Theater Works Kicks Off NEW WORKS Festival in Peoria Today

Theater Works at Peoria Center for the Performing Arts announces its first NEW WORKS Festival taking place during the month of August. Patrons can see original scripts brought to life through moving performances, as they are read on stage for the first time.

Select Valley artists will perform the works of a variety of talented, award-winning playwrights as well as up-and-coming writers. Theater Works Executive Director, Dan Schay, who was a key figure in the success of the Annual New Works Festival at Phoenix Theatre, has decided to start a similar event in the West Valley.

Artistic Director, Robyn Allen, says, "Theater Works leadership has a heart for supporting local playwrights and recognizing new artists. We feel this is a fun way to show our enthusiasm for talent and inspire success."

Theater Works Board Member Richard Powers Hardt along with Schay and Allen have put together a remarkable selection of New Work conceptions that begin today, August 9, 2013 and run through September 1, 2013.

The following is a description of each presentation:

PUSH

Original Play by: Mike Duhame

Show Dates:

August 9-18, 2013 select dates and times

Ticket price: $12.50 including fees

PUSH is a funny new play that explores the lives of twenty-five men and woman on topics that range from conception to delivery. It is based solely on personal, candid interviews and offers an unbiased look at the universal and curious experiences that people face but rarely talk about. EXPECT to love it!

In Vino Veritas

Original Play by: Debra Rich

Directed by: Petey Swartz

Show Dates:

Thursday, August 22- 7:30pm

Saturday, August 24- 7:30pm

Ticket price: $9.00 including fees

This is a light-hearted love story. In Vino Veritas (In wine, truth) is a charming tale of modern love, infidelity and, of course, wine.

The Harvey Girls

Original Play by: Julie Jenson

Directed by: Ben Tyler of Centennial Theatre Foundation

Show Dates:

Friday, August 23, 2013 - 7:30pm

Sunday, August 25, 2013 - 2pm

Ticket price: $9.00 including fees

Experience an ordinary day at the Harvey House Restaurant in Ashfork, Arizona. The 20th century is just a couple of years away, and the six people on the staff of the restaurant are engaged in their usual struggles.

This satirical play about the Arizona frontier is fast moving and magnified. Think Molière with a dose of the Coen brothers.

Playwright, Julie Jenson, is the recipient of the Kennedy Center Award for New American Plays and the LA Weekly Award for Best New Play. She has received the McKnight National Playwriting Fellowship and won the Mill Mountain Theatre Playwriting Competition three times. She is also a two-time nominee of the American Theatre Critics Association's Steinberg Award for best new play produced outside of New York.

Reconciled Differences

Original Play by: Richard Warren

Directed by: Dan Schay

Show Dates:

Thursday, August 29, 2013- 7:30 pm

Saturday, August 31, 2013- 2 pm

Ticket price: $9.00 including fees

Reconciled Differences is a story about an older man, his girlfriend and her daughter who have managed to get along for twenty years, but something is about to change. How will each of them deal with it? How will it impact their relationships and lives?

Richard Warren, playwright, is co-founder of the Annual New Works Festival at Phoenix Theatre. His production of Burning in the Night: A Hobo's Song premiered last season, at Theater Works, and received rave reviews.

"An Ordinary person trying to navigate their everyday lives is what fascinates me most. I'm constantly intrigued by how differently individuals perceive, think and act. Because of this, most of my plays deal with seemingly 'normal' people as they struggle to manage their interpersonal relationships and inner conflicts. Staged readings are very important to the play development process and I'm very grateful that Theater Works is committed to developing new works and that it is giving me the opportunity to see Reconciled Differences in front of a live audience. I'm always surprised by how audience members respond and we must have this experience to learn and move forward." ~Richard Warren~

Germs and Viruses

Original Play by: Kirt Shineman

Directed by: Richard Powers Hardt

Show Dates:

Friday, August 30, 2013- 7:30pm

Sunday, September 1, 2013-2pm

Ticket price: $9.00 including fees

Follow the story of a Middle East revolution and a blogger who writes about it. This new play will give you insight on facing the realities of a media-based society.

Theater Works, the resident theatre company of Peoria Center for the Performing Arts, resides in the heart of old-town Peoria, Arizona. Beginning with a group of patrons who shared a common vision, it has grown into one of Arizona's most acclaimed theatre companies. Theater Works is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization. For more information, call the box office at 623.815.7930 or visit www.theaterworks.org.

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