DUTF Returns For 9th Season At MMAC Theater

Downtown Urban Theater Festival (DUTF) returns for a much-anticipated ninth season April 13 to April 23 at the MMAC Theater on West 60th Street in Manhattan. Reg E. Gaines, the Tony and Grammy-nominated writer of Bring in da Noise Bring in da Funk, returns as the Artistic Director and Nilo Cruz, winner of the 2003 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for his play, Anna in the Tropics, will be the recipient of the first-ever DUTF Playwright Master's Award.

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 13
7:00pm
Opening Reception Honoring Nilo Cruz
This special event is open to the public. Space is limited and requires a confirmed reservation via dutfnyc@gmail.com.

8:00pm
Steps
By Brinae Ali
Through tap dance, song and poetry, a mother tells her story of hope and inspiration about her rights of passage into motherhood and process of healing and survival after her daughter's accident.

And Then It Rained
By Kerri-Ann McCalla
In this whimsical comedy, a romance sparks between two neighbors. The arrival of unexpected visitors quickly complicates things. It's one unforgettable night, where more is revealed than intended.

THURSDAY, APRIL 14
8:00pm
Stretch Marks
By Angela Kariotis
Stretch Marks is about infinite possibilities and ultimately choosing one. It's about having a baby, being born, what we are born into, the circumstances of our birth and the legacies we inherit. Forget about the meaning of life, what does it mean to be alive?
Crush
By Dominic Colon
Michael is in for an evening of horror, hilarity and hope at his High School Senior Prom. Inspired by 1980s coming-of-age films, Crush adds a Bronx/Latino/gay twist to the universal themes of unrequited love, loss, and the ultimate life lesson of having to face your demons.

FRIDAY, APRIL 15
8:00pm
Indiosyncrasy
By Indio Melendez
Indiosyncrasy is the coming-out story of "Nene" and the emotional journey of leaving his wife and two sons, falling into addiction and finding redemption. The story is told in vignettes using monologue, spoken word and traditional Afro-Cuban song and dance.

SATURDAY, APRIL 16
6:00pm
Lessons on the A Train
By DUTF
A coming-of-age story about a group of teenagers growing up in modern day NYC. It's all put in motion one day on the A subway train where two Bronx girls find freedom to explore life choices when they encounter the candy-toting Ahmed. This performance is free and open to the public. Space is limited and requires a confirmed reservation via dutfnyc@gmail.com.

8:00pm
The XX Chromosome Genome Project
By S. Ann Johnson
A multicultural choreopoem that explores similarities and differences between American women through spoken word, poetry, monologues, song and dance.

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 20
8:00pm
Counselor
By Stephen Cedars
In a town near the Mexican border, high school guidance counselor Mr. Bryce has talent, success, respect and his valuable anonymity. But when a mysterious, headstrong student begins to challenge that elusive veil of adult authority, Mr. Bryce remembers that he also has a past.

Lost and Found
By Marsha Sheiness
A comedy-drama. Eight teenagers laugh and cry as they tell their personal stories about growing up gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender in a world largely intolerant of sexual differences.

THURSDAY, APRIL 21
8:00pm
Resurrection
By Subrina Moorley
A family past of abandonment and resent resurfaces when two sisters come to the aid of their newly widowed, Born-Again Christian father.

FRIDAY, APRIL 22
8:00pm
I Scream Out Loud
By Andre' Jermaine Ford
Told in poetry and prose, I Scream Out Loud is the redemptive story of one man's journey to self-revelation and spiritual freedom as set against the backdrop of life in the inner city.

Gentrified Minds (The NY Horror Vol. 2)
By The Nomad Junkie
A protest against the corporatization of the soul, displacement of people of color, fragmentation of neighborhoods and rapidly disintegrating "counter-culture. Performed by The Children of Warhol.

SATURDAY, APRIL 23
8:00pm
Gloves for Guns
By David Lawson
Two teenagers find themselves in a mysterious afterlife after shooting up their high school. They are left with nothing but a baseball glove, a baseball and a mysterious portal that shows them select visions of what is happening on the Earth they've left behind.

DUTF has been recognized as one of the world's best festivals for new works and described as "not only prestigious, but a slice of heaven for playwrights who want the chance to freely express themselves." (Theater Festivals, 2005) From an inclusive, multicultural perspective, DUTF presents works that echo the true spirit of urban life and speak to a whole new generation whose lives defy categorizing along conventional lines. It has been a catalyst and an outlet for some of the nation's most vibrant and creative playwrights such as Craig "muMs" Grant, James Earl Hardy, Mario Bosquez, Carlos Andres Gomez, Mayda del Valle, Desmond Hall, Carl Hancock Rux, Jessica Care Moore and many others. In 2011, Reg E. Gaines, Tony and Grammy-nominated writer of Bring in da Noise Bring in da Funk, will be our Artistic Director while DUTF celebrates a milestone of 100 plays presented over its nine-year history.

DUTF is made possible with public funds from the National Endowment for the Arts and the New York State Council on the Arts, celebrating 50 years of building strong, creative communities in New York State's 62 counties.

All tickets for DUTF 2011 are $18 and available at www.downtownurban.net and OvationTix.com/(866) 811-4111. Space is limited for the Opening Night Reception and Lessons on the A Train and requires a confirmed reservation via dutfnyc@gmail.com. The festival runs April 13 to April 23, 2011 at MMAC (Manhattan Movement & Arts Center), 248 West 60th Street, Manhattan (www.manhattanmovement.com), cross streets Amsterdam and West End Avenue, Subway: 1, A, C, B, D to 59th Street/Columbus Circle.

Visit DUTF online at www.facebook.com/pages/Downtown-Urban-Theater-Festival/152194641470752, www.twitter.com/DUTFNYC and https://www.youtube.com/user/dutfnyc.

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