LOUISVILLE, KY.: Actors Theatre of Louisville has set the lineup for its 42nd Humana Festival of New American Plays (Feb. 28-April 8, 2018). It will include six world premieres.
“The Humana Festival of New American Plays is a leading force in today’s theatre,” said Actors Theatre’s artistic director Les Waters in a stateent. “Our writers explore and define the world that we all share. I am very proud that Actors Theatre’s passion and dedication to artistic risk and courage creates a space for these voices to be heard.”
The roster will include:
God Said This by Leah Nanako Winkler (Feb. 28-April 8, 2018), directed by Morgan Gould. It is about a New Yorker who returns to her hometown in Lexington, Ky. as her mom is undergoing chemotherapy.
Marginal Loss by Deborah Stein (March 6-April 8, 2018), directed by Meredith McDonough. The play takes place in the days after 9/11, as the surviving employees of an investment firm gather to reconstruct their company.
Do You Feel Anger by Mara Nelson Greenberg (March 9-April 9, 2018), directed by Margot Bordelon. The comedy is about a woman who is hired to be an empathy coach for the emotionally stunted individuals at a debt collection agency.
Evocation to Visible Appearance by Mark Schultz (March 16-April 8, 2018), directed by Les Waters. The play, featuring dark humor and black metal, follows a 17-year-old girl who befriends a tattooed musician.
we, the invisibles by Susan Soon He Stanton (March 23-April 8, 2018), directed by Dámaso Rodríguez. The play follows a playwright, working a survival job at a luxury hotel, who begins interviewing her fellow employees.
You Across From Me by Jaclyn Backhaus, Dipika Guha, Brian Otaño, and Jason Gray Platt (March 23-April 8, 2018). These series of short plays, to be performed by Actors Theatre’s training company, explore the themes of connection, confrontation, and compromise. Jessica Fisch will direct.
The Humana Festival has premiered more than 450 new plays in its 42-year history. It has premiered such works as: The Christians by Lucas Hnath, Appropriate by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, and Big Love by Charles Mee. Three Humana Festival plays have won the Pulitzer Prize: The Gin Game by D. L. Coburn, Crimes of the Heart by Beth Henley, and Dinner with Friends by Donald Margulies. It is underwritten by the Humana Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts, and the Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust.
