CINCINNATI, JULY 1, 2019 — Cincinnati LAB Theatre’s New Works Festival will present two fully staged workshop productions and two original play readings in a rotating festival repertoire over two weekends, July 19 – July 28, 2019. All performances will be presented in Cincinnati at the Liberty Exhibition Hall, 3938 Spring Grove Ave, Cincinnati, OH.
Cincinnati LAB Theatre is now in its sixth producing season. Cincinnati LAB Theatre’s past productions include Buckeye and Judas by Elizabeth a. Harris, Led Thespian by Jason Podplesky, The Hired Man by Heather Meyer, An Evening with Stephen Crane by Phil Paradis, Medusa in You by Valetta Anderson, and Identity: An Evening of Three Twenty-Minute Plays by Elizabeth a. Harris, Brian Griffin, and Leah Strasser. Cincinnati LAB Theatre also produced Led Thespian at the 2018 Edinburgh Fringe Festival in Edinburgh, Scotland.
Part of Cincinnati LAB Theatre’s mission is to provide playwrights with opportunities to develop their work through a traditional workshop process, while utilizing some of the area’s finest professional actors. Cincinnati LAB Theatre’s New Works Festival is comprised of two different series that will present new and innovative works in various stages of development, encourage open and honest discussions, and allow audiences an inside look into the creative process.
WORKSHOP SERIES: The New Works Festival Workshop Series will present two brand-new fully staged workshop productions:
THE COLOR OF THE LEAVES by Isaiah Reaves. Directed by Carolyn Guido Clifford.
Set in the 1940’s, THE COLOR OF THE LEAVES, is a dark examination of family dynamics, personal freedom, and what it means to be a woman, fighting for her very existence, in a male dominated world.
Performances: July 19 and 27 at 8:00pm; and July 21, at 7:00pm.
A FUNNY PLAY FOR TROUBLED TIMES by Charlie Schulman. Directed by Elizabeth a. Harris.
We can reach someone on the other side of the world with just a tap of a button; then why do we feel ever more alone? Through satire and allegory A FUNNY PLAY FOR TROUBLED TIMES explores commerce, media marketing, and the disconnected of the connected. You’re sure to find yourself in these funny troubled times.
Performances: July 20 and 26 at 8:00pm; and July 28 at 7:00pm.
ABOUT THE ARTISTS:
Isaiah Reaves (Playwright, THE COLOR OF THE LEAVES) BFA playwriting major at Northern Kentucky University, is Cincinnati’s most produced young playwright. His 2018 Cincy Fringe hit The Blackface Project was a Citybeat Critic’s Pick. Also, Reaves’ original plays The Black Boy in Pink, The Color of the Leaves, and Pickaninny are being fully staged in 2019.
Carolyn Guido Clifford (Director, THE COLOR OF THE LEAVES) is a multi-disciplinary theatre artist in Cincinnati, OH. She currently serves as the Community Engagement Manager at the Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park. She directed My Geriatric Uterus and Kill You with my Love at Cincy Fringe 2019. Her play The A-List received a workshop reading at Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati.
Charlie Schulman (Playwright, A FUNNY PLAY FOR TROUBLED TIMES) is a playwright, television-writer, musical-theater writer and Off-Broadway producer. He is the Co-Writer/Producer of the Off-Broadway musicals “The Fartiste” (Outstanding Musical NYC/Fringe International, Off-Broadway) and “Goldstein” (Nominated Best Off-Broadway Musical 2018 by The Off-Broadway Alliance Awards) now available from Stage Rights and BroadwayRecords.com. Charlie teaches at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. He is on the MFA faculty at Spalding University.
Elizabeth a. Harris (Director, A Funny Play for Troubled Times) is co-founder and coartistic director of Cincinnati LAB Theatre. She possesses a BA in acting, a MA in Theatre with an emphasis in directing, and a MFA in playwriting. She has been a practicing professional theatre artist for 28 years. Elizabeth has worked for such theatre companies as Cincinnati Shakespeare Company, Ensemble Theatre of Cincinnati, Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera, and Flat Rock Playhouse and has had several original works produced in Atlanta, Cincinnati, and Pittsburgh. Elizabeth served as Artistic Director of New Edgecliff Theatre from 2003 to 2006. Her play Daughter of War was Cincinnati LAB Theatre’s first workshop staged production.
PLAY READING SERIES: The New Works Festival Play Reading Series will present staged readings of new plays currently under development:
THE APARTMENT ON YUCCA by Stephen Jared. Directed by Michael Shooner.
Dale Odegard makes money running ‘You Too Can Break Into Show Business’
workshops. Dale’s son, Brian, is a Saturday Morning TV star. What most people don’t
realize is that Dale had nothing to do with his son’s success. After not seeing each other for ten years, Brian appears. Too young to direct on his own movie, Brian seeks someone who will obey his every command, and figures his loser dad will do anything for a chance at success. Both Dale and Brian are stubborn and self-absorbed. Getting to know each other is not going to be easy. However, over time, Dale begins to realize this second chance at a dream pales in comparison to this second chance at being a dad.
Tuesday July 23, at 7:30pm.
THE SECRET LIFE OF BROS by Nathan Top. Directed by Alexa Glaser.
A contemporary comedy, THE SECRET LIFE OF BROS begins with two gym buddies, Dude and Bro. As Dude prepares for his impending wedding, that upcoming weekend, Bro is trying to figure out how to dump the ‘f***boy’ he has been seeing. When Bro decides to follow Dude’s advice and attempts to dump the ‘f***boy,’ a myriad of secrets and feelings unravel, jeopardizing Dude and Bro’s friendship. THE SECRET LIFE OF BROS is an unfiltered examination at male relationships and how the perceptions of those closest to us affect how we see ourselves.
Wednesday, July 24, at 7:30pm.
ABOUT THE ARTISTS:
Stephen Jared (Playwright, THE APARTMENT ON YUCCA) is a Cincinnati native who grew up going to the cinema almost every weekend. He moved to Los Angeles at twenty-one, where he’s since worked in movies and television. He’s written six novels. His first play became a semi-finalist in the 2018 Garry Marshall Theatre’s New Works Festival. His latest, THE APARTMENT ON YUCCA, is receiving its first staging thanks to the LAB Theatre of Cincinnati.
Michael Shooner (Director, THE APARTMENT ON YUCCA) Cincinnati native and alumnus of Edgecliff College, Michael co-founded New Edgecliff Theatre in 1998, and performed in NET’s inaugural production – Eric Bogosian’s one-hander, Sex, Drugs, Rock & Roll. He continued to perform in productions there, including David Mamet’s A Life in the Theatre and Peter Shaffer’s Equus. He received critical recognition for his performances as Teach in David Mamet’s American Buffalo and as Ralph in Bryony Lavery’s Frozen. Other roles include Willy Loman in Death of a Salesman, Roma in Glengarry Glen Ross and Cliff in The Woolgatherer. An Actor’s Equity member since 1977, he has appeared locally with Cincinnati Playhouse and Cincinnati Shakespeare Company, and, while in Seattle, with One Reel Vaudeville and Tacoma Actor’s Guild. Look for him in the upcoming indie feature, The King of Bloody Fookin’ Britain. Working primarily as an actor, this is his first time in the chair since David Folie’s Naked by the River at NET.
Nathan Top (Playwright, THE SECRET LIFE OF BROS) is a Cincinnati-based playwright and musician. Nathan works as a freelance trumpeter and pianist, performing in big bands, pit orchestras, and pop groups throughout Cincinnati. He holds a Master’s degree in Jazz Studies from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music and a Bachelor’s degree in Trumpet Performance from University of Idaho. Nathan has collaborated with several playwrights as composer/lyricist, as well as musically directed several shows and workshops. THE SECRET LIFE OF BROS is his first play.
Alexa Glaser (Director, THE SECRET LIFE OF BROS) holds a B.A. in Theatre from Butler University, graduated the Sanford Meisner Center’s Level One Intensive, and is a graduate of CCM Prep’s Certificate Acting Program. Previous Credits: Matty in Cincinnati LAB Theatre’s The Hired Man, Betta in New Edgecliff Theatre’s Soldier’s Christmas, and Samantha in EFO Films Marauders.
Single Tickets and 2019 New Works Festival All-Access Pass
Single tickets to the 2019 Cincinnati LAB Theatre New Works Festival may be purchased at the door, cash only.
Workshop Series:
- $15 Adult – General Admission per performance
- $10 Student – General Admission per performance
Play Reading Series:
- $5 – General Admission per performance
All-Access Pass
Save $15 and experience all that Cincinnati LAB Theatre has to offer this season! 2019 All-Access Passes are $25. 2019 All-Access passes allow general admission entry for passholders into all 2019 Cincinnati LAB Theatre New Works Festival events. For an extra $5, a total of $30, you can enjoy your All-Access Pass in style with an official Cincinnati LAB Theatre t-shirt.
All tickets including Single Tickets and 2019 ALL ACCESS Pass are sold
CASH at the door.
No pre-purchase or credit card purchase available.
About Cincinnati LAB Theatre
Cincinnati LAB Theatre is an organization for established and emerging playwrights and
performers and is dedicated to a collaborative creative process that will present established works of drama and develop new plays through a traditional workshop model. Cincinnati LAB Theatre will provide a solid platform for artists to cultivate, strengthen, and hone their artistic crafts and talents and offer quality theatre for Cincinnati audiences.
Cincinnati LAB Theatre
2019 New Works Festival Schedule
Friday, July 19, 2019
- 8:00pm – Workshop Series: THE COLOR OF THE LEAVES by Isaiah Reaves.
Saturday, July 20, 2019
- 8:00pm – Workshop Series: A FUNNY PLAY FOR TROUBLED TIMES by Charlie
Schulman
Sunday, July 21, 2019
- 7:00pm – Workshop Series: THE COLOR OF THE LEAVES by Isaiah Reaves
Tuesday, July 23, 2019
- 7:30pm – Play Reading Series: THE APARTMENT ON YUCCA by Stephen Jared
Wednesday, July 24, 2019
- 7:30pm – Play Reading Series: THE SECRET LIFE OF BROS by Nathan Top
Friday, July 26, 2019
- 8:00pm – Workshop Series: A FUNNY PLAY FOR TROUBLED TIMES by Charlie Schulman
Saturday, July 27, 2019
- 8:00pm – Workshop Series: THE COLOR OF THE LEAVES by Isaiah Reaves
Sunday, July 28, 2019
- 7:00pm – Workshop Series: A FUNNY PLAY FOR TROUBLED TIMES by Charlie
Schulman
All performances will be presented at Liberty Exhibition Hall, 3839 Spring Grove Ave, Cincinnati, OH. Liberty Exhibition Hall is a handicap accessible facility.
Follow Cincinnati LAB Theatre on our Facebook page, Twitter, Instagram, and our website http://cincylabtheatre.wixsite.com/cincylab.
SHIRT. BROWN. HONESTY by Jason Podplesky
PIROUETTE by Chris Holbrook
Behind the Curtain Cincinnati 