Road Theatre Company Presents 10th Annual Summer Playwrights Festival

THE ROAD THEATRE COMPANY remains committed to its meaningful mission to produce and develop New Work for the Stage. They have announced their upcoming 28th season, the tenth annual Summer Playwrights Festival.

This year's festival features all new works to Los Angeles and has attracted playwrights internationally including, Lisa Loomer (who won the Jane Chambers Playwriting Award (The Waiting Room), the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize, the Kennedy Center Fund for New American Plays Award, a Back Stage West Garland Award for Playwriting (in 2003 for Living Out), the Imagen Award for positive portrayals of Latinos in all media, and American Theatre Critics Association Steinberg New Play Award (in 1995 for The Waiting Room and in 1999 for Expecting Isabel). She was also the recipient of 2 grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, and one from the New York Foundation for the Arts, and was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize).

Jami Brandli - Winner of John Gassner Memorial Playwriting Award, Holland New Voices Award, Ashland New Plays Festival and Aurora Theatre Company's GAP Prize. Finalist for the 2016 PEN Literary Award for Drama, Playwrights' Center Core Writer Fellowship, Princess Grace Award and the O'Neill National Playwrights Conference. Nominated for the Susan Smith Blackburn Award. BLISS (or Emily Post is Dead!) was named in the 2014 Kilroys List. 2019 Humanitas Prize PLAY LA playwright.

Tegan McLeod - Never Such Rain runner-up in Oxford's New Writers Festival. 2013 Michener Fellow in Playwriting and Screenwriting. Girls in Car Underwear selected for 2016 Eugene O'Neill Theater Center's National Playwrights Conference. Lunatic 19's: A Deportational Road Trip was runner-up for the Papatango Prize).

Wendy Graf - Gold Medallion Winner by The Moss Hart & Kitty Carlisle Hart New Play Initiative.Stage Raw Recommended Top Ten, L.A. Times Pick of the Week, and multiple Critics Choice awards for Unemployed Elephants - A Love Story. Stage Raw Recommended Top Ten/2015 nom Playwriting and Solo performance, LA Times Pick of the Week, LA Weekly "GO!" StageSceneLA 2015 Outstanding Solo Performance Production, and Bitter Lemons 2015 Ten Best awards for All American Girl. Multiple NAACP wins and nominations for Closely Related Keys. 2012 GLAAD Award Outstanding L.A. Theater and Helen Hayes Awards recommended for No Word In Guyanese For Me.

JimHenry - The Seventh Monarch -winner Plays for the 21st Century (The Playwrights Theater, Inc., of Dallas) 1st place in the San Francisco Dramarama Play Festival (The Playwrights' Center of San Francisco) The Albert Panowski Playwriting Award (Forest Roberts Theatre at Northern Michigan University.)The Angels of Lemnos has won Chicago's Jeff Award for Best Work 1999, Los Angeles Times Critic's Choice Michael Devereaux, "Robby" Award for Best New Play).

Ron Largomarsino - Jerome was a Finalist at the Eugene O'Neil Playwrights Conference, Directed/Staged many world premiere plays including works by Christopher Durang, Jane Anderson, and Alfred Uhry, Currently adapting his screenplay "Haight & Stanyan" for television.

Jim Geoghan - "The Suite Life of Zack & Cody" - 2 Emmy Nominations, "The Suite Life on Deck." Plays: Of Men and Cars and Only Kidding.

Craig Pospisil - Months On End, Somewhere In Between, Life Is Short, and The Dunes, Award for Excellence by the Kennedy Center/American College Theatre Festival), and Scooter Pietsch (Emmy-nominated Composer for several TV shows such as "Pretty Little Liars," "American Idol," "So You Think You Can Dance?," and "All Dogs Go To Heaven: The Series," play Windfall carried a sold out run. Produced for shows from ABC, FOX, Lifetime, VH1, and E!)S. Pearl Sharp (2006-2007 Poet Laureate of Los Angeles' Watts Towers Art Center).

Jennie Webb - Semi-Finalist, 2016 Trustus Playwrights Festival. Max K. Lerner Playwriting Fellowship, 2015. Semi-Finalist, 2015 PlayPenn Conference. Winner of a 2010 Women in Theatre Red Carpet Award. Semi-Finalist, 2007 and 2009, Eugene O'Neill Theater Center Playwrights Conference.Finalist, 2002 Robert J. Pickering Award for Playwriting Excellence.Winner in 2002 Alliance of Los Angeles Playwrights New Plays.

Augusto Federico Amador - 2019 Humanitas Prize New Voices in TV writing. Finalist for Princess Grace Fellowship, Terrence McNally Award, and BBC International Radio Playwriting Competition. Runner-Up for the National Latino Playwriting Award from the Arizona Theater Company.Four-time semi-finalist for the Eugene O'Neill Conference.The Book of Leonidas won best play at the Downtown Urban Arts Festival in NYC. Has fellowships with Public Theater in NYC, The Humanitas Prize in Los Angeles, Latino Theater Alliance/L.A. and Lincoln City Fellowship in NYC.

Keli Goff - Recipient of The Public Theater's Emerging Writers Group fellowship 2014-2016.The Black Friend was designated a semi-finalist for The Princess Grace Playwriting Fellowship and a finalist for the AracaWorks reading series. 2016 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Writing on a Dramatic Series. And many others playwrights.

This year's festival features noted directors such as, Taylor Nichols (Acted in Barcelona, Metropolitan, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, NAACP Award All My Sons, LA Drama Critics Circle Award), Ron Lagomarsino (Directed shows such as "Pretty Little Liars," "Nashville," "The Fosters," "Switched at Birth," and "One Life to Live," (two Primetime nominations, 1 win), Jason Alexander (Nominated for 1993 Director's Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Comedy Series. Multiple wins and nominations for Emmy, Golden Globes, and SAG Awards. Tony award for Jerome Robbins' Broadway). John Levey (won four Emmys for casting "The West Wing" and "ER," Recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Casting Society of America). Armando Molina (Recipient of the National Endowment for the Arts/Theater Communications Group Career Development Program for Directors. Santa Barbara Independent Award for Best Direction for Anna In The Tropics at PCPA. Theater L.A. Ovation Award Nomination (shared for writing) for Best World Premier Play for Crossings, Journeys of Catholic Immigrants. Theater L.A. Ovation Award for Best Ensemble Performance for Medea/Macbeth/Cinderella - Actors' Gang and Cornerstone Theaters. Dramalogue Award for Best Ensemble for Latins Anonymous at Los Angeles Theater Center. City of San Diego Citation for Theater that Enriches Lives of Residents Latins Anonymous at San Diego Repertory Theater. Award of Merit for Contributions to Latino Theater from Plaza de la Raza Cultural Center, Los Angeles, CA). Rob Nagle (Several wins and nominations for Church & State, including Best Production and Best Actor. Several wins and nominations for The Little Foxes, including the 50th annual Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Awards' Best Revival and Best Ensemble Performance. Several wins and nominations for Stupid Kid, including Best Production, Best World Premiere Play, and Outstanding Ensemble in a Comedy-Drama) along with many Road company members and members of the Los Angeles theater community. Most of the playwrights whose work is featured will be attending and will participate in a post-show discussion with the audience and cast.

Artistic Directors Taylor Gilbert and Sam Anderson comment, "The Road's Summer Playwrights Festival offers a wonderfully compressed period of new works and voices from established and emerging playwrights brought to life by the Road ensemble and guest artists who interact in lively discussions with our audiences, different live bands each evening, great food and drink and a tremendous sense of community between artists and theatregoers. An unforgettable event." According to Founding Festival Director Scott Alan Smith, "This festival is our way of sharing the process of play development with our community and allows festival playwrights the chance to hear their plays in a supportive setting of talent and artistry." Festival Director Matthew Singletary adds, "Eight days packed with theatre at its most exciting and raw...what's not to love?!"

One popular feature of the festival last summer was the live music that was featured during each reading's reception in our gallery space. This year's festival will feature the bands and musicians Mleo, Stage 11, Theo's Dream Sequence and Irish band sensation, Whiskey Sunday. The reception will be held in our backyard patio-Cole's Cantina-and will feature wines from Paso Robles Wineries and Lagunitas Brewery along with delicious appetizers and desserts.

THE SUMMER PLAYWRIGHTS FESTIVAL (SPF10) will open on Sunday July 28 at 8pm and run through Sunday August 4 at the Historic Lankershim Arts Center, 5108 Lankershim Blvd. in North Hollywood, CA and in our second home the Road on Magnolia at 10747 Magnolia Blvd. North Hollywood, CA.

Performances are Monday - Friday at 8pm; Saturday at 2pm, and 8pm; Sunday (August 4) at 2pm and 8pm. Ticket prices are suggested donation of $15. For more details and to view complete schedule, play descriptions and cast lists visit roadtheatre.org

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