HOTSPOT: The Meganne George Women's Work Short Play Festival Begins Next Month

New Perspectives Theatre Company has announced Hotspot, its 16th Annual Women's Work Short Play Festival, running Th

The Festival performs in two programs on an alternating schedule of 4:00pm and 8:00pm, with a combined program on August 10th at 2pm and 5pm. Performances are at NPTC Studio, 458 West 37th Street (at 10th Avenue.)

The festival is comprised of six plays separated into two programs. Program A includes: Heathen by Chelyn Cousar, directed by Jennie Reich Litzky; Female Variety of Suffering by Christine Benvenuto, directed by Melody Brooks; and They Only Love You When You're Dying by Stephanie Kline, directed by Jenny Greeman. Program B includes: Between Iron Doors by Anel Carmona, directed by Dani Ortiz; Bumble by Taylor Steele, directed by Malini Singh McDonald, and Best Seats in the House by Morgan Barnes-Whitehead, directed by Bianca Lopez. Rychard Curtiss is Production Designer and Cat Gillespie is Production Stage Manager.

 Named after Meganne George, who served as Resident Production Designer at NPTC for 19 years and was instrumental in creating its structure and design elements, the festival presents original short plays developed in NPTC's Women's Work LAB which takes writers from the first impulse for their play to a rehearsed and staged performance for live audiences, all within six months. There is no other program of its kind in New York City. All themes stem from the social and political discourse percolating in the U.S. at the start of a new LAB. Hotspot was inspired by the increasingly dire climate crisis, a growing celebrity culture and online influencers, as well as the most dangerous political environment in decades. As always, each writer found her own take on this theme, enabling the creation of plays that are as unique and diverse as the talented writers themselves.

Program A begins with Heathen, a play about Jeanine, who, after fleeing from a rigid religious background, is finally finding her purpose as a performance artist. Will a reunion with a devout childhood friend bring redemption, or a final break with the past? In Female Variety of Suffering, the new baby is finally asleep! But this longed-for state is the calm before the storm, as cracks in the foundation of this seemingly perfect relationship appear when the parents finally have a moment alone. They Only Love You When You're Dying tells the story of Sam, who has coped with her terminal diagnosis by becoming an internet celebrity, unbeknownst to her faithful friends. With only six months to go, a new diagnosis shatters Sam's carefully constructed performance and forces a reckoning with the people who matter most.

Program B opens with Between Iron Doors, an existential adventure in magical realism that illuminates the fate of three coworkers struggling to remember why they're stuck in a department store bathroom. Bumble navigates the dark side of digital intimacy with a blend of text-speak and poetry that reveals a woman's own power to break bad habits. Best Seats in the House takes place on a remote island, where a privileged group of friends has booked ringside seats to a historic rocket launch that might determine the fate of the world. While the drinks and the gossip flow, what could possibly go wrong?

NPTC is an award-winning, multi-racial company performing at its home in the Theatre District, communities throughout NYC and as of 2015, internationally. Notable recent productions include two scripts developed in the Women's Work LAB: How to Melt ICE by Amalia Oliva Rojas Winner 4 LATA Awards including Best Script; 3 HOLA Nominations) co-produced with Boundless Theatre Company) and She Calls Me Firefly by Teresa Lotz, co-produced with Parity Productions (Outstanding Short Play, NY Innovative Theatre Awards.) Since 1991 we have developed and presented 110 original full-lengths and short scripts and presented a range of classical works.

The Company's mission is to develop and produce new plays and playwrights, especially women and people of color; to present classic plays through a new lens that restores women & BIPOC artists' existence & contributions to the Canon; and to extend the benefits of theatre to young people and communities in need. Our aim is not to exclude but to cast a wider net.

SCHEDULE

Program A:

August 5, 7, 9 @ 4:00PM

August 4, 8 @ 8:00PM

Saturday, August 10 @ 5:00PM

Program B:

August 5, 7, 9 @ 8:00PM

August 6, 8 @ 4:00PM

Saturday, August 10 @ 2:00PM

Tickets

$22 /$18 students and seniors w/ID; TDF accepted for select performances;

FESTIVAL PASS $35 (both programs); Advance Sale: https://tinyurl.com/HOTSPOTFEST

All performances at New Perspectives Studio, 458 West 37th Street @10th Avenue

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