Summer Shorts, a festival of new American short plays

John McCormack and J.J. Kandel in association with The Open Book presents Summer Shorts - a festival of new American short plays, at 59E59's Theater B from 2 - 30 Aug 2007.

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

The playwrights contributing to Summer Shorts include John Augustine, Michael Domitrovich, Tina Howe, Skip Kennon, Warren Leight, Leslie Lyles, Eduardo Machado, Tom O�Brien, Keith Reddin, and Randee Smith. Maruti Evans will provide scenic and lighting design.

Summer Shorts: Series A

• Amici, Ascoltat
  Playwright: Warren Leight
  Director: TBA
  Synopsis: A son's imminent departure for Iraq prompts his father to examine the fate of men in his family when sent to war.
• Afternoon Tea
  Book and lyrics: Eduardo Machado
  Music: Skip Kennon
  Director: Billy Hopkins
  Synopsis: A two-character musical about the power of reconciliation. The play tells a story of the later years of the author J.M. Barrie�s life. After twenty years of being apart, Barrie�s wife comes back to reconcile their marriage�but he is still lost in the world of fantasy, youth, and Peter Pan.
• Rain, Heavy At Times Playwright: Leslie Lyles
  Director: Billy Hopkins
  Synopsis: A woman and a wealthy aunt pass a rainy afternoon in a Red Bank New Jersey restaurant, one eye on recently purchased undergarments the other on the bartender.
• Real World Experience
  Playwright: Michael Domitrovich
  Director: Eduardo Machado
  synopsis: After splitting up with his girlfriend Roxanne, Jeff is looking for a role he can sink his teeth into. When Jeff's meeting with Eli, an emerging playwright, starts to go sour, he learns just how flexible the meaning of "reality" can be.

Summer Shorts: Series B

• Skin Deep
  Playwright: Tina Howe
  Director: TBA
  Synopsis: A fleeing nymph with a greenish cast to her skin dashes into the R train late at night. The only other rider is a celebrated dermatologist who happens to be sitting under his own ad. Can he save her?
• Merwins Lane
  Playwright: Keith Reddin
  Director: Billy Hopkins
  Synopsis: A three character play set in a bus station, strangers meet and find they're much less strangers than they thought.
• Father�S Day
  Playwright: John Augustine
  Director: Daniel Winerman
  Synopsis: Augustine takes a look at murder, justice, gun control, and whether or not it is wise for the privileged to volunteer -- knowing all the while they could be sued. With the help of the actual transcript from the confession of the man who murdered Augustine's father... the author attempts to make some sense of murder. Then and Now.
• The P.a.
  Playwright: Tom O�Brien
  Director: Tom O�Brien
  Synopsis: A comic look at the day in the life of a production assistant on a movie set in the streets of New York City.
• Windowshine
  Playwright: Randee Smith
  Director: TBA
  Synopsis: Two estranged siblings come together over the impending death of their father, each on their own separate journey, and find that they don't know how to communicate.

From the press notes: The Open Book was founded by Bill Bonham and Marvin Kaye in 1975, and has been continuously operating ever since. The company was formed to develop a streamlined alternative to America's overproduced traditional theatre. Its mission is to present the best of all worlds of literature -- prose, poetry, drama, even nonfiction -- to our culturally diverse tri-state audience, with emphasis on new under-appreciated literature of excellence that is likely to be bypassed by traditional theatre companies.