Each year, playwrights from all over the country hope their scripts are accepted into the Colorado New Play Summit. But only a handful are chosen. And the Denver Center Theater Company has announced its picks. They will be produced in staged readings from February 8-10, 2013. CPR’s Elaine Grant spoke with Bruce Sevy, director of new play development.
THE MOST DESERVING
By Catherine Trieschmann
Tasked with awarding $20,000 to a deserving and needy local artist who “demonstrates an underrepresented American voice,” a small town arts council in Ellis County, Kansas comically erupts into chaos. Should the award go to a high school teacher/photographer of modest talent or to the self-taught African-American artist who creates controversial religious figures out of trash? The Most Deserving is a satirical, insightful look at how the arts collide with politics, self-interest, taste, relationships, egos, and gossip.
THE LEGEND OF GEORGIA MCBRIDE
By Matthew Lopez
He's young, he's broke, his landlord's knocking at the door, and he's just found out his wife is going to have a baby. To make matters even more desperate, Casey is fired from his gig as an Elvis impersonator in a run-down, small town Florida bar. When the bar owner brings in a B-level drag show to replace his act, Casey finds that he has a whole lot to learn about show business―and himself. From one of the most-produced playwrights of the year, The Legend of Georgia McBride is a joyous, bawdy comedy with a ton of music and a great big heart.
THE VAST IN-BETWEEN
By Laura Eason
Cate becomes obsessed with the man down the street who is exposed for having maintained two families in two different cities for years. Then her own marriage becomes strained when her unemployed husband refuses to compromise in his job search, and she finds herself being drawn into her own possible double life. A candid look at relationships and marriage in today’s troubled economy.
JUST LIKE US
Based on the book by Helen Thorpe
Adapted by Karen Zacarías
Based on Helen Thorpe’s bestselling book, Karen Zacarías' play follows four Latina girls in Denver, two who are documented and two who are not, as they complete their final year of high school, then move through college and into the world. Their close-knit friendships begin to unravel as opportunities open or close for each girl according to her immigration status. When a political firestorm arises in the wake of the shooting of a policeman, their situations are thrown into even bolder relief. Just Like Us grapples with some essential questions: Who is an American? Who gets to live in America? What happens when we don’t agree?
BLACK ODYSSEY
By Marcus Gardley
Playwright Marcus Gardley magically re-casts Homer’s Odysseus as a Black soldier returning home from a harrowing tour in the Gulf War. The great Greek archetypes reverberate with new world African-American culture as Gardley fuses modern reality with ancient myth in this gripping new play.
World Premiere - Mainstage production
GRACE, OR THE ART OF CLIMBING
by Lauren Feldman
Directed by Mike Donahue
In this captivating tale of a reluctant young athlete, rock climbing is both metaphor and action. Emm struggles with doubt, depression, and her own demons as she trains mind, body, and spirit for a world climbing competition. Grace, or The Art of Climbing was workshopped at the 2012 Colorado New Play Summit.
World Premiere - Mainstage production
ED, DOWNLOADED
by Michael Mitnick
Directed by Sam Buntrock
Videography by Charlie I. Miller
This intriguing new comedic drama, set sometime in the not too distant future, tells the story of Ed, who is dying. Given a chance to be immortal, Ed selects the trendy procedure of having his brain downloaded. He’s allowed ten memories to accompany him into eternity. But when his girlfriend discovers that Ed has chosen moments spent with another woman, she decides to intervene.
Ed, Downloaded was commissioned by the Denver Center Theatre Company and workshopped at the 2012 Colorado New Play Summit.
