13th Annual New Voice Play Festival Opens at Old Opera House Today

The New Voice Play Festival, opening today, June 21, provides the opportunity for audiences to witness completely new and original plays from playwrights all across the nation and vote on which play is their favorite. The 13th Annual New Voice Play Festival seeks to showcase four new, rarely performed original one act plays. Plays are submitted year-round to the Old Opera House for consideration. All of the submitted plays are judged by a selection committee during the winter months. Out of the hundreds of shows submitted, four plays are chosen for performance.

Each show is a one act non-musical play, about 20-30 minutes in length. Audience members will see fully staged and costumed performances of all four chosen shows during each performance of the New Voice Play Festival. The 2013 New Voice Play Festival features four plays varying from zany comedies to suspenseful thrillers, written by local playwrights from Virginia, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

The play The Understudy, written by J.C. Svec and directed by Edgar Conn, tells the story of a father who comes to school for the day in place of his sick daughter. The teacher must decide whether the father will be a suitable replacement for the day and also teaches the audience a "lesson in love and understanding". Christine Brewer plays Miss Lemon and Steven Brewer plays Mr. Evans. The onstage couple is actually married in real life.

Reports of a Home Invasion, written by Andrew Ade and directed by Meaghan Barry, recounts a husband and wife telling the story of the break-in to their home that evening to the local police. But as the husband and wife continue his and her own version of the story, both stories are different, leading the officers into doubt on their search for the truth of the robbery. Michael Stiles plays Del, Sandra DeRocha plays Bobbie, Jeanne Moore plays Kenny and David Tobias plays Newcomb.

Polterguest, a comedy written by Chuck Smith and directed by Shannon Potter, features a man who contacts an eccentric physic to try and contact his dead girlfriend and receive some sense of closure about her death. James Wright plays Paul, Heather Mae Wilson plays Jane and Cari Hupke plays Zandra, the physic.

Follow The Money: A Modern Day Fairy Tale written by Dwayne Yancey and directed by Beth Brackett, is a whimsical modern day fairy tale concerning the Tooth Fairy and other mythical creatures. A curious young boy, wondering "where does the money left by the Tooth Fairy come from and where do all those teeth end up?" captures the Tooth Fairy in an attempt to find out the answers. Karen Paone plays Tooth Fairy, Tyler Panzarella plays Sheldon, Will Heyser plays the Sandman, Amy Hebb plays the Fairy God Mother, John-Michael Rolnick plays Henchman #1 and Craig Sours plays Henchman #2.

The New Voice Play Festival outcome is decided by the audience. Each audience will be asked to vote for their favorite play after each performance and the winner and runner-ups of the New Voice Play Festival will be announced after the matinee performance on June 23. Performances are today, June 21 and 22 at 8:00 PM and June 23 at 2:30 PM. Tickets are $15 for adults and $10 for students. For more information about the New Voice Play Festival or information regarding submission for the 2014 New Voice Play Festival, please visit www.oldoperahouse.org.

Photo Credit: The Old Opera House

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