Announcing the 2015 San Francisco Olympians Festival

The San Francisco Olympians Festival VI: Wine Dark Sea November 4 to 21, 2015, W-Th-F-S, at 8 PM The EXIT Theatre, 156 Eddy Street, San Francisco $10.00 at the door, cash only $12.00 online at Brown Paper Tickets www.sfolympians.com. The San Francisco Olympians Festival has been gaining momentum since its first year, with nine plays that were commissioned by the festival having gone on to full productions: 2010's Hermes (No Nude Men Productions, Dramaworks, Bread and Water Theatre), Juno En Victoria (Wily West Productions), and Salty Towers (Thunderbird Theater Company); 2011's Cassiopeia (Eat Street Players), Chronus (Bread and Water Theatre), You're Going To Bleed (DIVAFest), and Pleiades (No Nude Men Productions); 2013's Take Me Home: a One-woman Odyssey (Salon San Carlos, Lucy Tafler Presents)- which just made its international debut at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival; 2014's Satyr Night Fever (San Francisco Theater Pub). 2014's Centaur is slated for full production by the Repurposed Theatre later this year. Many pieces have also received additional readings on local and national stages, including: 2011's Joe Ryan (Impact Theatre), Pleiades (Atlantic Stage), Io (Eat Street Players), and Selene, or Someone Like The Moon (EXIT Theatre); 2012's Caenis and Poseidon (Playwrights' Center of San Francisco, City Lights Theater), and Twins (San Francisco State); 2013's Under The Gods' Golden Cleats (Dramatist Guild) and See Also All (Otherworld Theatre Company); 2014's Beauty Secrets (Cutting Ball Theatre Company). 2013's Walls Of Troy was a finalist for the Stanley Drama Award and the entire festival won "Playwriting Series Most Likely to Win a Gold Medal" from the SF Bay Guardian in 2013. Additionally, EXIT Press has released a collection of five plays from Year One of the festival, Songs of Hestia, and ten plays from Year Two, Heavenly Bodies, both available for purchase on Amazon.com and at bookstores across the country. (www.sfolympians.com) Since 2010 the festival has featured the work of 78 Writers, 57 Directors, 290 Actors, and 34 Fine Artists!

This year we are excited to debut 30 new plays by 31 local writers- 10 of whom will be contributing written work to the festival for the first time! The plays range from shorts to one-acts to full-lengths, and each one explores a different aquatic legend or god from Greek mythology. Each night will also feature a monologue written by festival founder, Stuart Bousel, and performed by actress Allison Page, under the direction of Ariel Craft. The whole festival will be kicked off with a one-act trailer by Tonya Narvaez, featured at the exclusive opening party for all participating actors, writers, directors, and staff. The 2015 festival will play 12 nights, November 4-21, Wednesday through Saturday, at the EXIT Theatre in San Francisco (156 Eddy Street). Tickets are $10.00 at the door, and can be purchased starting at 7:30 the night of the show, or in advance for $12 at Brown Paper Tickets: http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/2194756

All shows begin at 8 PM. Audience members who attend more than four nights get the fifth free. This year's fine artists include: Molly Benson, Emmalee Carole, Elizabeth Conley, Brett Grunig, Lacey Hill Hawkins, Emily C. Martin, Tonya Narvaez, Ashley Ramos, Cody A. Rishell, Aliana Rood, Brian Yee The art will be on display at the EXIT Theatre the entire month of November! This year's lineup, all shows beginning at 8 PM: Week One: THE DIVINE AQUATIC (11/4-11/7)

Wednesday, November 4: The Trumpeter TRITON, or THINNING BLOOD by John Lennon Harrison, directed by Cecelia Harrison Who needs family when you have a multiplicity of yourself to blow conches and control the water working against the mayhem of politically troubled waters, a wandering one-eyed pirate, trippy divinity, voices of a miserable past and the beckoning of a more pleasant future without any of them?

Thursday, November 5: A Bevy of Beauties Directed by Stuart Bousel THETIS by Neil Higgins A desperate, young farmer is about to find out what happens when you accidentally pray at the wrong temple. INO LEUCOTHEA by Christian Simonsen In a post-apocalyptic world, is Mankind really more noble that the carrion-eating seagulls? PSAMATHE by Kathryn Kruse Even gods have to deal with annual employee performance reviews. DORIS by Sabina Piersol Doris has played the good wife for centuries. No longer inspired by dwelling in her revered husband's safe embrace, and tired of being worshipped mainly for her award-winning crab cakes, Doris goes rogue and flies The Fish Trap.
BRIZO by Carson Beker The one about the sailor who fell in love with an octopus, the one about the drunken sailor and the rusty razor, the one about the 14 year old sailor who enlisted to see the world, the one about the goddess who was supposed to protect them. GALENE by Sunil Patel One woman. Two paths. One choice. CYMOPOLEIA by Bridgette Dutta Portman One year after losing her young daughter in a drowning accident, a mother returns to the beach where it happened to seek an apology from the goddess of violent waves. But how does one elicit empathy from a force of nature indifferent to human suffering? EURYBIA or EURYBIA AND THE PIRATE QUEEN by Madeline Puccioni Teuta was a Pirate Queen, Who ruled the wine dark sea; Bold and beautiful was she, But mad as mad could be.

Friday, November 6: Old Men of the Sea NEREUS and PROTEUS- Colin Johnson, directed by Vince Faso A group of friends and lovers surround a disenfranchised millenial who has grown so removed from the world around him, that he has developed an imaginary friend. What is initially a harmless coping mechanism soon takes a darker turn as questions about relationships, grudges and reality itself slowly forms the imaginary friend into a malevolent physical presence.

Saturday, November 7: The Ruling Couple POSEIDON or THE ADVENTURES OF NEPTUNE: IN COLOR! by Charles Lewis III, directed by Charles Lewis III A groundbreaking television series is about to celebrate its anniversary. Which means it's the worst time to reveal secrets about the series' beloved creator. AMPHITRITE by Genne Murphy, directed by Jeffrey Lo Lia, a young card shark in a seaside casino town, meets Sea Witch - a local fisherwoman. Sea Witch grants Lia a wish she soon regrets. Week Two: ARGONAUTICA (11/11-11/14) Wednesday, November 11: The Crew Directed by Steven Westdahl Act One: Singles ATALANTA by Steven Westdahl The huntress Atalanta interrupts a Segway tour of Atlanta and chaos ensues. ORPHEUS by Megan Cohen Ten minutes of life through the eyes and earbuds of a modern commuter who's just discovered the most beautiful song in the world. This play is about listening: about what we block out, and about what we let in. TELAMON, or FORTRESS FOUND by Laylah Muran de Assereto After a life of adventure and victory, Telamon finds himself forgotten and captive to pirates, but it might be the fortress within that decides his fate. ADMETUS or TO THE LIGHT ALIVE by Jennifer Lynne Roberts Admetus, a man so loved that his wife took his place in death and a demi-god rescued her on his behalf, now must face underlying resentments and insecurities that threaten the couple's joyous reunion. Act Two: Pairs CASTOR/POLLUX by Alandra Hileman When you already share everything else with your identical twin, would you be willing to give up the one thing that makes you unique? CALAIS/ZETES by Seanan Palmero Two brothers on the trail of one harpy of an escaped con find themselves -- and their aircraft-- downed in the middle of the Canadian wilderness. Fated to die if they cannot catch what they pursue, one wishes to continue on and the other wishes to turn back. PELEUS/LAERTES by Ashley Cowan n honor of the Father of Christmas, two Marina bros, anxious to return to the festivities of SantaCon in San Francisco, attend a new dads only parenting class. HERACLES/HYLAS by Alan Olejniczak Herakles learns his belovèd Hylas is held hostage. What will the hero do to save his life? Thursday, November 12: The Captain JASON or THE MCGUFFIN by Allison Page, directed by Adam Sussman Voorhees. Bateman. Statham. Alexander. 20 famous Jasons relive the story of Jason & The Argonauts. From Priestley to Bourne, they'll tell it -- come hell or multiple monsters. If only they could keep Voorhees from chopping everybody up with a machete, and Mraz from singing a folksy love song about it. Friday, November 13: The Girl MEDEA or KILL YOUR DARLINGS by Sam Hurwitt, directed by Evren Odcikin If all you know is the whole kid-killing thing, you don't know Medea. Twenty years and a few more dead bodies later, she's looking for a place to settle for the rest of her days. Who wants to be the one to turn her away?

Saturday, November 14: The Ship THE ARGO by Jeremy Cole, directed by Jeremy Cole Imagine your history repeating itself like an M.C. Escher drawing, circling around itself with no end in sight. Now imagine you could break the pattern... Would you? Week Three: FATHOMLESS BLUE (11/18-11/21) Wednesday, November 18: Masters of the Surf DELPHIN I or CHRISTIAN TEEN DOLPHIN-SEX BEACH PARTY by Anthony R. Miller, directed by Colin Johnson A bizarre comedy-fable that takes shots at religion, Americas love of sensationalism, and internet fame. DELPHIN II by Kathy Gilbert, directed by Terry Boero Delphin, a spy, convinces Amphitrite, his half-sister and a fugitive dancer from Naxos, to wed his boss and God of the Seas, Poseidon; discover what their lives are like forty years later as the family gathers at Amphitrite's jail cell. Thursday, November 19: Island Rulers Directed by Claire Rice AEOLUS by Kirk Shimano A starship captain encounters an alien race with three argumentative souls in one body. But why is the human the one fighting himself? CIRCE, or BREAK ROOM by Rachel Bublitz It's not blackmail. It's true love.

Friday, November 20: Ocean Titanic OCEANUS by Daniel Hirsch and Siyu Song, directed by Sara Staley The vengeful gods must be punishing us. The internet is down. TETHYS or YOU'LL NOT FEEL THE DROWNING by Marissa Skudlarek, directed by Marissa Skudlarek The citizens of a small town on the Oregon coast are no strangers to shipwrecks, floods, and deaths at sea. But are they prepared for the day the waters will rise and drown everything they've ever loved? Saturday, November 21: The Bottomless Deep PONTOS by Meghan Kathleen O'Connor, directed by Ellery Schaar Andrea has a big decision on her hands: fight against the rising sea levels, or dive head first into them.

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