Tribeca treads the boards
Hwang, Lonergan, Pugliese prodn's among featured works
It enters a suddenly crowded field in Gotham; at least three other legit fests have also skedded their premiere season for the second half of 2004.
TTF should be the most high-profile of the lot, thanks to its umbrella orgs, the Tribeca Film Festival and the Drama Dept.
Clear Channel Entertainment is reported to be contributing funds. The fest kicks off with a May 5 press preview, featuring new works by Douglas Carter Beane, Jon Robin Baitz, David Henry Hwang, Kenneth Lonergan and Frank Pugliese. Kathleen Marshall directs the readings at Tribeca Cinemas.
Beane, Baitz & Co. are expected but not confirmed to offer new full-length plays at the festival, which takes place in autumn at a downtown Gotham venue.
Beyond Tribeca
Other new legit fests include the Summer Performance Festival for Emerging Writers. Sixteen to 24 plays, as well as musicals, will be presented on Theater Row from July 5 to Aug. 1. Producer Arielle Tepper ("Jumpers," "A Raisin in the Sun") heads the project.
NY, America will hold the first Imagine Festival of Arts, Issues & Ideas Aug. 28 through Sept. 3. Those dates are no mistake; they coincide with the Republican National Convention in New York City. NY, America is committed to "engage the public in civic discourse" through the arts.
The New York Musical Theater Festival is nothing but tuners. Eighteen new musicals will be selected by a jury made up of such legit talent as Gabriel Barre, Robyn Goodman, Kathleen Marshall and Scott Schwartz. The shows will be presented in repertory from Sept. 13 through Oct. 3 in venues throughout the theater district. NYMTF partners include Musical Theater Works, York Theater, the National Alliance for Musical Theater, Amas, Genesius Guild, BMI and ASCAP.
In its eighth season, the New York Intl. Fringe Festival runs Aug. 13-29 at various downtown venues.
