Yale Bulletin and Calendar

May 2, 2008|Volume 36, Number 28|Two-Week Issue

Carlotta Festival showcases
work of graduating playwrights

Female characters struggle against — or embrace — the family ties that bind them in the works featured in this year’s Carlotta Festival of New Plays, taking place May 9-18.

Three works by graduating playwrights at the Yale School of Drama will be staged during the festival at the New Theater, 1156 Chapel St.

The festival is named for Carlotta Monterey, the widow of Eugene O’Neill, who chose Yale University Press as the publisher of “Long Day’s Journey into Night.” The proceeds from this publication support playwriting at Yale. The Carlotta Festival seeks to introduce new voices in the theater to New Haven audiences as well as industry professionals.

This year’s plays are “Grace, or the Art of Climbing” by Lauren Feldman, “Good Egg” by Dorothy Fortenberry and “I Am a Superhero” by Jennifer Tuckett. The three productions will be presented in rotating repertory.

A pass to all three Carlotta Festival plays is $30; tickets to the individual plays are $18 ($12 for students and seniors). Discounted rates for groups of 10 or more are also available. Tickets may be purchased online at www.yale.edu/drama; by calling (203) 432-1234; or in person at the Yale Repertory Theatre box office, 1120 Chapel St. (at York St.).

“Grace, or the Art of Climbing”

Feldman’s play follows Emm, who — dealing with her father’s illness, a painful breakup and the inertia of depression — decides to launch into the world of competitive rock-climbing. The work is described as “the journey of a young woman suspended between muscularity and vulnerability, falling and climbing, and the ardor and grace of being human.”

“Grace, or the Art of Climbing,” directed by Michael Donahue, will be presented at the following dates and times: Sunday, May 11, 8 p.m.; Wednesday, May 14, 8 p.m.; Thursday, May 15, 2 p.m.; and Saturday, May 17, 8 p.m.

Feldman is a playwright and performer whose works include “Fill Our Mouths” (New Theatre/Miami; Yale School of Drama), “Penguins” (Lark Theatre: reading) and the one-act “When it Rains” (Yale School of Drama; published in “In Times of Disaster”). She has received two Downstage Miami Playwriting grants, and was a U.S. Playwright Delegate for the Royal Court Theatre’s “Crossing the Borders” Project and in World Interplay Australia’s Young Playwrights Festival.

“Good Egg”

The central character in Fortenberry’s work is Meg, who has always taken care of her bipolar younger brother, Matt. When she decides to get pregnant and have her embryos pre-screened for bipolar disorder, questions arise as to whether she’s taking “being responsible” too far. “Good Egg” is billed as “a funny and surprising play about bioethics, siblings and the limits of unconditional love.

“Good Egg,” directed by Snehal Desai, will be presented at the following dates and times: Saturday, May 10, 8 p.m.; Tuesday, May 13, 8 p.m.; Friday, May 16, 8 p.m.; and Sunday, May 18, 2 p.m.

Fortenberry served for two years as artistic associate of the Yale Cabaret, where several of her plays were staged. Her works have also been produced at the Yale School of Drama and at venues in New York City. Fortenberry has taught playwriting in Washington, D.C., and New Haven, and is a 2003 and 2005 winner of the Larry Neal Writers Award from the D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities.

“I Am a Superhero”

Tuckett’s work begins with the line, “This is the full and complete account of how I became a superhero.” It tells the story of 12-year-old Yasmin, whose world falls apart when her father dies suddenly and who sets out on a secret mission to bring her family back together again. The play is described as “a lyrical and touching story of grief and finding hope through the eyes of a child.”

“I Am a Superhero,” directed by Shana Cooper, will be presented at the following dates and times: Friday, May 9, 8 p.m.; Tuesday, May 13, 2 p.m.; Thursday, May 15, 8 p.m.; and Saturday, May 17, 2 p.m.

Tuckett, originally from England and Australia, has had her works staged in both those nations, as well as in Italy. Her “I Am a Superhero” was co-recipient of the United Kingdom’s 2008 Old Vic New Voices Theatre 503 Award. She won the International Student Playscript Competition and the International Playwriting Festival, and has been a finalist for the Heideman Award and the Royal Shakespeare Company’s OTHER Prize, among other honors. She has been writer-in-residence at New York Stage and Film and is a former a member of both the invitation group at the Royal Court Theatre and the Old Vic New Voices company.

For additional information about the 2008 Carlotta Festival of New Plays, visit www.drama.yale.edu/carlotta.

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