CSC Stages Festival This Year
For Women Playwrights Series - Apr 22 - 26

Schedule of Events
Initial Performance - The Mastodon Project Wed., April 22 at 7:30pm
	The Mastodon Project    Wed., April 22 at 7:30 PM A discussion of the historical discovery of the family of mastodons in Great Meadows; Series of 10-minute plays on the theme.
Play Readings Apr. 23, 24, 25 and 26, 2009
	Thurs., Apr. 23 at 7:30 PM Fri., Apr. 24 at 7:30 PM Sat., Apr. 25 at 7:30 PM Sun., Apr. 26 at 2:30 PM	St. Louie Dreamer    By Kate Lyn Reiter Real Girls Can’t Win    By Merri Biechler Posthumous Democrat    By Darrah Cloud The Retirement Years   By Emily Bentley
"Dine and ‘Dish’" With the Playwrights (includes dinner) Fri., Apr. 24 at 5:30 - 7pm
Free Writing Workshop Saturday, April 25 at 10am – 12:30pm
Printable Schedule

Family drama, a college comedy, and a mystery about a missing family member make up just some of the dramatic action at the Spring 2009 Women Playwrights Festival at the Centenary Stage Company, April 22- 26 in Hackettstown.

Women writers from around the country will converge in Hackettstown for the five-day event, which will include dramatic workshop-presentations of 4 new full-length plays by women writers, a 10-minute play competition based on the discovery of the “Harvard Mastodon” in the great swamp north of Hackettstown in the mid-19th century, a writing class, and a panel discussion on the nature of writing for the theatre, and the state of the art for women playwrights.

Festival Events

Initial Performance - The Mastodon Project

Performances will open on Wed., Apr. 22 at 7:30pm with The Mastodon Project which will feature a discussion of the historical discovery of the family of mastodons in Great Meadows, the remains of which now reside in the Harvard Museum, followed by a series of 10-minute plays on the theme.

Play Readings

St. Louie Dreamer    By Kate Lyn Reiter Thurs., Apr. 23 at 7:30pm
	St. Louie Dreamer Poster (closer view) Featured full length plays will begin with St. Louie Dreamer by Yale alumna and stand-up comedian Kate Lyn Reiter on Thurs, Apr 23 at 7:30pm. In this blues-infused play with music, scientist Susan comes face to face with her libidinous, red-haired alter-ego in a struggle to exorcise her inner W.A.S.P. Reiter is a graduate of the Yale School of Drama and a member of Actors' Equity Association & The Dramatists Guild. Kate Lyn teaches acting, directing, playwriting, and general theatre. Kate Lyn wrote and performed character comedy and stand-up comedy in New York City for several years. Her comedy performances included appearances on Comedy Central, Fox Network and New York City clubs, and earned a NYC Backstage Bistro Award for Comedy Performance and a nomination for Manhattan Association of Cabarets' MAC Award. Locally, Kate Lyn directs frequently at the Centenary Stage Company and the Black River Playhouse in Chester.
Real Girls Can’t Win    By Merri Biechler Fri., Apr. 24 at 7:30pm
	Real Girls Can’t Win Poster (closer view) With themes exploring modern technology, body image and popularity for millenials, Ohio playwright Merri Biechler’s Real Girls Don’t Win is a contemporary look at the challenges facing young women today. In Real Girls…, college freshman Katie considers herself a 'real girl,' but when beauty queen Dakota announces she’s running for 'Miss Freshman B Dorm,' Katie joins the race in the name of 'Real Girls' everywhere. But in an age of Internet images and instant fame, how does a girl stay real? Biechler was a founding member the Edge Theater with fellow North Carolina School of the Arts classmates Peter Hedges, Mary-Louise Parker and Joe Mantello, and acted in more than a dozen new plays with the company. As an actor, Biechler appeared Off-Broadway in Tony 'n Tina's Wedding, has been seen in the films He Said, She Said, Man of the Year and The Thing Called Love, and in guest starring parts on TV in E.R., Judging Amy, Murphy Brown and Love and War. She has written for the Kennedy Center/White House Historical Assoc., and is a recipient of the Jane Chambers Playwrighting Award, among others. “Real Girls…” will be performed on Fri, Apr 24 at 7:30pm.
Posthumous Democrat    By Darrah Cloud Sat., Apr. 25 at 7:30pm
	Posthumous Democrat Poster (closer view) Veteran television, film and stage author playwright Darrah Cloud returns to CSC with her new play Posthumous Democrat on Sat, Apr 25 at 7:30pm. In this family drama full of unpredictable twists and turns, Catherine begins the task of settling her father’s estate when a surprising mystery about her father begins to unravel, including a lost brother, and a series of inexplicable phone calls from her dead father’s apartment. Cloud’s stage plays, among many, include the adaptation of Willa Cather’s “O’Pioneers,” which was Performed by John Houseman’s Acting Company and televised for Public Television, “The Stick Wife”, “Heartland,” and “Dreamhouse”, which was performed at CSC. Cloud had written more than a dozen movies for NBC and CBS, including “The Haunted”, which still airs on the Sci Fi network, and “A Holiday Romance” with Gerald McRaney, Naomi Judd and Andy Griffith.
The Retirement Years    By Emily Bentley Sun., Apr. 26 at 2:30pm
	The Retirement Years Poster (closer view) In Emily Bentley’s new play, The Retirement Years, Marge and Charlie are happily ensconced in the quiet daily schedule of easy retirement when Charlie’s ex-wife suddenly appears on the scene, complete with an unexpected demand. The confrontation reveals a whole new side of Charlie to the bewildered Marge, who decides upon an action of her own. Bentley hails from Washington, D.C. where her work has been performed in the Page to Stage Festival at the Kennedy Center. The playwright’s arrival on the Centenary Stage in a tribute to the alma mater of her mother, a graduate of Centenary College come 50 years earlier. The Retirement Years will be performed on Sun., Apr 26 at 2:30pm.

"Dine and ‘Dish’" With the Playwrights (includes dinner)

On Friday, April 24 an informal "Dine and ‘Dish’" with the playwrights will be offered from 5:30 – 7 PM for patrons wishing to join the artists for dinner and discuss the craft of writing and state of the art for women writing for the theatre. The fee for dinner is $8, and reservations are required.

Free Writing Workshop

From the CSC Women Playwrights Series presentation    of Sister Week by Heather McCutcheon.    Pictured (L-R): Mary Ethel Schmidt, Carolyn Popp and    Betty Hudson

On Saturday, April 25, a free writing workshop will be offered from 10am – 12:30pm in the CSC writing room. While offered at no cost, reservations are required for this workshop.

Admission

Admission to Festival performances is by donation, and reservations are requested. Each presentation is followed by a reception with refreshments and a discussion with the playwright, director and cast, which helps shape the work in further development. Each year one play is selected from the Playwright Festival to go on to full production in the professional Centenary Stage Company season.

The CSC Women Playwrights Series is dedicated to providing a working format for the unique and underserved voice of women writing for the theater today.

For reservations, a schedule of events and information, contact Centenary Stage Company at 908-979-0900.

Also see Women Playwrights Series program description.
 

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