This weekend, New Haven's Long Wharf Theater will become a laboratory of sorts, with staged readings of three new plays by three up-and-coming young playwrights. The Contemporary American Voices Festival gives theatergoers the chance to see cutting edge new works for the stage by accomplished young playwrights.
This year, Long Wharf has chosen three plays: Boo Killibrew's "Miller, Mississippi," a play set in the South during the civil rights movement; Jeff Augustin's "The Last Tiger in Haiti," a play about storytelling and poverty set in Haiti, and Clare Barron's "Dance Nation," where an army of pre-teen competitive dancers plot to take over the world.
Despite the diversity in style and subject matter, the plays selected for this year's festival have a common thread that Long Wharf said aligns perfectly with the theater's aesthetic.
"They are each narrative driven stories," said Christine Scarfuto, Longwharf's Literary Manager. "Yes, they are told in wildly different theatrical ways, but at their essence are really good stories, and I think our audience will enjoy them."
Each play is in different stages of development. Scarfuto said one of the main purposes of the festival is to give new playwrights a much needed leg up in the theater world.
"The initial years when you are first out of school, when you are trying to be writer, and trying to get your work produced can be pretty treacherous. These are the writers that can benefit the most from an opportunity like this, because it gives you good exposure in the industry, and it gives you a chance to actually work on your play in a room with actors and a director," said Scarfuto.
The festival also features a playwriting workshop, a unique exercise reminiscent of a certain cooking competition on the Food Network. "The people in our class will be given a set amount of ingredients, and they'll have to write a 10 minute play including those ingredients. Things like a withheld secret, a front porch, and a kitchen sink, things like that," Scarfuto said.
The Contemporary American Voices Festival begins Friday evening, September 9, at Long Wharf Theater in New Haven.
