The Theatre League’s Summer Theatre Fest has become an integral part of South Florida’s cultural landscape, and in its sixth year South Florida audiences will once again have the opportunity to see theatre for free and check out new plays in development by South Florida playwrights. The program’s continued and growing success over of past five years has indicated to the League that theatre patrons are ready and willing to try new theatrical experiences, and even cross county lines to do it.
On Monday evenings from June until August, a South Florida Theatre League member theatre will host a reading of a new play by a local playwright. Playwrights range from established local favorites, including Carbonell Award-winners and nominees to emerging talents, with plays vastly ranging in subject matter and style.
“Our audiences have grown over the past five years,” says Board Member and Marketing Chair Carol Kassie. “We’ve seen full theatres – which is always exciting – and a good number of patrons who attend multiple readings. We’ve also found that patrons who attend a reading at a particular theatre often return to that theatre to attend a paid performance. So, we consider the program a great success on both sides of the footlights!”
Previous Festivals included Stages of the Sun, which is a collection of short plays by individual member playwrights. This year, Stages of the Sun is expanding to include an evening of student plays which will take place at Fantasy Theatre Factory’s Sandrell Rivers Theatre on July 2; the traditional event is moving to MicroTheater where the readings will be presented in MicroTheater’s unique format.
“I’m really excited to have Stages of the Sun expand for an evening of student plays and to have an evening of short play readings at MicroTheater,” says the South Florida Theatre League’s Executive Director Andie Arthur. “If patrons haven’t been to MicroTheater, they’re in for a unique experience – the plays take place in storage containers and audience members can see as many or as few readings as they wish. It’s theatre tapas!”
In addition to the reading series, Summer Theatre Fest will launch with the South Florida Theatre League’s Annual Member Meeting, which gives the members of the League a chance to meet, network, and talk about pressing issues in the arts community.
Summer Theatre Fest will close with the Remy Awards – given by the League to honor the unsung heroes within the theatre community.
The traditional reading series begins on Monday June 11 with readings every Monday until August 20.
For more information on upcoming readings, please visit http://southfloridatheatre.org .
Please note that additional information will be added for readings as it is received.
South Florida Theatre League Summer Fest – Reading Schedule:
June 4: Annual South Florida Theatre League Meeting and Networking Event at Miami New Drama at 7:30 PM
June 11: Pale Blue Dot by Luis Roberto Herrera at Main Street Players at 7:30 PM
June 18: Cassie by Jessica Farr at City Theatre at the Adrienne Arsht Center, 7:00 PM
June 25: Stages of the Sun: Readings of New Plays by South Florida Theatre League Playwrights at MicroTheater Miami, various times
This reading will be done in the traditional MicroTheater set up, so multiple readings of short plays will be running concurrently within storage containers. Audience members can see as many or as few plays as they would like.
July 2: Student Stages of the Sun: Plays by Student Playwrights at the Sandrell Rivers Theatre
July 9: When a Baby Cries by Bonita Alane Cornick at TheatreSouth at the Aventura Cultural Arts Center
July 9: Sideways by Rex Pickett, TheatreXP at Red Barn Theatre, 7:30 PM
July 16: Titled Glass by Michael Aman, Zoetic Stage at the Adrienne Arsht Center, 7:00 PM
July 23: TBA, the Cutler Bay Community Theatre at Ludovici Park at 7:00 PM
July 23: The Unfinished Mystery by Various Playwrights, Mystery on the Menu at Empire Stage at 8:00 PM
July 30: TBA by Andie Arthur, Primal Forces at Sol Theatre, 7:00 PM
August 6: TBA at Miami New Drama
August 13: Massive by Maura Campbell, Fugitive Sister Productions at the Pompano Beach Cultural Center at 7:00 PM
August 20: WITH L by James Grippando, GableStage at 7:30 PM
August 27: The Remy Awards at the Sandrell Rivers Theatre
Leave a Reply