COSTA MESA, CALIF.: South Coast Repertory recently announced the 23rd Pacific Playwrights Festival, which kicked off April 26-May 2, with additional readings being released in May and June. The readings feature multi-camera setups, with single-play reading tickets available starting at $19.
“The Pacific Playwrights Festival celebrates ingenious writers, so it is fitting that we open the festival with York Walker’s Covenant,” said artistic director David Ivers. “York’s writing is inspired, powerful, rich in storytelling, adventurous and suspenseful. South Coast Repertory is thrilled to introduce his newest work to our audience and to the American theatre.”
The festival opened with Covenant (April 26-May 2), by York Walker. Tamilla Woodard directed this production about guitarist Johnny “Honeycomb” James who returns home to his small town in Georgia, where rumors fly that he sold his soul to the devil. John Glore served as dramaturg.
Next up will be Coleman ’72 (May 10-16), by Charlie Oh. David Ivers will direct this play about a Korean American family on an all-American road trip where parents and kids have differing ideas of the real purpose of the journey. Andy Knight will serve as dramaturg.
Following will be Park-e Laleh (May 24-30), by Shayan Lotfi. Mike Donahue will direct this play, which follows Amir as he seeks asylum in the United Kingdom after fleeing persecution in his native Iran and tries to find a way to finally feel at home. Knight will serve as dramaturg.
Christine Quintana’s Clean (May 31-June 6) will be next. Lisa Portes will direct this story that brings together a hotel worker at a Mexican resort and a guest who is there for her sister’s wedding and examines what the two women have in common and the cultural borders that separate them. Anna Jennings will serve as dramaturg.
The festival will conclude with Harold & Lillian (June 21-27), based on the documentary film by Daniel Raim, with book and lyrics by Dan Collins and music by Julianne Wick Davis. Michael Greif will direct this musical about the six-decade marriage between storyboard artist Harold Michelson and film researcher Lillian Michelson. Jerry Patch will serve as dramaturg.
Additionally the 2021 festival will include #PPFPlaywrights, an offshoot of SCR’s #Commissioned video series. The series of interviews, which will be free to stream shortly before the release of the readings, will feature the five playwrights and one composer who contributed work to the festival. Another exclusive video series for ticket purchasers, Samples From the Lab, will feature excerpts from in-progress commissions from Jane Bruce, Jessica Moss, and Caroline V. McGraw.
South Coast Repertory is dedicated to producing projects that reflect on current worldwide issues while furthering education and servicing the community. The Pacific Playwrights Festival, created in 1998, is a leading new play festival in the country and offerings from the festival generate lively conversation, future world premieres, and subsequent productions.
