Regina Ford @ Old Pueblo Playwrights' New Play Festival

Old Pueblo Playwrights’ New Play Festival, an annual celebration of thought-provoking theatre, features original works by 12 local playwrights during five days of staged readings of 14 peer-reviewed plays this year. “OPP has been bringing literary theatre to life for 30-plus years,” says John Vornholt, the nonprofit’s longtime president. “We are excited to be returning this spring to the historic Temple of Music and Art in Tucson’s Downtown Arts District.” Notes 2023 Festival Coordinator David Zinke: “The festival will be held again this year in the intimate upstairs Cabaret Theatre at TMA.” The veteran Tucson actor and budding playwright serves on OPP’s board. “Santa Cruz Shoestring Players’ Regina Ford, Active Imagination Theatre’s Robin Carson, and a host of others will direct more than a dozen actors as they portray characters young and old, comic and tragic, real and surreal, in five (5) full-length plays and nine (9) shorts. From end-of-life dramas to marital farce to SciFi romps, this year’s lineup has something for everyone. And we’ve got talent from the Beowulf Alley Theatre Company, KXCI’s Tales of Tucson, Rogue Theatre, and more.” Adds Vornholt: “OPP believes the play’s the thing, so we focus on the writing. We perform each play just once, script in hand, with minimal blocking, props, set pieces, and lighting—and encourage audiences to ‘talk back’ to playwrights and actors.” The best-selling author, actor, playwright, director, producer, screenwriter, and journalist, invites feedback on his historical saga, The President’s Women, debuting Saturday, April 1, at 7 pm. “I’ve enjoyed exploring most of the seven sins and then some! Find out how little is truly fictional at the post-performance talkback.” “OPP is grateful to the Arizona Commission on the Arts for their continued support of OPP and the arts,” adds OPP Treasurer Mel Hector, MD. The prolific playwright frequently explores thorny healthcare and end-of-life issues in such plays as his Thin Grey Line, debuting Thursday, March 30. WHAT: 2023 OPP NEW PLAY FESTIVAL (NPF) WHEN: March 30-April 2, 2023 WHERE: At Temple of Music and Art’s upstairs Cabaret Theatre at 330 S. Scott Avenue in downtown Tucson NO TIX NEEDED! ~Performances are pay-what-you-will. ~Open seating—please arrive 15-30 minutes before showtime. ~Masks suggested but not required. ~Use outdoor stairs or elevator in back to access second-floor theatre. ~Park on street (several handicapped spots) or in downtown garages. ~Bottled water available for a donation. SHOWTIMES LINE-UP : Sat. April 1 @ 1 PM ~Ready, Set, Go pairs a free spirit eager to go wine tasting with an introvert who’d rather watch paint dry. Regina Ford directs Audrey Ann Gambach (SUSAN) and David Updegraff (DAVID) in Debra Vassallo’s 14-minute marital comedy. ~Gavin Kayner directs his 20-min. farce, Take a Number, featuring two wacky IRS agents and a frustrated taxpayer played by Eric Everts (RALPH), Roxanne Harley (BUBBA), and Pat Timm (HAZEL PUMPERNICKEL). ~Joann Anderson directs Kira McNeill (MADDIE) and Richard Michael Thompson (JIM) in Oyster Stuffing. The 10-min. short by Liisa Rose quickly sets the scene for a newly engaged couple’s first family gathering and first big argument. ~A grieving young widow forms an unlikely bond in Shower Monster. Carl Damhesel and David Rochon adapted the surreal 30-min. drama from a story by Rochon. Damhesel directs Dennis O'Dell (DESHAWN COLT), Patrick Kutsor (GLENN), and Kira McNeill (LUCY). David Youngerman facilitates the talkback. O'Dell Sat. April 1 @ 7 PM ~Three love-smitten women and a host of unsavory men follow newly elected Warren G. Harding to the White House in John Vornholt’s The President’s Women. Robin Carson directs Andrew Gray (WARREN G. HARDING), Larry Gutman (HARRY DOUGHERTY), Meagan Jones (CARRIE PHILLIPS), Drew Kallen-Keck (GASTON MEANS), Kristen Kallen-Keck (FLORENCE HARDING), and Eric Rau (DOC SAWYER).

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