The life of Dawn Powell will be celebrated in a two-month festival at the 78th Street Theatre Lab (236 W. 78 St.) in Manhattan. This festival for Powell, Permanent Visitor, includes five productions written by Powell or about her. Four have never been produced.

Powell's Jig Saw, the first play of the festival, will be directed by Donna Linderman, Jan. 18-Feb. 3. The comedy tells of a mother and daughter in a Manhattan penthouse. They engage in verbal volleying of sentiments about the mother's new relationship.

An Artist's Life and Other Cautionary Tales About the Theatre will follow, Jan. 19-29. These three short plays by Kira Obolensky, allow the world to peek into the not-so-glamorous world of life in the theatre. An Artist's Life is directed by Will Pomerantz.

As We Were Saying (Or Were We?) is a new play by Laura Strausfeld written about Dawn Powell. This play, directed by Eileen Phelan, is based on Powell's diaries, interviews with the press, and Powell's novel "The Happy Island." As We Were Saying (Or Were We?) tells of a young newspaper reporter who falls for Dawn Powell. The show runs Feb. 2-12.

The penultimate production, Women at Four O'Clock, is an unproduced play by Powell. Set in New York during the Roaring 20's, this play follows a young woman determined to change her life. Directed by Eric Nightengale, Women at Four O'Clock will be produced Feb. 14 March 3. The final production Straight Up...And With a Twist is a collection of short plays adapted from Powell's short stories. The production shows the differences between small-town Ohio girls and sophisticated New Yorkers. Straight Up...And With a Twist will run Feb. 16-March 9.

For more information and ticket sales regarding Permanent Visitor at 78th Street Theatre Lab, please visit www.sightlinestheater.com or call (212)206-1515.

-— by Zoe Andrada