Summer Shorts 3: a festival of new American short plays announces cast

John McCormack and J.J. Kandel will present Summer Shorts 3 - their third annual festival of new American short plays, at 59E59's Theater B from 24 Jul - 27 Aug 2009.

Summer Shorts offers eight one-act plays, each having their world premieres, in two separate evenings. The two series will run in rotating repertory.

The playwrights contributing to Summer Shorts include Nancy Giles, John Augustine, Neil LaBute, Carole Real, Keith Reddin, Roger Hedden and William Inge. This year's selection includes a musical with book by Bill Connington and, music and lyrics by Skip Kennon. Maruti Evans will once again provide scenic and lighting design.

The cast will feature Nancy Giles, Neal Huff, Stephanie D'Abruzzo, Margaret Colin, Victor Slezak, Rosalyn Coleman, Robert Dusold, Leenya Rideout, Mary Joy, Sherry Anderson, and more.

Summer Shorts: Series A

• Things My Afro Taught Me
  Playwright: Nancy Giles
  Cast:Nancy Giles.
  Synopsis: A black girl, her hair, her adventures, and eventual escape from a Los Angeles acting cult.
• Death By Chocolate
  Playwright: John Augustine
  Director: Robert Saxner
  Cast: Mary Joy, Sherry Anderson, and Aaron Paternoster.
  Synopsis: A woman copes with menopause, her birthday, and the death of her husband. Luckily, she has alcohol and candy to help her get through the day. Unluckily, she faces an unwanted visit from her sister-in-law.
• A Second Of Pleasure
  Playwright: Neil LaBute
  Director: Andrew McCarthy
  Cast: Margaret Colin and Victor Slezak.
  Synopsis: A couple head off for a romantic weekend - or do they?
• The Eternal Anniversary
  Book: Bill Connington
  Music & lyrics: Skip Kennon
  Director: Bill Connington
  Cast: Leenya Rideout and Robert W. Dusold.
  Synopsis: A hotel chef in 1913 New York City makes the perfect meal for his anniversary dinner. Very much in love with his wife, he is haunted by the suspicion that she was unfaithful to him years ago.

Summer Shorts: Series B

• Don�t Say Another Word
  Playwright: Carole Real
  Director: Ian Belknap
  Cast: Stephanie D'Abruzzo, further cast to be announced.
  Synopsis: Irascible and compulsively honest, Josh tells his girlfriend Laura about a conversation he had with his guy friends. Big Mistake.
• The Sin Eater
  Playwright: Keith Reddin
  Director: Billy Hopkins
  Cast: Clara Hopkins Daniels, Jamie Watkins, Rosalyn Coleman, J.J. Kandel, Teala Dunn, and Sheldon Woodley.
  Synopsis: El is 14 and her father has been murdered. She�s plotting revenge and nothing is going to stop her. Not the police, not the court appointed psychiatrist, and definitely not her mother. Because her mother was the one who killed El's father.
• If I Had
  Playwright: Roger Hedden
  Director: Billy Hopkins
  Cast: Shane McRae, Andy Powers and Emily Tremaine
  Synopsis: Landscape maintenance, class struggle, and a bikini-clad girl collide in a country with potable water.
• The Killing
  Playwright: William Inge
  Director: Jose Angel Santana
  Cast: Neal Huff and J.J. Kandel
  Synopsis: Desperation leads one man to ask for the ultimate favor from a stranger.