WATERFORD, CONN.: The Eugene O’Neill Theater Center has announced its summer season of plays, musicals, and other works in development.
“This summer in Waterford, Conn., the O’Neill, the launchpad of the American theatre, will continue our work with exciting new musicals, plays, puppetry, and cabaret,” said executive director Preston Whiteway in a statement. “I’m delighted to welcome audiences from around the world to experience these vital new works during our 55th anniversary season. 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.”
Artistic director Alexander Gemignani will lead the National Music Theater Conference (June 22-July 12), which will feature readings of new musicals. This year’s projects were selected from a pool of 320 submissions.
- Borderline, book by Aryanna Garber; music and lyrics by Benjamin Velez
- Jeannette, book by Lauren Gunderson; music and lyrics by Ari Ayesha Afsar
- Undesirables, book and lyrics by Hansol Jung; lyrics and music by Brian Quijada
The National Playwrights Conference, led by artistic director Wendy C. Goldberg, will present eight new works (July 3-27). The plays were chosen from 1,416 plays received through the O’Neill’s open submission process. Isaac Gomez (The Way She Spoke) will join as this year’s writer-in-residence.
- Death of the Republic by Craig Lucas
- The Humanities by Zayd Dohrn
- it’s not a trip it’s a journey by Charly Evon Simpson
- Tender Age by George Brant
- Antigones by Anna Ziegler
- Black Dick by Tearrance Chisholm
- Untitled F*ck M*ss S**gon Play by Kimber Lee
- Winter People by Laura Neill
The Cabaret & Performance Conference (July 31-Aug. 10) will be spearheaded by artistic director John McDaniel. This year’s projects and performers include:
- Storytellers by Brad Simmons with special guest Lennie Watts
- Thirsty! by Tori Scott
- Barb, Brel and more! By Barb Jungr
- Tonight! by Carole Cook
- The Jam: Only Child by Daniel J. Watts
The National Puppetry Conference, led by artistic director Pam Arciero, will welcome artists from around the world for workshops in puppet and mechanism building June 14-15. Artists leading the intensives this summer include Tyler Bunch, Melissa Dunphy, James Godwin, Alice Gottschalk, Kurt Hunter, Jim Kroupa, Bobbi Nidzgorski, Jim Rose, Richard Termine, Fred Thompson, and Derron Wood. Guest artists include Polina Borisova (Body-Object-Space), Tracy Broyles (Unsettling: Unsettling: An Expulsion of Breath), Dan Hurlin (Reading/Misreading Action), and Hansol Jung and Lexy Leuszler (Little Red Writing Hood). The session will culminate with two public performances.
The National Theater Institute Theatermakers program is a training intensive for students 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 17-July 22.
The National Critics Institute, led by Chris Jones, is America’s only boot camp for arts writers. The residential workshop is designed for writers and critics looking to strengthen their skills, and will be held June 30-July 14.
The Commercial Theater Institute (July 10-12) is a three-day summer intensive for producers. Tom Viertel, CTI executive director and O’Neill board chair, will lead the program. Applications for 2019 are due June 17.
