Launched in 1998, South Coast Repertory’s annual Pacific Playwrights Festival (PPF) has become a major national showcase for new plays. The 15th Festival in April 2012 will bring the total number of plays presented in PPF to 99, representing the work of 78 playwrights. Each year’s three-day festival attracts theatre professionals from across the nation, who are drawn by the chance to be the first to see some of the best new plays in the country. These artistic leaders, along with SCR’s devoted new play audiences, take advantage of the opportunity to engage with seven new plays that traverse the theatrical spectrum. And along the way PPF becomes a convivial gathering place for the sharing of ideas with colleagues and friends, old and new.
This year’s festival takes place April 27 – April 29 and features seven plays during an action-packed weekend: five staged readings and two fully-staged world premieres.
The New York Times calls SCR “an incubator of major talent… South Coast has mounted an impressive list of acclaimed plays, long before the East Coast establishment got wind of them.” SCR’s 14 previous festivals have included such award-winning plays as Amy Freed’s The Beard of Avon, Lynn Nottage’s Intimate Apparel, Nilo Cruz’s Anna in the Tropics, Julia Cho’s The Language Archive, Rolin Jones’ The Intelligent Design of Jenny Chow and David Lindsay-Abaire’s Rabbit Hole.
READINGS (play titles link to more information)
WARRIOR CLASS by Kenneth Lin directed by Evan Cabnet Friday, April 27, at 1pm on the Segerstrom Stage They're already calling him "the Republican Obama," but when Julius Weishan Lee makes a bid for Congress, he must decide how far he'll go to keep his past transgressions buried.
YOU ARE HERE by Melissa Ross directed by Matt Shakman Friday, April 27, at 3:30pm on the Segerstrom Stage In this fierce comedy of urban manners, six New Yorkers look for connection and fulfillment, as youth slips away and edginess begins to lose its edge.
I AND YOU by Lauren Gunderson directed Meredith McDonough Friday, April 27, at 8pm and Saturday, April 28 at 2:30pm and 8pm in the Nicholas Studio On the night before a class assignment is due, Caroline and Anthony plumb the mysteries of a Whitman poem...unaware that a deeper mystery has brought them together.
THE FEW by Samuel D. Hunter directed by Casey Stangl Saturday, April 28, at 10:30am on the Julianne Argyros Stage Four years ago, Bryan skipped town, leaving his girlfriend to run a failing trucker’s newspaper. Now he’s come back to discover everything has changed. Except the hurt that made him leave.
SMOKEFALL by Noah Haidle directed by Anne Kauffman Sunday, April 29, at 10:30am on the Segerstrom Stage This time-bending tale of an eccentric Midwestern family on the verge of upheaval is at times fanciful, at times ineffably beautiful—and always unpredictable.
FULL PRODUCTIONS
THE PRINCE OF ATLANTIS World Premiere by Steven Drukman directed by Warner Shook March 30 - April 29, 2012 on the Segerstrom Stage In this tender and hilarious play about family, loyalty and love, two brothers face an unexpected problem—made a lot worse by the fact that one of them is in jail.
CLOUDLANDS World Premiere book by Octavio Solis music by Adam Gwon lyrics by Octavio Solis and Adam Gwon directed by Amanda Dehnert April 15 - May 6, 2012 on the Julianne Argyros Stage Monica searches for answers to her mother’s secret life in this stunning musical drama that examines the many faces of love, from innocent to forbidden.
INFORMATION
Tickets for readings are $14 each. Tickets for full productions range in price from $32 to $68.
A package to see all five readings is available for $60, or $50 for SCR Super Subscribers by calling the box office at 714-708-5555.
Theatre professionals: please contact Kimberly Colburn (kimberly@scr.org) at 714-708-5841 for industry packages and more information.
The Pacific Playwrights Festival is made possible with support from The Shubert Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, The Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust and The Elizabeth George Foundation. Pacific Playwrights Festival Honorary Producers are Mary Ann Brown and Rick Reiff, Sophie and Larry Cripe, Yvonne and Damien Jordan, John and Sue Murphy, Thomas B. Rogers and Sarah J. Anderson, and Linda and Tod White. Special thanks to The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and the Edgerton Foundation for supporting the development of new plays.
Coast Magazine is the Media Partner and The Wyndham Orange County Hotel is the Official Hotel of the Pacific Playwrights Festival. To book hotel reservations for the festival, call the Wyndam at 866-747-2635.
Read more about the Pacific Playwrights Festival.
See the list of play titles presented during previous Pacific Playwrights Festivals.
