New York Theatre Workshop will join together Portland Center Stage to conduct their first annual playwrights festival -- "just add water/WEST" (JAW/WEST), May 28 & 29.

The fest is based on NYTW's annual Just Add Water festival, and will include four staged readings -- two on each night. The readings will run approximately two hours, followed by a half-hour moderated discussion with artists and the audiences.

The readings include:
€ The Shadow Testament by Susan Mach. At the turn of the century in the Pacific Northwest, a 16-year-old girl recounts the haunting events that led to her placement in a mental institution. An examination of the human need to belong - and the consequences of cult behavior.

€ Lobster Alice by Kira Obolensky. 1946, Anaheim, California. Alice Horowitz, a secretary at a Hollywood animation studio, wants her life to be interesting. Her boss, animator John Finch, is in the midst of animating Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland, when surrealist Salvador Dali arrives at the studio for six weeks. His assignment-to create a short animated film inspired by "Destino," a popular song about a love affair. Finch is put in charge of Dali's actives. The force of Surrealism hits Anaheim, and Alice's life gets stranger and stranger.

€ Back to Baka by Judith Alexa Jackson. The story of a middle aged woman's voyage of self-discovery in the African rain forest, told through mime, dance, and masks. € Fighting Words by Sunil Kuruvilla. When a Welsh boxer travels to the U.S. to fight for the world bantamweight title, the women left behind must cope with the shocking repercussions of the match.

New York Theatre Workshop has gained an international reputation for being the birthplace of Rent, Angels in America, Quills, and many others.

Tickets for the festival are $6 per readings, with $10 for one evening and $20 for all four readings.

For tickets or more information, call (503) 274-6588.

-- By Sean McGrath