Florida Studio Theatre Announces Return Of The Richard And Betty Burdick New Play Festival

Florida Studio Theatre announces its 38th Richard and Betty Burdick New Play Festival, presenting three staged readings of new works by contemporary American theatre artists and playwrights.

This year's Festival features Visit Joe Whitefeather (and bring the family), Here You Come Again, and Carry Me, and will take place in FST's Keating Theatre on April 22, April 29, and May 6 at 3PM each day. Subscriptions to all three readings range from $15-25. Single tickets are $10. Subscriptions and single tickets are now on sale at FloridaStudioTheatre.org or by calling FST's Box Office at 941.366.9000.

As Sarasota's Contemporary Theatre, new play development is integral to FST's mission. Through New Play Development, FST provides a forum for new works to be heard, discussed, and workshopped. The artists highlighted in this Festival-Bruce Graham, Rachel Lynett, Gabriel Barre, Tricia Paoluccio, and Bruce Vilanch-will take part in one week of rehearsals and development sessions with FST's artistic staff. At the end of each week, a staged reading of their plays will be performed for a live audience, followed by conversations about the works in progress.

"The Burdick New Play Festival gives playwrights the resources-including actors, directors, and dramaturgical support-to hone their story and discover what lies at the heart of the play," said Catherine Randazzo, an FST Associate Artist. "Once all that is finished, we incorporate the most important component: the audience."

Following each staged reading, audiences will have an opportunity to share their experience of the play in progress with the playwright. These discussions also give FST the opportunity to understand how the audience connects with each work. Several plays that have been part of FST's previous new play festivals-America in One Room by Jason Odell Williams, Honor Killing by Sarah Bierstock, and Wednesday's Child by Mark St. Germain-went on to be produced on FST's Mainstage the following season.

"We're thrilled about the return of the Burdick Reading Festival," said Randazzo, who also leads the theatre's New Play Development program. "This year's lineup is particularly significant because all three plays were commissioned by FST. Rachel Lynett's Carry Me was one of our Suffragist Project commissions, in which we asked playwrights to create new work that shared women's voices and addressed voting rights of the past, present, and future. These plays were an essential part of our two-year long project commemorating the 100th anniversary of women's suffrage. The other two plays came out of our Playwrights Project, an artistic initiative we launched during the first few months of the pandemic, commissioning over 30 of the country's top writers to create new work for FST's stages."

The Festival begins on Friday, April 22 with Visit Joe Whitefeather (and bring the family!) by Bruce Graham, whose previous plays include Any Given Monday, White Guy on the Bus, and Something Intangible. Graham's latest play is loosely based on the creation of Jim Thorpe, a town in eastern Pennsylvania. Set during the early 1970s, this new comedy focuses on the small town of Beaver Gap, PA, which has been experiencing a steady decline in tourism over the past few years. When a young, idealistic artist joins forces with the town's city council to devise a plan to rename the town in honor of a deceased football star and war hero who never stepped foot in Beaver Gap, the town's world is turned upside down.

Following Visit Joe Whitefeather is Here You Come Again on April 29, a touching new musical centered on Kevin, a forty-something comedian who never really hit his stride. Set during the early days of the pandemic, this play follows Kevin as he escapes from New York City and his job at a comedy club to quarantine in the attic of his childhood home. Facing the crisis that is his life, Kevin finds solace in the music of Dolly Parton, his idol. Created by Gabriel Barre (Director of Broadway's Amazing Grace), Tricia Paoluccio (Chava in Broadway's Fiddler on the Roof ), and Bruce Vilanch (Emmy Award-winning comedy writer and actor), Here You Come Again is a funny, touching love letter to Dolly Parton, who always has profound things to say about life, love, and the power of perseverance.

Carry Me by Rachel Lynett brings FST's Burdick New Play Festival to a close on Friday, May 6. Set in Philadelphia during the 1830s, Carry Me follows four abolitionist suffragettes-Harriet and Margaretta Forten (two sisters from a wealthy Black family), Angelina Grimke Weld (who has a lot to learn about being a true ally), and Lucretia Mott-as they fight for the right to vote and to end slavery. But the women cannot agree on the answer to the definitive question: which should come first, women's suffrage or the abolition of slavery? As the group faces division in their ranks and violence from those around them, the four must try to survive long enough to achieve their goals.

The Richard and Betty Burdick New Play Festival will take place in FST's Keating Theatre on April 22, April 29, and May 6 at 3PM each day. Subscriptions to all three readings range from $15-25. Single tickets are $10 each. Subscriptions and single tickets are now on sale at FloridaStudioTheatre.org or through FST's Box Office at 941.366.9000.

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