Running May 22-June 27, the ten-play festival will include nine world premieres representing the work of Billy Aronson, Leslie Ayvazian, Maggie Bofill, Garrett M. Brown, Kia Corthron, Jeanne Dorsey, Christine Farrell, Cassandra Medley, M. Z. Ribalow and Tommy Smith. The plays will be performed in two separate evenings.
"For this year's Marathon we selected 10 plays out of the over 350 submitted," said E.S.T. artistic director William Carden in a statement. "As we looked at all those scripts it was clear that the state of America and the world were very much on the minds of today’s playwrights. And I think that is clearly reflected in the final cut because interesting times make compelling plays. So while this year’s selection covers a broad spectrum of themes we definitely will be hearing about Iraq and the economy. We will also be hearing about growing up in the 1950’s and growing older in 2009. We will see confrontations between father and daughter, a nun and her student and the fastest guns as they square off in a western saloon. Once again established writers like Kia Corthron, and Leslie Ayvazian share the stage with emerging playwrights like Tommy Smith and Maggie Bofill to create a program that is stimulating, challenging and full of surprise."
The Marathon 2009 plays follow:
Series A: Americana by Garret M. Brown (dir. Linsay Firman); Face Cream by Maggie Bofill (dir. Pamela Berlin); For the Love of God, St. Teresa by Christine Farrell (dir. Deborah Hedwall); PTSD by Tommy Smith (dir. William Carden); and Trickle by Kia Corthron (dir. Will Pomerantz).
Series B: Blood from a Stoner by Jeanne Dorsey (dir. Maria Mileaf); Carol and Jill by Leslie Ayvazian; Daughter by Cassandra Medley (dir. Petronia Paley); Little Duck by Billy Aronson (dir. Jamie Richards); and Sundance by M. Z. Ribalow (dir. Matthew Penn). Performances take place evenings at 7 PM with 2 PM Saturday matinees and 3 PM Sunday matinees. For tickets and complete schedule of performances, visit www.ensemblestudiotheatre.org or phone (212) 352-3101.
The Ensemble Studio Theatre is located at 549 West 52nd Street in Manhattan.
