DURANGO PLAYFEST INAUGURAL SEASON
Durango PlayFest’s first season of new play staged readings debuts in August
Durango, Colorado, June 26, 2018: The new Durango PlayFest is excited to announce that its inaugural season of new play staged readings will be performed on August 10th and 11th. The readings will be staged at the Durango Arts Center and the Henry Strater Theater. The new play festival will feature three new plays written by a combination of stellar writers: a fresh, Brooklyn-based author, an established television and film writer and a Tony and Pulitzer nominated playwright. The new works will be performed reading style by casts of well-known TV and film personalities, journeyman professional actors and local performers.
The new works festival is a project of Durango STEAM Park and will see Durango join the ranks of other cities nation-wide that host creative events nurturing new theatrical product. By providing writers, directors and actors a safe and supportive environment to collaboratively create, such festivals enable new works to move to the next level of their development. That often means a full blown production in regional theater, off-Broadway and in some cases Broadway. Bud Franks, President of Durango STEAM Park, said, “We are extremely excited about PlayFest. The talent we are bringing in is superb, the plays are intriguing and there is already a buzz about the Festival in the industry from New York to LA.”
The PlayFest format will bring playwrights, actors and directors to Durango on August 5th. They will collaboratively rehearse each play for four days, giving playwrights time and opportunity to do rewrites based on the dynamics of having heard professional actors read the scripts under the interpretation of seasoned directors. The playwriting festival culminates on August 10 and 11 with exciting staged readings of perspective-shifting stories and up-close-and personal journeys into the art of storytelling. Talkback sessions, workshops and other events throughout the week offer an unparalleled opportunity to participate in this wildly creative Colorado Arts Festival.
The festival is closely aligned with Fort Lewis College and is dedicated to giving students across several disciplines first-hand experience working on a professionally-produced festival event. “We are committed to a strong connection to the College and to giving opportunities to its students”, said Felicia Lansbury Meyer, the Festival Director. “Through internships, students will be provided with opportunities to work with some of the most highly-regarded and professional individuals in the business leading to development of their problem-solving, networking and management skills.”
Christina Erteszek, Chairperson of the Durango PlayFest Advisory Committee said today, “In light of recent events and what our community has gone through, it is more important than ever that we present an exciting festival that will bring audiences and visitors to our community to celebrate the creative process of bringing a new play to life. We need to increase our community’s number of visitor attractions and this festival will help accomplish that.”
The PlayFest Advisory Committee is comprised of Terry Bacon, Richard Ballantine, Christina Erteszek, Jim Foster, Bud Franks, Fran Franks, Fritz Geisler, Margie Deane Gray, Hunter Jonson, and Felicia Lansbury Meyer.