The series also includes works by Kirsten Childs, Eliza Clark, Nilo Cruz, Zayd Dohrn, Nicholas Kazan and Molly Smith Metzler. Now in its 11th year, this free rehearsed reading series is dedicated to the support and development of new works.
The 2009 lineup features six new plays and a musical, including works by two playwrights previously produced by MTC and one MTC-commissioned playwright.
Several plays developed in the series have received full productions at MTC: Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa's Based on a Totally True Story, David Auburn's Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize-winning Proof and Joe Hortua's Between Us. Other titles have had New York City and/or regional productions.
The series begins March 30 at 7 PM and continues on six consecutive Monday evenings at New York City Center – Stage I (131 West 55th Street) in Manhattan. All readings are free and open to the public. To RSVP, e-mail [email protected] or call (212) 399-3000 ext. 4163.
The Ernst C. Stiefel Foundation supports of 7@7, as does the Rockefeller Brothers Fund. Here's the series at a glance:
March 30: Dreams of Violence by Stella Feehily directed by Kate Whoriskey. "Hildy has to keep her mother out of the liquor cabinet, bathe her father at the old age home, track down her drug addict son and deal with her ex-husband's advances. All while campaigning for social justice and reform. An honest and witty portrait of one woman shouldering familial responsibility while fighting corporate irresponsibility." Dreams of Violence was co-commissioned by MTC and London's Soho Theatre. Stella Feehily's plays have been produced at the Royal Court Theatre, Edinburgh's Traverse Theatre and the Dublin Theatre Festival. Her play O Go My Man was a joint winner of the 2007 Susan Smith Blackburn Prize. She is currently working on commissions for the Royal Court Theatre and the National Theatre.
April 6: Night For Day by Nicholas Kazan directed by Sarah Benson. "Hollywood star Conner Logan returns home to share the premiere of his new TV series with his proud mother and father. Only he hasn't spoken to them in seven years and returns armed with shocking secrets. A provocative and disturbing tale of the power of inheritance." MTC produced Nicholas Kazan's Safe House in 1978. His plays have also been produced at MCC, Actors Theatre of Louisville, the Magic Theatre and the Mark Taper Forum. His screenplays include "Matilda," "At Close Range," "Bicentennial Man" and "Reversal of Fortune," for which he was nominated for an Academy Award.
April 13: Magic Forest Farm by Zayd Dohrn directed by Steven Cosson. "Seventeen-year-old Allegra hasn't felt at home since her family left the commune where she grew up. When a party unearths long-forgotten memories, she heads back to Magic Forest Farm to explore where she came from and who she really is." A graduate of NYU's MFA Dramatic Writing program, Zayd Dohrn is currently a Lila Acheson Wallace Fellow at Juilliard. His plays have been produced and developed at the Public Theater, Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, South Coast Repertory, the Alliance Theatre and the Magic Theatre.
April 20: Recall by Eliza Clark directed by Kip Fagan. "Lucy makes people uncomfortable. There's something about her eyes. There's something about the way her mother's boyfriends keep disappearing. And there's something about the government agents on her trail. Boundaries of love and trust are pushed in this fierce and funny play." Eliza Clark's plays have been staged at Cherry Lane Theatre, the New York International Fringe Festival and Ensemble Studio Theatre, where she's a member of Youngblood, EST's emerging writers group.
April 27: Close Up Space by Molly Smith Metzler directed by Evan Cabnet. "Powerful editor Paul Barrow has a sharp eye for details. But he fails to acknowledge that his co-worker has been camping out in their office or that his 18-year-old daughter has been expelled from boarding school and won't stop speaking Russian. How does a man navigate with only his red pen as a guide?" Molly Smith Metzler received an MFA in Dramatic Writing from NYU and is currently a Lila Acheson Wallace playwright in residence at The Juilliard School. Her play Training Wisteria was produced at the Summer Play Festival and as part of the Cherry Lane Mentor Project in 2007.
May 4: The Color of Desire written and directed by Nilo Cruz. "Havana, 1960. As the revolution heats up, a dashing American businessman hires a young Cuban actress to play a role unlike any she's ever had: the woman he loved and lost. A vibrant and poetic exploration of the lost love affair between America and Cuba." MTC produced Nilo Cruz's Beauty of the Father in 2006. His other plays include Two Sisters and a Piano, Lorca in a Green Dress and Anna in the Tropics, for which he won the 2003 Pulitzer Prize. His work has been seen at the Public Theater, New York Theatre Workshop, the McCarter Theatre, South Coast Repertory, Arena Stage, and the Magic Theatre. Internationally, his plays have been produced in London and throughout Spain.
May 11: Funked Up Fairy Tales, a musical with book, music and lyrics by Kirsten Childs, directed by John Rando. "Welcome to the world of Titania, Faireetheeya and Magikwanda, teenage fairies with attitude. They wag their heads and suck their teeth as they turn things upside down to pass their Fairyland Academy exam. Will they pull through with flying colors and earn their happy ending crowns?" Kirsten Childs' Obie Award-winning musical The Bubbly Black Girl Sheds Her Chameleon Skin was produced at Playwrights Horizons in 2000. Her work has been staged at San Diego Repertory Theatre, the Vineyard Theatre and Barrington Stage Company.
For more information about MTC, the New York City not-for-profit that produces on Broadway and off, visit www.ManhattanTheatreClub.com.
