TV star Jenny O'Hara is among participating performers.
The reading series offers audiences "the rare opportunity to get in on the ground floor of a play in progress as well as the chance to talk to the playwrights about their work."
Each of the plays in the festival will be presented in script-in-hand performances with no sets or costumes — "just new scripts and a company of performers, directors and dramaturgs," according to Geva.
Several of the participating writers are local. David Lamas is a senior at Brighton High School and his play, Lágrimas (Tears), was selected from entrants to the Young Writers Showcase. Craig DeLancey has had three plays featured as part of Geva Regional Writers Showcase and his play, Build, was selected from this season's showcase. The adaptors of Dracula – The Shape of Evil are also Rochester-based.
Stage and screen veteran O'Hara ("Big Love") joins the cast of Sirens for her debut at Geva Theatre Center. Here's the lineup for the Geva "What's Next" Festival:
Clementine in the Lower Nine by Dan Dietz, directed by Karen Coe Miller. "When Hurricane Katrina blew, Clem's family scattered. A year later, her husband returns home but what has happened to their little girl? Sometimes the most devastating storms blow inside the home..." With Dean Nolen (Jaffy), Caroline Clay (Clementine), Lisa Joyce (Cassy), Yaegel Welch (Reginald), Charles E. Wallace (Chorus), and Cristian Amigo (Chorus-musician), read by Shawnda Urie.Lágrimas (Tears) by David Lamas, directed by Heather Denyer. "News of Castro's heart-attack brings back memories of a fatal day in a Cuban man's childhood. A short play by a Rochester teen writer." With Danny Hoskins (Felipe), Esther Winter (Blanca), Maggy Griffin-Smith (Isabella), David Kyle (Manuel), and Tim Ryan, Michael Herman and Jonathan Ntheketha.Build by Craig DeLancey, directed by Jean Gordon Ryon. "Are your actions driven by your beliefs or your DNA? What would it take for you to abandon your ideals? And just who would you be then? A tight drama of ambition and betrayal by a Rochester writer." With Paul Tadoro (Richard), Lisa Joyce (Mia), Yaegel Welch (Justin), and Alexa Scott Flaherty (Tatyana), and Marcy Savastano (Waitress, Ballet Student, Public Defender), read by Shawnda Urie.Sirens by Deborah Zoe Laufer, directed by Casey Stangl. "Sy wants to make new friends, so he posts his wedding photo on Facebook. Just two problems. 1. The photo is 25 years old. 2. He's cropped his wife out of the picture. A zany comedy about falling back in love with the person you've been married to for 25 years. Featuring stage and screen star Jenny O'Hara." With Jenny O'Hara (Rose Adele Abrams), Robert Rutland (Sy Abrams), Jocelyn Greene (Siren/Leah/Waitress), and David Ross (Richard Miller), read by Corinne Magin.Dracula – The Shape of Evil by Danny Hoskins, adapted and directed by Darren Stevenson, Heather Stevenson and Danny Hoskins. "Will you let him in? Can you lock him out? The classic tale of seduction, desire and madness, told as you've never seen it before in a new adaptation featuring Rochester's own PUSH Physical Theatre." With Darren Stevenson, Heather Stevenson, Jonathan Lowery, Johanna Bystrom, Christine Prewitt, and Danny Hoskins. Here's the "What's Next" schedule at a glance:
June 10 at 7 PM Clementine in the Lower Nine
June 11 at 7 PM: Lágrimas and Build
June 13 at 7 PM: Clementine in the Lower Nine
June 18 at 7 PM: Sirens
June 19 at 7 PM: Dracula - The Shape of Evil
June 20 at 7 PM: Sirens
June 21 at 3 PM: Dracula - The Shape of Evil
Tickets for all Festival events are free, but reservations are recommended. Tickets go fast, so call (232)-GEVA or reserve online at www.gevatheatre.org.
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Geva Theatre Center is Rochester's leading professional theatre and the most attended regional theatre in New York state. Founded in 1972, Geva attracts over 160,000 patrons annually, including more than 16,000 students. The 552-seat Elaine P. Wilson Mainstage offers a wide variety of shows, from musicals to American and world classics. The 180-seat Ron & Donna Fielding Nextstage is home to Geva's own series of cutting-edge drama, comedy and musical theatre.
Mark Cuddy is artistic director of Geva.
