Portland Stage Announces The 33rd Annual LITTLE FESTIVAL OF THE UNEXPECTED

Portland Stage has announced the 33rd Annual Little Festival of the Unexpected - a livestream reading series of New Works.

The readings will be presented free in zoom livestream format as series of digital readings and discussions of the following plays: Sweet Goats & Blueberry Señoritas by Richard Blanco and Vanessa Garcia on Friday, May 13 at 7:00 pm EST; Madeleines by Bess Welden on Friday, May 20 at 7:00 pm EST; and, Riverbank by Brendan Pelsue on Friday, May 27 at 7:00 pm EST.

Since its debut in 1990, the Little Festival of the Unexpected (LFU) has established a tradition of nurturing artists, invigorating audiences, and exploring new voices, visions, and forms of theater. The festival furnishes a supportive environment for playwrights to develop their work, as well as a unique opportunity for audiences to catch a firsthand look at the creative process that brings scripts to the stage. LFU readings are performed by a company of professional actors and are followed by an open discussion with the audience, director, and playwright.

Past LFU scripts have successfully moved on to full productions at Portland Stage and at other professional theaters around the country. Both Almost, Maine (LFU 2003) and Papermaker (LFU 2014) went on to become the most commercially successful Mainstage productions in Portland Stage's history. Many other LFU works have gone on to productions across the country, including successful Off-Broadway, Film, and TV.

THE 2022 33rd ANNUAL LITTLE FESTIVAL OF THE UNEXPECTED

Sweet Goats & Blueberry Señoritas

by Richard Blanco and Vanessa Garcia
Directed by Sally Wood
LIVE via Zoom May 13, 2022 • 7:00 pm

DIGITAL ON DEMAND DATES: May 14 - May 16, 2022
Register for the Live Zoom Reading and Discussion online: https://www.portlandstage.org/show/sweet-goats-blueberry-senoritas/

The play will be read live by actors followed by a discussion with playwrights Richard Blanco and Vanessa Garcia, director Sally Wood and the actors.

Beatriz, a Cuban American baker in Maine, tries to figure out whether she should stay in Maine with the community she's developed, or reunite with her estranged mother in Miami. Along the way Beatriz explores what it means to belong as she cooks up the recipes of her childhood with the raw ingredients of Maine. This is a Maine-Made Play commissioned by Portland Stage. Sweet Goats & Blueberry Señoritas will be announced as part of the 2022-23 Mainstage season, which is one of the plays on the GUESS THE SEASON AND WIN quiz.

Madeleines

by Bess Welden
Directed by Annette Jolles (SDC)

LIVE via Zoom May 20, 2022 • 7:00 pm

DIGITAL ON DEMAND DATES: May 21 - May 23, 2022
Register for the Live Zoom Reading and dcisussion online: https://www.portlandstage.org/show/madeleines-2022/

The play will be read live by actors followed by a discussion with playwright Beth Welden, director Annette Jolles, and the actors.

Spiced with poetry and smatterings of Yiddish and Spanish, Madeleines tells the story of a family of Jewish women grappling with how to love each other through haunted pasts, shared grief, and the solace of baking together.

Riverbank

by Brendan Pelsue

Directed by Rory Pelsue

LIVE via Zoom May 27, 2022 • 7:00 pm

DIGITAL ON DEMAND DATES: May 28 - May 30, 2022

Register for the Live Zoom Reading and Discussion online: https://www.portlandstage.org/show/riverbank/

The play will be read live by actors followed by a discussion with playwright Brendan Pelsue, director Rory Pelsue, and the actors

Every spring, Paul takes his mother Ruth for an afternoon of bird watching. As Ruth slips into dementia, this year's trip becomes a journey to the elusive limits of memory and identity. With the past and the present colliding, Ruth and Paul must question not only what they can know, but who they are when they no longer know.

Portland Stage offers Mainstage performances, New Works, and Education programs. The 2021-22 Mainstage season is trying to maintain its regular schedule as safety and artists' unions permit, including one co-production musical with Maine State Music Theatre, six Mainstage productions, staged readings of its commissions, and Studio Series productions. PS promotes and celebrates the creation of new plays with an environment that supports the region's playwrights, builds bridges between its theater and national writers, and develops awareness of theater with three exciting initiatives: the Clauder Competition, the Little Festival of the Unexpected, and From Away, a festival in collaboration with the International Writing Program (IWP) at the University of Iowa. This year, Portland Stage also celebrates its 12th season of the Susie Konkel Theater for Kids and the 100,000 student experiences it has provided in the last decade through its education programs. Subscriptions to Portland Stage are available. More than just a seat in the house, subscribers gain insider access, significant savings, and flexibility. Visit portlandstage.org to learn more.

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