Off Center for the Dramatic Arts Announces Spring Open Artist Showcase

For eight years, Off Center for the Dramatic Arts (Off Center, the OC) has worked to provide a home for independent theatre and performance in Burlington. We want to celebrate our community with a special two-week festival doing what we love best: presenting vibrant local theatre and performing artists. The Spring Open Artist Showcase is a two-week festival running May 30-June 9, 2018. Four have been selected by lottery to present a 60-minute show (each) on a double bill for one weekend at Off Center for the Dramatic Arts, with performance rental, technical support and group festival promotion provided by Off Center at no charge to artists.

Each company will receive a third of the box office proceeds from the weekend of their performances. Those companies are:

Weekend 1 (Wed May 30- Sat June 2):
LoKi - 24 Years in 24 Hours: Growing Up in Vermont and Dennis McSorley - Box of Squirrels

Weekend 2 (Wed June 6- Sat June 9): Jeremy Rayburn - The Inner Monologue Show and Meredith Gordon - An Evening with Thelma Forbanks

Weekend 1 Show Descriptions: 24 Years in 24 Hours: Growing up in Vermont by LoKi "24" is a coming of age story set in Vermont at the turn of the century. It is an adaptation of LoKi's 24 project from the summer of 2017, which involved writing and recording a song about each year of his life for 24 straight hours. Chronicling experiences of joy and pain, bullying and romance, dreams and fears, depression and triumph - all of the ups and downs of a life are explored through theatrical-hip-hop Box of Squirrels by Dennis McSorley Seeing things for the first time: when the student is ready the teacher appears. Classroom adventures in Brooklyn

Weekend 2 Show Descriptions: The Inner Monologue Show by Jeremy Rayburn A sketch show exploring the inner monologues of someone building up the courage to finally join that drum circle, of a plane passenger during a bout of sleep paralysis, of two co-workers on the longest elevator ride of all time, and others! An Evening with Thelma Forbanks by Meredith Gordon Thelma Forbanks, an aging singer, wishes to spend one final evening with her adoring fans, telling stories of her youth and singing career.

Tickets can be purchased at the following link: http://www.sevendaystickets.com/events/54226022/off-center-2018- spring-open-artist-showcase