The O'Neill Festival of New Works Returns for a Third Year
Three Cape Cod playwrights, six staged readings, and two weekends of new theater in the making — April 18–26 at WOMR's Davis Space.
The O'Neill Festival of New Works is back. Provincetown Dramatic Arts will present its third annual celebration of new plays by Cape Cod's most promising writers from April 18 through April 26, with all performances at the Davis Space at WOMR in Provincetown.
Founded by Margaret Van Sant, Producing Artistic Director of Provincetown Dramatic Arts, the festival is named after Eugene O'Neill — the Nobel Prize–winning dramatist who launched his career here with the original Provincetown Players more than a century ago. It continues a long tradition of Provincetown serving as a creative incubator for American theater.
"Our goal is to celebrate the rich theatrical history of Provincetown and Cape Cod by providing the resources to help playwrights workshop and refine their plays and musicals," says Van Sant.
Inspired by the Best
Van Sant has spent years attending and working with some of the country's most established play development festivals, and she drew direct inspiration from one in particular.
"One I am fond of is the highly successful O'Neill Theater Conference in Eugene O'Neill's home town, Waterford, Connecticut. I thought Provincetown should have a festival dedicated to play development because the Outer Cape is a continually active cauldron of the arts, with creative playwrights continually producing exciting new works," she says. "The Festival is a way to bring national attention to local playwrights and assist them in developing excellent and challenging scripts that will make for spellbinding full productions. Last year was so successful that several of those scripts will soon be seeing productions on the Cape, and we encourage people to see those scripts in full production."
How the Festival Works
All performances are staged readings — actors perform with scripts in hand and minimal blocking, keeping the focus squarely on the writing. Each reading is followed by an audience discussion led by the dramaturge, giving audiences a rare chance to participate in the development of new work. Between weekends, playwrights incorporate that feedback and present revised versions at their second reading.
"Because there is no financial investment in production values, the playwrights are free to experiment and take chances with rewrites as the weekend progresses, having the ultimate freedom to explore their plays without the hindrance of a financial burden," says Van Sant.
Working with Dramaturges
A defining feature of the festival is the pairing of each playwright with a dramaturge. Theaters and playwrights have used dramaturges since the 1700s — they're often called the scientists of the theater world, examining a play's thematic underpinnings, writing style, historical background, setting, and broader context. This year's festival features three dramaturges with regional and national prominence: John Dennis Anderson, Jim Dalglish, and Lynda Sturner.
The directors reflect the same caliber, blending Cape Cod favorites with talent from further afield: Joshua Quiñones, Jim Dalglish, and Judith Partelow.
This Year's Plays
Lara: A Love Story
by Racine Oxtoby
Directed by Joshua Quiñones
Dramaturge: John Dennis Anderson
Sat., April 18 at 2pm / Sun., April 26 at 7pm
WOMR – Davis Space (second floor)
In 1949, while Boris Pasternak was writing Doctor Zhivago, his mistress Olga Ivinskaya was arrested by the KGB and sent to a gulag to force him to stop writing. She never turned against him, and Doctor Zhivago became his masterpiece. This play views the novel's creation through the lens of Boris and Olga's extraordinary relationship.
Tickets: Lara: A Love Story »
A Fool's Errand, A Farce for the Newlywed and the Newly Divorced
by John Hanright
Directed by Jim Dalglish
Dramaturge: Jim Dalglish
Sat., April 18 at 7pm / Sat., April 25 at 2pm
WOMR – Davis Space (second floor)
Newlyweds Angel and Ricardo are looking to spice up their relationship. But when a mysterious love poem and an old flame enter the picture, their marriage becomes a love knot. Will they save their relationship, or will it all be a fool's errand?
Tickets: A Fool’s Errand »
Brand New Planet and Thank God It's Friday
by Susan Lumenello
Directed by Judith Partelow & Susan Lumenello
Dramaturge: Lynda Sturner
Sun., April 19 at 2pm / Sat., April 25 at 7pm
WOMR – Davis Space (second floor)
Brand New Planet — A routine alien abduction goes sideways when a bumbling space courier takes the wrong person. What begins as antagonism evolves into friendship, then something more, as two damaged creatures confront a lethal threat together.
Thank God It's Friday — When 50-something Jennie swipes right for her first date with a woman, she's nervous, excited, and hopeful — until the sudden appearance of a work colleague sends her clinging to the closet door.
Festival Schedule
Saturday, April 18 at 2pm — Lara: A Love Story by Racine Oxtoby
Saturday, April 18 at 7pm — A Fool's Errand by John Hanright
Sunday, April 19 at 2pm — Brand New Planet / Thank God It's Friday by Susan Lumenello
Saturday, April 25 at 2pm — A Fool's Errand by John Hanright
Saturday, April 25 at 7pm — Brand New Planet / Thank God It's Friday by Susan Lumenello
Sunday, April 26 at 7pm — Lara: A Love Story by Racine Oxtoby
Tickets
Admission is pay-what-you-can. You may reserve tickets in advance or pay at the door.
Massachusetts Cultural Council Card to Culture members are admitted free of charge on a walk-up basis — no reservations required.
Tickets are on sale now!
About Provincetown Dramatic Arts
Provincetown Dramatic Arts is a project of the Provincetown Community Compact.
Sponsors
The O'Neill Festival of New Works is sponsored by WOMR Radio, the Mass Cultural Council, Harbor Hotel, Provincetown Dental Arts and Dr. Scott A. Allegretti, D.D.S., and the Visitor Services Board Office of Tourism.
Poster illustration used with permission of the artist, Bill Evaul.
