WATERFORD, CONN.: The Eugene O’Neill Theater Center has announced its summer season of plays, musicals, and other works in development.
“This summer, the O’Neill’s campus in Waterford, Conn., will once again launch exciting new plays, musicals, puppetry, and cabaret, and I’m delighted to welcome audiences from around the world to experience these vital new works,” said executive director Preston Whiteway in a statement. “The O’Neill is a magical place, especially so in the summer, and I am grateful to each of our artistic directors for their bold vision in selecting these pieces and artists that will impact the field for decades to come.”
The National Puppetry Conference, led by Pam Arciero, will present two public performances on June 15 and 16. The artists leading the workshop intensives will include Dr. Melissa Dunphy, Phillip Huber, Martin Kettling, Jim Kroupa, Jane Martineau, Martin P. Robinson, Jim Rose, Richard Termine, and Derron Wood. This year’s artists and projects will include:
- The Puppeteer, the Object, and the Secret In Between by Yael Rasooly and Iliya Magalnyk
- CRAVE by Ronnie Burkett
- Your Voice in Comedy Writing: Comedic Structure & Character Development by Michael Paul Ziegfeld
The National Music Theater Conference will present readings of musicals in development June 23-July 13. It is led by Alexander Gemignani. This year’s works, selected from a pool of 287 submissions, will include:
- The Family Resemblance with book, music, and lyrics by Masi Asare
- Teeth with book and lyrics by Michael R. Jackson, and book and music by Anna K. Jacobs
- Eddie the Marvelous, Who Will Save the World with book, music, and lyrics by Kate Kilbane and Dan Moses.
Readings of eight new plays will be presented July 5-28 as part of the National Playwrights Conference, led by Wendy C. Goldberg. This year’s plays were chosen from 1,429 scripts submitted through an open submissions process. Sarah DeLappe and J.T. Rogers will serve as this year’s writers-in-residence. The selected plays include:
- Lightning by Beth Henley
- #nowall by Benjamin Benne
- Lockdown by Cori Thomas
- Ruth by Enid Graham
- Endlings by Celine Song
- The Forest by Lia Romeo
- Slave Play by Jeremy O. Harris
- Marvel-ous Monica; In Which Monica Lewinsky Is a Superhero Hell-Bent On Revenge by Sarah Tuft
The Cabaret and Performance Conference, led by John McDaniel, will provide development resources and performance training for Cabaret Fellows and to middle and high school students through the Junior Fellows program. Applications for the Fellows Program are being accepted through April 23. Headlining performers throughout the conference will include Tonya Pinkins and Brad Simmons; Ed Dixon, Georgie ; Rebecca Parris, Float Like A Butterfly: the Songs of Sting; Barb Jungr andJohn McDaniel, Sin Twisters, Too!; Anita Gillette and Penny Fuller , Gone, But Not Forgotten; and Sharon McNight.
The National Theater Institute Theatermakers program is a training intensive and offers a credit-earning curriculum on directing, playwriting, and acting. The program’s artistic director is Rachel Jett. Free performances will be held June 18-July 23.
The National Critics Institute (July 1-15), led by Chris Jones, is America’s only boot camp for arts writers. Applications for the two-week residential workshop will be accepted through April 23.
