Steven Boyer and Curtis McClarin Set to Appear in DUNKFEST '88 Reading Tonight

Page 73 Productions will present a reading of the new hip hop musical comedy DUNKFEST '88 with book, beats, and rhymes by Matt Schatz and directed by Wendy C. Goldberg. The reading will be Tuesday, December 11 at 7:30pm at 311 West 43rd Street, 8th floor (MTC's Creative Center). The reading is free and open to the public, but reservations are required. Email info@page73.org to inquire about availability, seating is limited.

Welcome to DUNKFEST '88, an annual amateur basketball slam dunking competition! First prize is $10,000, and it promises to be one hell of a show. Unfortunately due to a violent rain storm, only three of our six competitors have shown up so far. But don't worry, MC Emcee will keep things lively, and our DJ will keep the music going. We'll get to the high-flying action sooner or later, but we wouldn't want to get started before legendary seventeen year-old dunker Marcus Franklin III shows up!

Featured in the cast of the reading of Dunkfest '88 will be Steven Boyer (MODERN TERRORISM, HAND TO GOD), Curtis McClarin (BRING IN DA NOISE BRING IN THE FUNK), Terrell Donnell Sledge (HOW WE GOT ON, Humana 2012), Brian Quijada (HOW WE GOT ON, Humana 2012), Deonna Bouye (HOW WE GOT ON, Humana 2012), Calvin Leon Smith, and Jeremie Harris ("Pariah").

Matt Schatz won the 2012 Kleban Prize for Musical Theatre. A playwright, librettist, lyricist and composer, his work includes the musical Love Trapezoid (Astoria Performing Arts Center), the play The Tallest Building in the World (Luna Stage), and the songs for Oh, Gastronomy! (36th Humana Festival). Matt was once a finalist, and twice a semi-finalist for the P73 Playwriting Fellowship, he's gotten three commissions from the EST/Sloan Project and has been a finalist for the Fred Ebb Award for Excellence in Musical Theatre Songwriting (with composer Dina Pruzhansky). He's a member of ASCAP, the BMI Workshop, the Dramatists Guild and EST. He watched his first NBA Slam Dunk Contest in 1989 and he hasn't missed one since. mattschatz.com.

Interstate 73 is Page 73's writers group of seven early-career playwrights who meet biweekly at Page 73's Brooklyn office to share new pages. Throughout the year, Page 73 presents public readings of members' plays.

Wendy C. Goldberg is in her ninth season as Artistic Director of The National Playwrights Conference at the O'Neill, winner of the 2010 TONY Award for Outstanding Regional Theater. Recent Directing Credits include the world premiere of How We Got On at the Humana Festival and the world premiere of Lisa Loomer's Two Things You Don't Talk About at Dinner for Denver Center. Upcoming: the world premiere of Deb Laufer's Leveling Up for Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park. All of these premieres were developed at The O'Neill. Multiple directing credits Off Broadway, at Arena Stage, Goodman, Guthrie, Denver Center, Actors Theatre of Louisville, and Paper Mill Playhouse. She is currently developing a new musical with DC-based hip hop artists Psalm 24 and DJ Nick tha 1da. Wendy serves on the Executive Board of SDC.

PAGE 73 Productions – under the leadership of Executive Directors Liz Jones and Asher Richelli and Associate Director Michael Walkup – develops and produces the work of early-career playwrights who have yet to have their work professionally produced in New York. Page 73 produces at least one New York or world premiere by an early-career playwright each year. Page 73 also offers production-oriented development opportunities that help usher the works of early-career playwrights from first draft to final script. In addition to Interstate 73, the company also hosts the P73 Playwriting Fellowship, a year-long program supporting one playwright's creative and career development; "Page 2", an extensive developmental workshop; and a weeklong Summer Residency at Yale for four playwrights; and mounts one full-scale production per year that marks the first professional world or New York premiere by the participating playwright.

Page 73 produced the world premieres of ELLIOT, A SOLDIER'S FUGUE by Quiara Alegría Hudes, directed by Davis McCallum (2007 Pulitzer finalist and prequel to Quiara's 2012 Pulitzer Prize-winning play WATER BY THE SPOONFUL), SIXTY MILES TO SILVER LAKE by Dan LeFranc directed by Anne Kauffman and co-produced with Soho Rep (2010 New York Times Playwriting Award); CREATURE by Heidi Schreck, directed by Leigh Silverman and co-produced with New Georges; JACK'S PRECIOUS MOMENT by Samuel D. Hunter directed by Kip Fagan and EDGEWISE by Eliza Clark directed by Trip Cullman and co-produced with The Play Company, as well as the New York premieres of 1001 by Jason Grote, directed by Ethan McSweeney (Time Out New York - Top 10) and LIDLESS by Frances Ya-Chu Cowhig, directed by Tea Alagic. The company received from the League of Professional Theatre Women their 2008 Lucille Lortel Award for "innovative and creative work dedicated to the emerging dramatist".

For more information about Page 73 Productions, please visit www.page73.org.

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