and narrated in verse by The Cowgirl. Timo and Mel are young cowboys in the 19th century. Timo, born enslaved but now freed, and Mel, have been best friends since childhood. When the powerful Big Z has his grandson, Anteros, arrange Olympic-style games, they recruit Timo and Mel for the (almost) no-holds- barred Pankration. The game goes awry when Mel breaks one of the few contact rules, and he runs away in shame.Timo - and later Anteros - follow him for a confrontation that turns bloody, deadly, and tragic.

Tucked Away - written by Joni Ravenna, directed by April Littlejohn, assistant directed by Lilia Doytchinova and Stephanie Mayer

• Synopsis: Three women, Chia, Lisa and Karrie have been held captive on the top floor of a deserted building by Harry for years as part of a human trafficking scheme. There had been four women, but Meg lost her life last year when she tried to escape. Suddenly a new girl, Cassie, is throw into the mix. We're not sure how she's arrived to this hell, but eventually learn it has to do with one of the other girls. Cassie is frightened, hysterically so; but there's no way out but for a forty foot drop through a window. Harry's motto is that women are best 'Horizontal, quietly tucked away'. The four women, as different as they are, must find a way to connect in order to truly break free.

We Lovers - written by Christina St. Croix, directed by Phone Ta

• Synopsis: On a late summer's evening in a wildly lush clearing in the middle of the woods, four small-town neighbors gather to tell their best, most fantastical love stories. In the tales they tell, an angel falls in love, a woman searches a desert party full of monsters for her ghost boyfriend, an 80s slasher flick final girl makes the ultimate sacrifice, and small town lovers race to escape a falling sky. We Lovers is a blisteringly beautiful one-act play about cinematic love tales and the way they can bring the most unlikely of people together.

Wicked/Loyal - written by Jim Vejvoda, directed by Katie Hill

• Synopsis: A woman's youthful, middle-aged, and older selves argue as she makes fateful choices about her life and her freedom. Inspired by a true crime story.

Show Schedule:

• Friday, 2/23 at 7pm - Tucked Away, Wicked/Loyal, Between the Pages, We Lovers
• Saturday, 2/24 at 4pm - Hurt People
• Saturday, 2/24 at 8pm - Practice Makes Perfect, Scalene, The Ballad of Timo and Mel, Irreconcilable Differences
• Sunday, 2/25 at 2pm - Tucked Away, Wicked/Loyal, Between the Pages, We Lovers
• Sunday, 2/25 at 7pm - Hurt People
• Friday, 3/1 at 7pm - Practice Makes Perfect, Scalene, The Ballad of Timo and Mel, Irreconcilable Differences
• Saturday, 3/2 at 7pm - Tucked Away, Wicked/Loyal, Between the Pages, We Lovers
• Sunday, 3/3 at 2pm - Practice Makes Perfect, Scalene, The Ballad of Timo and Mel, Irreconcilable Differences

The festival is being produced by members of Conundrum Theatre Company's Theatrical Exploration Committee: Bianca Turner, Bryan Snodgrass, Kylie Buckles-Hall, and Matthew Namik, and will be stage managed by Brie Mann-Hernandez with lighting design by Andrew Roberts.

Tickets are $18 and available for purchase at https://our.show/ctcnewworksfestival. For more information on Conundrum Theatre Company and its upcoming productions, visit conundrumtheatreco.com or follow @conundrumtheatreco on social media.

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