22nd Annual Black Box New Play Festival
January 10 – 27, 2019
Thurs, Fri, Sat at 7:30pm | Sun at 3:00pm

There will be a talk back with the playwrights directly after the Sunday matinees.

• In the Gardens of Eden by Vicki Riba Koestler, directed by Nate Sayatovich
  Attempting to drive to summer camp, a family is led astray by their GPS and into a challenging situation.
• Planned Obsolescence by Bara Swain, directed by Valerie Adami
  While Matilda is sitting Shiva for her beloved nine year old companion, an unexpected visitor gives her the courage to make a life-altering decision.
• The Black Box (or, How to Die Happy) by David Harms, directed by Sam French
  Without insurance, after suffering a nervous breakdown, John James is forced to take a leave of absence from the church where he’s been rector for 25 years and convalesce in an unusual place. After reviewing his life and having several visitors from his life he decides there’s a sure-fire way to go out on a high note, and puts his idea to the test.
• The Rooftop Plays by Marlene Shyer, directed by Max Friedman
  “Rooftop Buddha”
  “Rooftop Thanksgiving”
  “Rooftop Murder”
  A series of three ten minute plays set on a rooftop in a city. From murder for real estate, to memorials, to divvying up holiday attendance, you never know what is going on over your head.

 
Second Week, January 17 – 20, 2019

• The Woman At His Side by Donald Steele, directed by Becky Abramowitz
  What happens to a relationship when a long married couple competes in the same field?
• Horny by Rich Rubin, directed by Kevin Bain
  Mickey and Frankie are two small-time con artists who’ve just come up with a new scheme involving, among other things, the large mammal exhibit at the American Museum of Natural History. Dmitri is a love-sick Russian mobster with an entrepreneurial spirit, a satchel full of cash and a bad temper. What could possible go wrong?
• One Night by A. Dean Bell, directed by Hilary Goldman
  Two college roommate unravel what happened one night that could change their lives forever.
• The Prisoners of Driscoll Street by Bradley Nies, directed by Dominic Cuskern
  One Father’s Day, Fred and Edwina Rogers, an elderly couple from Houston, Texas were murdered. This play depicts a possible altercation between a mother and her son, a son who may have murdered both of his parents.

 
Third Week, January 24 – 27, 2019

• Upfronts & Personal by Ken Levine, directed by Scotty Watson
  The process of getting a TV show on a network schedule is examined as one studio attempts to place two sitcoms on the fall line-up. How far will everybody have to go, what compromises must they make, which ethics will they have to abandon? And yes, it’s a comedy!