Throughline Artists and 59E59 Theaters will launch Summer Shorts, the tenth annual festival of short plays made especially for the summer, July 22. The event will premiere six one-act plays, presented as two separate evenings of three each, running in repertory.
Summer Shorts 2016 will feature new short works by Neil LaBute, Richard Alfredo, Idris Goodwin, Cusi Cram, A. Rey Pamatmat and Alexander Dinelaris. Casting will be announced at a later date.
Below is a rundown of both series, as described by the theatre:
Series A
The Helpers by Cusi Cram, directed by Jessi D. Hill
Jane and Nate have a complicated and thorny past. Jane used to help Nate but now that the tables are turned can Jane take the leap and let Nate help her? A bittersweet comedy about risk, kindness, and how difficult it can be to let people in.
After Wedding by Neil LaBute, directed by Maria Mileaf
A man and a woman meet to discuss her infidelities. However, the more the woman confesses, the more the man professes his love for her. After The Wedding is a comedic and bittersweet look at love, lust and forgiveness.
This Is How It Ends by A. Rey Pamatmat, directed by Ed Sylvanus Iskandar
How would you spend your last day on Earth? Jake is about to find out, because his all-too-perfect roommate Annie has just broken some seriously disturbing news. She's the Anti-Christ, her co-workers are the Four Horseman, and the end is most definitely nigh. A hilarious and touching new play about life, love, and making the most of the time we’re given.
Series B
The Dark Clothes by Richard Alfredo, directed by Alexander Dinelaris
Burke Sloane is a hard-knuckle Film Noir private eye, caught in a web of perfumed intrigue. Rob Marlowe is a professor of Film Semiotics, toggling between gender politics and fanboy fantasies. Their paths collide in a kaleidoscope of shifting identities, femme fatales and deadly horticulture. A doppelgänger whodunit.
Queenby Alexander Dinelaris, inspired by The Woman Who Came at Six O’Clock by Gabriel García Márquez, directed by Victor Slezak
Everyday at six o’clock a prostitute named Queen, comes into Joe’s restaurant for a free meal. And everyday for years the routine has been the same. But today isn’t everyday.
Black Flag by Idris Goodwin, directed by Logan Vaughn
Sydney is from Georgia. Deja is from Detroit. These two new dorm-mates cannot wait to start their freshman year together. That is, until Sydney decides to decorate their room with a little piece of “Southern Pride.” Now, all bets are off. Black Flag is a biting new play about allegiance, censorship, and the price of honoring the past.
The design team includes Rebecca Lord-Surratt (set design); Greg MacPherson (lighting design); Amy Sutton (costume design); Nick Moore (sound design/composer); Isabella Carter (prop design); and Daniel Mueller (projection design). The production stage manager for Series A is Jenna R. Lazar. The production stage manager for Series B is Dee Dee Katchen.
For more information, visit SummerShortsFestival.com. To purchase tickets, call Ticket Central at (212) 279-4200 or visit 59e59.org.
