Vital Signs Festival from 30 Nov - 17 Dec 2006

Vital Theatre Company presents its annual Vital Signs New Works Festival. The three week festival of short plays runs from 30 Nov - 17 Dec 2006 at the McGinn Cazale Theatre.

The festival will present 14 new short plays over three weeks. The final week, series three, running from 14 - 17 Dec, features the work of VITAL R&D, Vital Theatre Company's ongoing playwright's workshop. The plays in this series all take place in and around Vital Theatre Company's Upper West Side neighborhood.

• VITAL SIGNS: Series One
  An Evening of four short plays.
  Dates: 30 Nov - 3 Dec 2006.

  How I Won The War
  Playwright: Andrea Lepcio
  Synopsis: A WWII Navy vet finally makes peace with himself while recounting his wartime experiences of bribes, famous athletes, 30-foot waves, untold death and a bevy of beauties.

  Tav
  Playwright: Shawn Hirabayashi
  Synopsis: Tension rises between two old friends, one Japanese-American and the other Jewish who meet at a cemetery in rural France.

  Souvenirs
  Playwright: Michael John Grace
  Synopsis: Aya and Rebecca search for God in a sunset as they lounge on a beach in Mindoro.

  The Remote
  Playwright: Mark Harvey Levine
  Synopsis: A married couple discovers that it is possible to watch too much television.

  
  
• VITAL SIGNS: Series Two
  An Evening of four short plays.
  Dates: 7 - 10 Dec 2006.

  Five Wishes
  Playwright: Thomas H. Diggs
  Synopsis: Tells the story of Nick and his boyfriend Quinn; when they agree to work on a living will they soon learn they are making plans for more than just the end of a life.

  Antartica
  Playwright: Anton Dudley
  Synopsis: A couple's entire marriage is called into question when a mysterious package arrives at their desert island home.

  Bright.Apple.Crush.
  Playwright: Steven Yockey
  Synopsis: Ethan, Nancy and Dan rapidly slip from the darkly comic to purely dark as three disturbing acts of vengeance unfold.

  Crimes Against Humanity
  Playwright: Ross Maxwell
  Synopsis: Examines what happens when a sister chooses to save the world rather than her family.

  
  
• VITAL SIGNS: Series Three (A)
  An Evening of three short plays.
  Dates: 14 - 17 Dec 2006.

  The Bloomingdale Road
  Playwright: Mark Loewenstein
  Synopsis: Set in 19th Century Manhattan, on a dirt path that would one day be the intersection of Broadway and 76th Street, a father must decide which of his children is more deserving of the land he owns.

  Saffron
  Playwright: Dean
  Synopsis: Two people from opposite ends of the social spectrum find their common humanity.

  Discovering Columbus
  Playwright: Kim Rosenstock
  Synopsis: Skewers celebrity culture through the lens of two star-crossed Starbuck's employees.

  
  
• VITAL SIGNS: Series Three (B)
  An Evening of three short plays.
  Dates: 14 - 17 Dec 2006.

  It's Giuliani Time
  Playwright: Aurin Squire
  Synopsis: Examines the fear that creates shocking rifts between neighbors, friends and lovers when race, crime and politics come into play.

  Double Fantasy
  Playwright: David Ben-Arie
  Synopsis: An encounter between a man and woman at Strawberry Fields leads to heated debate about the legacy of John Lennon in a violent and divided world.

  Breaking Routine
  Playwright: Robin Rothstein
  Synopsis: A weekly rendezvous between two elderly friends who meet for their regular bagel, lox and cream cheese at Barney's Greengrass turns out to be anything but routine.