FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Contact: Dave Wellman, Director of Communications (304) 696-7153
 

2^nd annual New Works Festival begins June 26 at Marshall University

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – Marshall University’s second annual Robert Hinchman New Works Festival will be presented this week by Marshall University Theatre and the Marshall University College of Fine Arts. 

The three-night festival will present both staged and unstaged readings of six new plays over three consecutive evenings – Thursday, June 26 through Saturday, June 28. All readings will begin at 8 p.m. in the Francis-Booth Experimental Theatre of the Joan C. Edwards Performing Arts Center. 

Each evening’s readings will be followed by a discussion/question-and-answer session with the playwrights, director and cast.  Participation is both welcome and encouraged.  The schedule of events is as follows:

Thursday, June 26, four new one-act plays:

“Lunch At the Fork n’ Finger” by published playwright and Marshall University Theatre alumnus, Jonathan Joy. It is a one-act comedy about a man who returns to his boyhood home to find that his single mother has fallen in love with his old high school gym coach.

“Things Get Done” by Louisville, Ky., native Paul Deines. Brooklyn is burning.  In the city, three men share drinks, make Molotov cocktails, and await the approaching mob.  As the riot draws nearer, they wrestle with the ghosts of their pasts, and the collective past of a country born out of revolution.

“Knight-Owl” by well-known Huntington personality, Clint McElroy. When he stumbles upon the long-lost secret headquarters of Knight-Owl, a costumed crime-fighter from the 1940’s, con man Del Copperthwaite sees a moneymaking opportunity. Anticipating millions of dollars in endorsements, licensing deals and action figures, Del takes on the super-hero mantle of Knight-Owl, hampered only by his complete lack of talent, experience, morals, and honesty. What he does have is a quick wit, an even quicker tongue, and that strong sense of self-preservation that no scoundrel should be without.

“Stealing Romance” by T. Michael Murdock, a Marshall University alumnus and a professional actor/director.  “Stealing Romance” is a short play about finding love in the most unexpected of places.  On a dark, rainy night, a man robbing a video store reunites with the woman he has loved since grade school, and is immediately locked in the store with her.  Throughout the next few hours, he encounters feelings he thought were gone forever and the woman’s jealous ex-boyfriend, and must face down not only his fear of lightning, but also of heartbreak.                   

Friday, June 27, premiere of a new full-length comedy:

“A Sheep Among Wolves” by Jonathan Joy, who is the author of 16 plays.  He has won regional and national awards for his writing.  His work has been produced off-Broadway in New York City and on stages in seven states.

In “A Sheep Among Wolves,” the Rev. Donald Daniels attempts to reconcile his brother’s fourth broken marriage and save the soul of a young prostitute while his congregation revolts against him.  Those familiar with Joy’s “The Princess of Rome, Ohio” will enjoy the further adventures of Dicky Daniels. 

Saturday, June 28, a new full-length comedy:

“The Three Temptations of Jennifer Pierce” was written by Lee Shackleford, who is a writer for stage, screen, and radio with more than 100 produced scripts to his credit. He is perhaps best known for his script “Holmes & Watson,” which enjoyed a successful run off-Broadway with Shackleford in the role of Sherlock Holmes. His adaptation of the classic Czech play “R.U.R.” has been widely praised and is gaining acceptance as the definitive English version.

“The Three Temptations of Jennifer Pierce” is the story of smart-alecky loner Jennifer Pierce, who makes a wager with her annoyingly square housemate Cindy – a challenge that Jennifer takes only to escape paying several months of rent she already owes to Cindy.

The bet involves the atheist Jennifer sequestering herself in her apartment and waiting for God’s “still small voice” to make itself heard. But instead of being alone for three days, Jennifer finds herself the focus of nationwide media attention when she apparently starts to undergo the exact temptations presented to Jesus during his 40 days in the wilderness. The result is a clash between evidence and faith, prejudice and acceptance, and pride and humility.

Tickets are on sale in the Marshall University Theatre box office in the Joan C. Edwards Performing Arts Center. Box office hours are 1 to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, and tickets for the New Works Festival are $8 per evening or $20 for a full festival pass (all three nights). Tickets also may be purchased by calling (304) 696-2787.

For more information, call Sam Kincaid at (304) 696-6395.

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