Playwrights' Center to Present Readings of ROMEO & NAOMI RAMIREZ, 4/6-7

The Playwrights' Center presents two public readings of Core Writer Kathryn Walat's "Romeo & Naomi Ramirez," April 6 and 7 at 7 p.m., as the final events in the Center's 2014-15 Ruth Easton New Play Series. The readings are free and open to the public; reserve tickets at pwcenter.org. The Playwrights' Center is located at 2301 E. Franklin Avenue in Minneapolis.

"Romeo & Naomi Ramirez" is about a rookie cop on her first undercover narcotics assignment who meets an Honors English student trying to live up to his Shakespearean name. They're in Florida, with some of the toughest drug laws in the nation. Is it a love story or a tragedy? Whose version are you going to believe?

The cast is Cristina Castro, Ramon Torres, Jamila Anderson, and Dustin Bronson. Jess Chayes from The Assembly in New York will be directing, with Wendy Weckwerth as dramaturg and Katharine Horowitz as sound designer.

"Something I explore in the play is the idea of choices that are made in a moment, and the regret that one might feel afterward," says playwright Kathryn Walat. "At moments in the script, we see a scene play out and then we kind of do a 'rewind' and see another possibility. I was influenced by current political events-the idea of the police officer, in a moment, relying on instincts, and having to make a choice with great consequences."

"Kathryn makes brilliant use of the myriad possibilities of theatrical space in this powerful and provocative new play," says Playwrights' Center Producing Artistic Director Jeremy B. Cohen. "Her title characters will grab you by the heart: rookie cop Anna, working so hard to prove herself, and Romeo the poet, a talented kid with his heart on his sleeve."

Kathryn Walat's plays include "Creation" (Theatre @ Boston Court, LA Ovation Award for Playwriting nomination), "This Is Not Antigone" (New George's Germ Project), "Bleeding Kansas" (Hangar Theatre, Francesca Primus Citation), "Victoria Martin: Math Team Queen" (Women's Project, published in "The Best Plays of 1997"), "Know Dog" (Salvage Vanguard Theater), "Johnny Hong Kong" (Perishable Theatre), "See Bat Fly" (Orchard Project, Brown/Trinity Playwrights' Repertory Theatre), and the opera "Paul's Case" (PROTOTYPE Festival, Pittsburgh Opera). She has received commissions from MCC Theater, Yale Rep, La Jolla Playhouse, and Actors' Theatre of Louisville ("On the Road Anthology"). She is a member of MCC's Playwrights' Coalition, and is a New Georges Affiliated Playwright. B.A. Brown University, M.F.A. Yale School of Drama.

The Ruth Easton New Play Series provides Playwrights' Center Core Writers with 24 hours of workshop time to develop a new play in collaboration with top-notch actors and other theater artists. The workshops culminate in public readings, giving audience members a uniquely intimate and accessible way to experience the thrill of raw new work and be part of the creative process. For the 2014-15 season, the series expanded from one reading of each play to two.

All events in the Ruth Easton New Play Series are free and open to the public. Reservations are recommended; reserve your spots at pwcenter.org or by contacting the Playwrights' Center at (612) 332-7481 or info@pwcenter.org.

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