The Gallery Players presents THE BLACK BOX NEW PLAY FESTIVAL 6/2-26

The Gallery Players proudly announces the lineup for its 14th annual Black Box New Play Festival. This award-winning celebration of new works boasts 18 world premiere plays beginning Thursday, June 2, and running through June 26, 2011.

The Gallery Players, Brooklyn's award-winning Off-Off Broadway institution, continues its commitment to developing new work in The Black Box New Play Festival, now in its 14th year. The 11th annual festival garnered special acclaim when Nat Cassidy's The Reckoning of Kit & Little Boots (produced by The Gallery Players in association with Engine37) received the 2009 New York Innovative Theatre Award for Outstanding Full-Length Script. More than 300 plays have appeared in The Black Box New Play Festival since its inception and this year will bring even more writing and acting talent to the stage in 18 world-premieres.

The Gallery Players kicks off the 14th annual Black Box New Play Festival the weekend of June 2 with two full-length world premiere plays that address America's changing views of wealth and class: The Dunes by Craig Pospisil and The Altruist by TJ Edwards.

In Craig Pospisil's The Dunes, we meet fading film star Laura Robertson. Laura returns to her home in the Hamptons after the financial crisis hits her hard and her latest marriage has fallen apart. Laura's family tries to get her life back on track, but her debts and inability to make painful decisions means they all may lose those things more valuable than a beach home. The Dunes is directed by Michael LaPolla. The cast includes: Lauren Klemp, Karin de la Penha*, Matthew Ellis Murphy*, Amanda A. Lederer, Nicolas Marti and Jason Ralph*. The stage manager is Rebecca Stoll. The Dunes runs for 9 performances in The Black Box New Play Festival: Thursday June 2 at 8pm, Saturday June 4 at 8pm, Sunday June 5 at 2pm, Saturday June 11 at 2pm, Sunday June 12 at 8pm, Saturday June 18 at 8pm, Sunday June 19 at 2pm, Saturday June 25 at 2pm and Sunday June 26 at 8pm.

The Altruist, opening Friday, June 3, is a high comedy in the style of Moliere. When a French billionaire gets bored with life, he decides that becoming president will be his cure. He dons the cloak of an altruist and enlists the help of a political handler, but his drunken wife and obnoxious children do all they can to subvert his self-serving ambitions. The Altruist is written by TJ Edwards, the critically acclaimed adapter of 2010 Black Box New Play Festival's CANDIDE, and is directed by Brad Malow. The cast features: Marcia Berry, Andrew Clateman*, Dominic Cuskern*, Eli Ganias*, Anne Pasquale*, Amanda Smith, Patrick Toon* and William Vaughn. The stage manager is Sophie Mysel. The Altruist runs for 9 performances in The Black Box New Play Festival: Friday June 3 at 8pm, Saturday June 4 at 2pm, Sunday June 5 at 8pm, Saturday June 11 at 8pm, Sunday June 12 at 2pm, Saturday June 18 at 2pm, Sunday June 19 at 8pm, Saturday June 25 at 8pm and Sunday June 26 at 2pm.

Three short play programs round out the 14th annual Black Box New Play Festival:

PROGRAM 1 runs Thursday, June 9 through Sunday, June 12:

Brief Encounters of the Third Kind by Corey Pajka. Directed by Suzanne Adams
Chosen by D.L. Siegel. Directed by Barrie Gelles
The Overnighter by Bianca J. Ursillo. Directed by Brian Michael Flanagan
Fishing on the Ferry by Allan Lefcowitz. Directed by Malinda Sourci
The Greenhouse by Camilla Maxwell. Directed by Robin Leslie Brown

PROGRAM 2 runs Thursday, June 16 through Sunday, June 19:

The State of Steve by Morgan von Ancken. Directed by Michael McIntosh
Requiem for a Humvee by George J. Bryjak. Directed by Norma Medina
Knock by Anne Phelan. Directed by Liz Thaler
Knock - Knock by Lily Mercer. Directed by Stephen Kaliski
Brooklyn Crossing by Laura Livingston. Directed by Mo Zhou

PROGRAM 3 runs Thursday, June 23 through Sunday, June 26:

The Alley by Michael DeVito. Directed by Jenna Bashine
Cooking Breakfast For The One I Love by Paul Sambol. Directed by Jenna Bashine
Sibbleger by David L. Williams. Directed by Ari Rosenbaum
With a Shrug by Nicholas Priore. Directed by Robert Haufrecht
Things Like Lamps by Josh Sohn. Directed by Ari Rosenbaum
Along Came a Spider by Judd Lear Silverman. Directed by Michael McIntosh

All three Short Play Programs run Thursdays and Fridays at 8pm, Saturdays and Sundays at 5pm.

Dominic Cuskern produces the 14th annual Black Box New Play Festival for The Gallery Players, Associate Producers are Barrie Gelles, Lisa Hryckowian and Ying Le. The festival Lighting Designer is Scott C. Cally, Festival Set Coordinator is Yoon Young Choi. The short programs' Costume Coordinator is Ghislaine Sabiti, short programs' Sound Designer is Ien Wehrle and Bethany Clark is the short programs' Stage Manager.

The 14th annual Black Box New Play Festival opens Thursday, June 2 at 8 and runs Thursdays, Fridays at 8 pm, Saturdays and Sundays at 2, 5 and 8 pm through Sunday, June 26.

Tickets to The Black Box New Play Festival at The Gallery Players are $18 for adults, $14 for Seniors & Children 12 and under. Festival Passes are available for $45. Individual tickets and Festival passes can be purchased by calling TheaterMania at (212) 352-3101, or online at www.galleryplayers.com. The Gallery Players is located at 199 14th St., between 4th and 5th Avenues in Park Slope, Brooklyn. Take the F Train to 4th Ave. or the R Train to 9th Street. By car: BQE to Hamilton Avenue to 14th Street.

A New York institution since 1967, The Gallery Players has served actors and audiences alike for more than 4 decades by showcasing burgeoning new talent and offering a home base for theater professionals. Its eclectic programming of intimate revivals and ambitious new work in inventive productions has earned it the reputation of "New York's Best Kept Secret." The Gallery Players is the recipient of the Off-Off Broadway Review's 2000 Award for Lifetime Achievement and was the recipient of New York Innovative Theatre Award for Outstanding Production of a Musical in 2007, 2008 & 2009 for their productions of Urinetown! the musical, Yank! A New Musical, and Like You Like It. Among its famous alumni are founding member Harvey Fierstein; Broadway regulars Nancy Anderson, Jeffry Denman and Diedre Goodwin; New York theater personality Seth Rudetsky and many others.

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