Old Pueblo Playwrights New Play Festival @Temple of Music & Art

Old Pueblo Playwrights has been bringing original theatre to Tucson audiences for 30-plus years. This year our celebration of works for the stage offers something for everyone. The lineup includes SciFi and marital farce, explorations of end-of-life issues, and magical Irish thinking. Dozens of actors, led by talented local directors, will perform staged readings of five full-length plays and nine shorts by 12 local playwrights, over a five-day weekend. We believe the play’s the thing so we focus on the writing and perform each play just once--script in hand, with minimal blocking, props, set pieces, and lighting. Audiences are invited to participate in post-performance talkbacks. NO RESERVED SEATS! PAY WHAT YOU WILL AT THE DOOR! 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 Wed., March 29 @7 PM ~THE GALACTIC GOURMET features a star-hopping celebrity chef, his foodie travelogue, and the woman determined to hunt him down and kill him in Dave Sewell's 42nd-century romp. Pat Timm directs Robin Carson (DIRA NOBBENKLATT), Anne Dalton & Dennis O’Dell (THE PROTEANS: (HOTEL STAFF, EDITOR, CHEFS MAKUMBA & LONNIE HERMOSA, MORTIMER LOONE, COMMANDER, TROOPER, AMBASSADOR CARVEY, & MULA BANDHA), Andrew Gray (GUYMO DEEMS), Diane Ouradnik (ZEMANDA DEEMS), and Mike Saxon (GULLETT); facilitator TBA. THURS., MARCH 30 @7 PM ~Regina Ford directs Sydney Flynn (MS. BEVERLY), Audrey Ann Gambach (NANCY HAYDEN), Patrick Kutsor (STEVEN HAYDEN), Joe Smith (RICHARD HAYDEN), Richard Michael Thompson (DARREN “DEATH” YADER) in THE THIN GREY LINE, a gripping 90-min. drama by Mel Hector. Are the Haydens making end-of-life arrangements with Death or Satan? John Vornholt facilitates the talkback. FRI., MARCH 31 @7 PM ~Three polarities show magic happens when you leave the door open in ALGORITHMS OF LOVE set in the Irish village of Dalrymple. Regina Ford directs Anne Aikman-Scalese (EILISH), Anne Dalton (MICHAELA), Chad Eggen (HARRY INGRAM), Audrey Gambach (MORGANA), Liisa Rose (MAVIS), David Updegraff (FERGUS CLODAGH/JAKE’S VOICE), Ellie Vought (JANE HANNIGAN), and Julia Wetzel (DAWN) in Sherrye Cohn's heart-felt 90-min. drama. 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-min. marital comedy. ~Gavin Kayner directs his 20-min. farce, TAKE A NUMBER, featuring two wacky IRS agents and a frustrated taxpayer played by TBA. ~Joann Anderson directs Kira McNeill (MADDIE) and Richard Michael Thompson (JIM) in OYSTER STUFFING. Liisa Rose's 10-min. short 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. 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). SUN. April 2 @1 PM ~David Youngerman poses difficult questions for SIRI in his SIRI Series: o An elderly couple wonder about the afterlife in WHERE IS THE LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL? Vince Flynn directs Joe Smith (JOHN) and Sydney Flynn (MARTHA). o A young man questions his athletic options in WHY DON'T JEWS PLAY FOOTBALL? Sheldon Metz (DAVID) and Ina Shivack (ANNE) direct themselves. o A diner learns the truth about his favorite restaurant in WHY IS A MAN NEVER LONELY WHEN EATING A BOWL OF SPAGHETTI? The playwright directs David Gunther (ENRICO) and Dave Sewell (MR. WALLACE). ~On a road trip with his fiancé, a young man shares memories of his childhood in in Youngerman's 15-minute drama, THE MUSIC ON MY RADIO. Robin Carson directs David Gunther (CHARLES), Meagan Jones (ANN), Diane Ouradnik (ROSE), and Dave Sewell (ELVIS). ~Sam and Harriet have a real problem with honesty in HONESTLY HARRIET, a 20-minute marital drama by Phil Levere. Vince Flynn directs Sydney Flynn (HARRIET), Joe Smith (SAM), and Halsy Taylor (WAITRESS). SUN. April 2 @6 PM ~How far should one go to protect family secrets? Liisa Rose's BURN SCAR examines a long-forgotten house fire, and its associated guilt and forgiveness, through the lens of dementia. Joanne Anderson directs Sydney Flynn (ELIZA), Eleni Gray (YOUNG THERESA), Ellie Vought (THERESA), TBA (LIBBY), and David Youngerman (JOSEPH).

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