The weekend coincides with SCR's fully-produced world premieres: Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa's Doctor Cerberus, "the funny coming-of-age tale of an overweight teenager who dreams of becoming the assistant to Doctor Cerberus, host of a late-night, local-access horror movie program"; and Julia Cho's romantic comedy The Language Archive, "about a brilliant linguist who knows what to say to everyone but his wife."
The PPF readings at SCR in Costa Mesa, CA, are:
Completeness by Itamar Moses
April 23 at 1 PM
"How does a computer scientist hook up with a molecular biologist? He uses the algorithm method, of course. But when Elliot offers to build a computer program to help Molly with her latest research project, they discover that megabytes and microbes might not be compatible — and even the most sophisticated algorithm may freeze in the face of life's infinite possibilities. From the author of Bach at Leipzig, a 21st-century romantic comedy about the timeless confusions of love."
Happy Face by David West Read
April 23 at 3:30 PM
"Wendy has a lot on her plate. A force of nature in the form of a 20-year-old karate-chopping gamine, she has been the sole provider for her troubled younger brother, Poots, ever since their parents died in a tragic canoeing accident. While Wendy lives in the family house, Poots lives out back in a refrigerator box and wears a Phantom of the Opera mask to hide his disfigured face. Now their funds are dwindling and prospects are bleak, but the indefatigable Wendy has a plan — and no one should bet against her."
Between Us Chickens by by Sofia Alvarez
April 23 at 8 PM and April 24 at 2:30 and 8 PM
"Meagan and Sarah are small-town girls new to L.A. Meagan's all about the retail, the scene and the celebrities; Sarah's a computer-surfing homebody. When a smooth-talking opportunist named Charles crashes on their couch and takes Sarah out on the town, he threatens to upset the balance of a lifelong friendship — especially when Sarah's secret life comes to light. This smart, savvy comedy by a promising new playwright surprises turn-by-turn as it asks how well you really know your friends." Kin by Bathsheba Doran
April 24 at 10:30 AM
"Adam and Anna have fallen in love. Now it's time to meet the family. Thousands of miles separate Adam from his agoraphobic Irish mother, and the emotional distance between Anna and her well-meaning but awkward father is just as great. Before they can begin their future together, each must reconcile with the past and navigate the unpredictable currents of family and friends. A wonderfully wry drama about the inevitable influence of kin."
Right to the Top by Amy Freed
April 25 at 10:30 AM
"He's a giant of the architecture world: Gregor Zubrovsky, whose buildings rise like post-post-modern megaliths out of the center of the earth. So why has he decided to take on a project to remodel a decaying boathouse in a remote backwater? That's what up-and-coming architects Dieter and Rita want to know — especially since that project was supposed to be theirs. But nothing prepares them for the truth about Gregor, whose past is far more checkered than anyone might have imagined. Another outrageous outing from the author of The Beard of Avon and You, Nero.
"Itamar Moses and Amy Freed, two SCR favorites, have written some of the funniest, sharpest plays in recent American theatre, so it's great to have both of them contributing plays to this year's festival," PPF co-director John Glore said in a statement. "And Bathsheba Doran, who has gotten the attention of a lot of theatre people with the subtle truthfulness and layered complexity of her writing, brings a very different sensibility to the mix."
Festival co-director Kelly Miller said, "We're very pleased to introduce PPF audiences to two exciting, distinctive new dramatic voices in Sofia Alvarez and David West Read, who've written extraordinary plays about young people in a markedly contemporary world."
SCR's 12 previous festivals have introduced 83 new plays to the national stage, including Amy Freed's The Beard of Avon, Donald Margulies' Shipwrecked! An Entertainment, Lynn Nottage's Intimate Apparel, Nilo Cruz's Anna in the Tropics, Rolin Jones' The Intelligent Design of Jenny Chow and David Lindsay-Abaire's Pulitzer Prize-winning Rabbit Hole.
Tickets for the 13th Pacific Playwrights Festival are $12 per individual reading, and $31-$65 for The Language Archive and Doctor Cerberus. The festival runs April 23-25. Tickets can be purchased online at www.scr.org, by phone at (714) 708-5555 or in person at the SCR box office.
South Coast Repertory is located at 655 Town Center Drive in Costa Mesa, CA.
