Orlando Shakespeare Theater Sets Playfest 2015 Lineup

Orlando Shakespeare Theater in Partnership with UCF invites audiences to take a risk on new plays at PlayFest from November 5 - 8, 2015. Presented by Harriett's Charitable Trust, the four-day festival is packed with new play readings that reflect the vibrancy of human emotion. Tickets to individual PlayFest readings ($8) will be available to the general public on Tuesday, September 22, and may be purchased online at www.orlandoshakes.org, by phone at (407) 447-1700 ext. 1., or in person at the John and Rita Lowndes Shakespeare Center (812 East Rollins Street). PlayFest Festival Passes are on sale now and may be purchased by phone or in person.

This season's PlayFest lineup promises a thrilling collection of groundbreaking new works including Donnetta Lavinia Gray's Sam (Eugene O'Neill Center National Playwright Festival Semifinalist), Jacqueline Goldfinger's Skin and Bone (Philadelphia Critics Awards Best New Play Winner), and Meridith Friedman's The Luckiest People (2014 NNPN Annual Commission with Curious Theatre Company). PlayFest 2014's Mark St. Germain (Dancing Lessons) and Israel Horovitz (Gloucester Blue) return to the festival with their emotional new dramas, Relativity and Man in Snow. Actor/Playwright Eric Hissom (The Ghosts of Sleepy Hollow, PlayFest 2007 & 2009) also returns to the festival with his fantastical comedy, Thyramus and Pisbee.

"These new plays were handpicked for their colorful characters and dialogue that leaps off the page," said Director of New Play Development Cynthia White. "This year's festival will also feature nationally recognized playwright Ellen McLaughlin as our Keynote Speaker."

McLaughlin, whose previous work includes A Narrow Bed, Infinity's House, and The Trojan Women, penned the festival's seventh play, The Adventures of Pericles, under a commission from the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. Following its appearance in PlayFest, the modern verse translation of William Shakespeare's Pericles, Prince of Tyre will receive a full production as part of the Theater's Signature Series from February 24 - March 26, 2015.

"We also encourage attendees to enjoy our Signature Series production of Stephen Sachs' Bakersfield Mist which runs concurrently with PlayFest," said White. "The colorful comic drama showcases our commitment to including new plays in our season and the importance of fostering the work of today's playwrights in festivals like PlayFest."

Prior to Bakersfield Mist's success on London's West End and in regional productions across the country, the new play was featured as a staged reading at PlayFest 2011. Bakersfield Mist plays in the Goldman Theater from October 14 - November 15. Tickets are available at www.orlandoshakes.org or by calling the Box Office at (407) 447-1700.

PlayFest is a nationally recognized program, representing one of the strongest commitments to new plays in the United States. Since it's inception in 2003, PlayFest has helped nurture and develop over 100 new plays-many of which have received subsequent productions in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Seattle, and Washington, D.C. Audience favorites from PlayFest are handpicked and developed into full productions in the Theater's Signature Season.

PLAYFEST FESTIVAL PASS

A PlayFest Festival Pass offers admission into all seven readings for $42. To purchase a PlayFest Festival Pass, call (407) 447-1700 ext. 1 or visit the Box Office in person.

PLAYFEST PATRON

PlayFest Patrons receive an all-access pass to PlayFest readings, reserved seating, a private event with the playwrights, and recognition for their special contribution in programs, curtain speeches, Orlando Shakespeare Theater's website, and more! For more information, contact the Director of Development at (407) 447-1700 ext. 206 or email development@orlandoshakes.org.

PlayFest is made possible through the generous support of Harriett's Charitable Trust.

Orlando Shakespeare Theater is supported by United Arts of Central Florida, host of www.power2give.org/centralflorida, and the collaborative Campaign for the Arts. Orlando Shakespeare Theater is also sponsored in part by the State of Florida, Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs, and the Florida Council on Arts and Culture.

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