Women's Work Short Play Festival Kicks Off Today at New Perspectives Theatre Company

New Perspectives Theatre Company (NPTC) is pleased to announce THE WORK GOES ON: A WOMEN'S WORK SHORT PLAY SAMPLER. The festival is one of two this spring in celebration of our 25th Anniversary Season. Part One runs from tonight, February 23rd, to Sunday, March 13, 2016 with performances of two Programs running in repertory. Part Two will perform in May. The Work Goes On performs at NPTC Studio, 458 West 37th Street (at 10th Avenue.)

THE WORK GOES ON: PART ONE is comprised of six plays developed between 2008 and 2015 in the NPTC Women's Work Short Play LAB, in which selected writers created original scripts to an assigned theme over a 5-6 month period. All plays were previously produced in annual festivals. For our 25th Anniversary Season, NPTC is taking at fresh look at these plays, many of which have gone on to be produced in short play festivals around NYC and nationally.

Program A begins with Sweet Stuff, by Charlotte Ortiz Colavin, which calculates the cost of truly parenting a child?especially when there is no blood relation. Peola's Passing, by Cynthia Robinson, finds two African American sisters at odds over how they choose to define "freedom" in the summer of 1964. The program concludes with The Bowl by Teresa Lotz, an existential gem which brings us to a world in which freedom is a forgotten concept, until one group bands together to discover new possibilities for all.

Program B offers two plays that underscore the risk of violence and trafficking faced by young girls everywhere, even in our own backyard. Color Blue by Alexis Roblan and God Don't Exist for Girls From Brooklyn by Yani Perez offer chilling lessons on what can happen when we lose sight of our children. "Ever See A Fat Chinese?" by Christine Toy Johnson lightens the mood with a riotous reminder that women's concerns about beauty and body image have no ethnic boundaries in our image-obsessed culture.

The plays are directed by Melody Brooks, Jenny Greeman, Laura Hirschberg and Tiffany Greene. Meganne George serves as Production Designer, Deborah Constantine is Lighting Designer.

NPTC is an award-winning, multi-racial company performing in the Theatre District and communities throughout NYC. Now celebrating its 25th season, notable productions have included Richard III, starring Austin Pendleton; The Taming of the Shrew (OOBR Award for Excellence), Exhibit #9 by Tracy Scott Wilson (Audelco Award); Jihad, The Play by Ann Chamberlain (OOBR Award for Excellence and moving to Off-Broadway next season); Admissions by Tony Velella (10 Best Plays Citation, Backstage); the premiere of The Shaneequa Chronicles by OBIE-Winner Stephanie Berry (with Blackberry Productions); Anatomy of a Love Affair by Deirdre Hollman (Optioned by Essence Entertainment); MOTHER OF GOD! by Michele Miller (Princess Grace Foundation Finalist) and innovative productions of Hamlet, Macbeth, Romeo & Juliet, Othello, and Julius Caesar. The Company's mission is to develop and produce new plays and playwrights, especially women and people of color; to present classic plays in a style that addresses contemporary issues; 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:
(Press Performances February 27-March 13, 2016)

Program A:

Feb 24, 26, March 1, 3, 9, 11 @ 7:30pm

Sunday, Feb 28, March 6, 13 @ 5:00pm

Saturday, March 12 @ 8:00pm

Program B:

Feb 23, 25, March 2, 4, 8, 10@ 7:30pm

Saturday, Feb 27, March 5, 12 @ 5:00pm

Sunday, March 13 @ 8:00pm

Tickets: $18 /$14/students and seniors w/ID; TDF accepted; FESTIVAL PASS $25 (see both programs): Advance Sale HERE; Reservations: 212-630-9945; contact@nptnyc.org. SEATING IS EXTREMELY LIMITED; SEATS GUARANTEED ONLY VIA ADVANCE PURCHASE. All performances at New Perspectives Studio, 458 West 37th Street (at 10th Avenue).

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