SUMMER SHORTS, America's Short Play Festival, Returns To The Arsht Center! Begins May 31

City Theatre (@citytheatremia) and the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County (@arshtcenter) are proud to present SUMMER SHORTS, America's Short Play Festival. Playing May 31-July 1, 2018 in the intimate Carnival Studio Theater (Ziff Ballet Opera House) and led by City Theatre Artistic Director Margaret M. Ledford, SUMMER SHORTS is an annual theatrical celebration that showcases the diversity of Miami through a variety of new short plays and musicals

Considered as the kick-off of the summer theater season, City Theatre's SUMMER SHORTS will celebrate 23 years of presenting the best short plays in the country this May 2018. City Theatre is the national leader in producing innovative, original short plays that enlighten, inspire and entertain.

Tickets to SUMMER SHORTS are $39-$54*. Tickets are available now and may be purchased through the Adrienne Arsht Center Box Office by calling (305) 949-6722, or online at www.arshtcenter.org.

Penned by the country's leading playwrights and performed by a company of South Florida theater all-stars, SUMMER SHORTS offers theatergoers a fun-filled 90-minute program of new comedies, dramas, and mini-musicals.

SUMMER SHORTS 2018 features the following:

Ailurphobia by Scott Gibson - Southeastern Premiere

The fur flies when a couple enjoying a purr-fectly romantic evening, wind up at the mercy of Jinx - the cat!

The Almost In Laws by Greg Edwards, Lyrics and Book; and Andy Roninson, Music - World Premiere

Des has to introduce his fiancée Jennifer to his parents, and they're, well...different.

Bedtime by Steve Yockey - Florida Premiere

After years of terror, Violet has reached the breaking point and decides to trap her stalker using her clueless pal Julie as bait!

Bloodbath at the Fillmore by Audrey Cefaly - World Premiere

Max Jones, a popular writer in the midst of a midlife crisis, is late for a reading at the Fillmore, creating havoc all around, and doesn't really care. Until he does.

Covenant (...or bagels and butchery) by Ken Weitzman - World Premiere

A mixed married couple has last minute doubts about faith, their infant son's bris, and the cross eyed mohel with a sharp knife who has come to perform the cut. What would God do?

Duck by Sheila Cowley - World Premiere

Jan and Bob have a job to do and lots of stuff with history! A comedy about cleaning up, sorting out, and finding things worth keeping.

Melto Man and Lady Mantis by Eric Pfeffinger - Southeastern Premiere

Two unnatural fiends. One office suite. Because even monsters have meetings, and these taxes aren't going to file themselves.

One More Time by Mark Harvey Levine - Southeastern Premiere

A group of pals are going crazy trapped in a small world...of hell? What to do? There's no way out! Until suddenly...

Run by Bekah Brunstetter - Southeastern Premiere

2012 City Theatre National Award for Short Playwriting Contest Finalist; 2018 Short Cuts Tour

Frank insists on taking Ellie, his prickly, awkward and non-athletic teenaged daughter out to the track for a run. As they struggle to go the distance, both confront the fears and surprising discoveries of growing up and growing older.

About the Cast and Creatives:

Elizabeth Dimon (Actor) is an 11 season alumni of Summer Shorts. Most recent credits: Be Here Now and Most Wanted at Theatre Lab; An Inspector Calls at Maltz Jupiter Theatre; The Humans and Informed Consent at Gablestage; and The Cripple of Inishmaan at Palm Beach Dramaworks. Beth has worked all over the state of Florida for the past 30 years. She is a multiple nominee and four-time Carbonell winner and a Silver Palm recipient.

DARYL PATRICE (Actor) was last seen in M Ensemble's production of God's Trombones, and recently appeared in the East Coast premiere of Reservoir Dolls as "Nice Gal Edie." She also was part of Fantasy Theatre Factory's touring production of Bananas, Books, and Pancakes.

Alex Alvarez (Actor) appeared in City Theatre's Winter Shorts 2017 and Summer Shorts 2016 at the Arsht Center. Other South Florida theatre credits include: The Humans, Dry Powder, Stalking the Bogeyman, The Motherf**ker with the Hat, Superior Donuts (GableStage); The Goldberg Variations, Daniel's Husband (Island City Stage); Domestic Animals (Palm Beach Dramaworks); Mud, A Public Reading of an Unproduced Screenplay on the Death of Walt Disney, Or, A Map of Virtue (Thinking Cap Theatre); Trust (Zoetic Stage at the Arsht Center); Visiting Hours (New Theatre); The Unseen (Promethean Theatre); and Melisma, written and directed by Nilo Cruz (Arca Images). Alex is a dubbing artist at Universal Cinergia, The Kitchen and VOA. He studied acting at California Institute of the Arts and the Larry Moss Studio. He is currently working on his MFA in Writing for the Screen and Stage at Point Park University's Low Residency Program. Alex is a Carbonell Award winner, a five-time nominee, a Silver Palm Award winner, and a Miami New Times Best Supporting Actor.

Tom Wahl (Actor) is back for his 12th season with City Theatre. Other regional theatres include The Kennedy Center (DC), Geva Theatre Center (NY), Blumenthal Performing Arts Center (NC), Blowing Rock Stage Company (NC), Harrisburg Opera (PA), Palm Beach Drama Works, GableStage, Zoetic Stage at the Arsht Center, Actors Playhouse, Florida Stage, Caldwell Theatre, Mosaic Theatre, TheVanguard, Waterfront Playhouse and Red Barn Theatre. Tom is a recipient of the Carbonell Award, the Silver Palm Award and the Curtain Up Award. Film and TV credits include New In Town with Renee Zellweger, Plato's Run with Roy Scheider, Ace Ventura: Pet Detective with Jim Carey, "Pointman" with Jack Scalia, "Extra Large" (Italy), "Night Screams" (Netherlands), "Big City Blues" and recurring guest star as Hunt Pelham on ABC's "Moon Over Miami".

DIANA GARLE's (Actor) City Theatre credits include: Shorts on Ships, Winter Shorts and Short Cuts Tour 2016 and 2017. Other theatre credits: The Humans (GableStage); Juliet Among The Changelings (Lost Girls Theater); Sound Bite: South Beach and Hip Hop Won't Save You (The Project [theatre]); Hedda Gabler and Three Sisters (Miami Theater Center); and The Plough and The Stars at O'Reilly Theatre Company in Dublin. Recent film credits include: Band of Brothers, Scenes from Our Young Marriage, For Family's Sake (Best Narrative Short Film at New York City International Film Festival). Diana was featured in American Theatre magazine as one of the "7 Theatre Workers You Should Know." She is a teaching artist at Miami Theater Center, Broward Center for the Performing Arts, and Arts for Learning.

Marquise Rogers (Actor) recently won four Carbonell Awards for his work in Kings of Harlem by the M Ensemble. Born and raised in Brooklyn, NY, Marquise also graduated from Barry University with a BFA in acting. Other credits: Miami Motel Stories by Juggerknot Theater Company and Leave Your Heart On The Stage by Blackheart Visions which he is the co-founder of.

Jessica Farr (Director) is an alumnus of Fordham University Lincoln Center (Theatre), and Moscow Art Theatre (MXAT- Acting). She is originally from Miami, FL. She is Administrative Manager at City Theatre as well as Tour Director and Playwright for their Short Cuts Tour. She has directed for Summer Shorts at the Arsht Center for the past three years in a row. She was former company member and Associate Director of Mad Cat Theatre Company. She is part of the teaching artist staff at Miami Theater Center. She is a voice over talent at The Kitchen and VOA Voice Studios. You may have heard her voice on original HBO and Netflix programing. Recent theatrical credits include: Three Sisters of Weehawken (Natasha), Why Not? With Richard Nixon (Tricia Nixon/Richard Milhous Nixon/Hillary Clinton), and The Flick (Rose) for which she and her cast mates were nominated for Best Ensemble at the 40th Carbonell Awards. Her plays have been produced nationally including recent productions in Pennsylvania, Florida, Ohio, California, and New York. Her play Blow Me, inspired by the life of Isabella Blow, was written up in Vogue UK. She has performed stand-up at venues such as The Comedy Store, Ha-Ha Comedy Club, Flappers Burbank, and The Improv. She has written for Comedy Central's South Beach Comedy Festival for three years in a row. She was a Miami New Times Mastermind Artist in 2014. Her play NADIE was a finalist for City Theatre's National Short Play Contest 2014. Her play Bernie Singles Dot Com was featured in Shorts Gone Wild 4 at Island City Stage. She is a 2017-2019 Miami Dade County Playwright Development Program grantee currently working with Master Playwright Sheri Wilner.

MARGARET M. LEDFORD (Director) hails from Chattanooga, Tennessee where she received her Bachelor of Arts in Theatre and Speech from the University of TN and studied Cubist-Expressionistic Scenography post WWI abroad at Masaryk University in Brno, Czech Republic. She is a member of Actors Equity Association and worked as an Equity Stage Manager in regional theatres: Barter Theatre in Abingdon, VA and Coconut Grove Playhouse. She served on the board of the South Florida Theatre League for six years, four of them as Board President. She is an eight-time Carbonell Award nominated director, a multiple Silver Palm winner for direction, and Carbonell winning Lighting Designer. She was the Associate Artistic Director and Resident Director for The Promethean Theatre, Resident Theatre Company at Nova Southeastern University for eight years. Margaret has directed for most South Florida theaters including: Fantasy Theatre Factory, Thinking Cap Theatre, New Theatre, Naked Stage, Mosaic Theatre, Caldwell Theatre, Del Ray Beach Arts Garage, FAU's Theatre Lab, FIU, and Florida Stage. Margaret is a founding member of Mangrove Creative Collective, proud member of Actors' Equity Association, and a National Reviewer for the National YoungArts Foundation.

GAIL S. GARRISAN (Director) is a professional director, acting teacher and writer. She was the founding Artistic Director of City Theatre and currently serves as the Director of Special Projects, as well as a member of the Board of Directors. Garrisan has directed productions at numerous venues throughout South Florida, as well as regionally. She is currently a teaching artist at Broward Center for the Performing Arts. She was an Asst. Professor at New World School of the Arts for seven years, teaching acting and directing. She also has a three-tier private coaching practice for professional actors; for students preparing for high school and college auditions; and for business professionals seeking presentation techniques. Her workshops on Audition Techniques, Breath and Body Exploration and Monologue Building have been presented nationally. She holds an MFA in Directing and a BA in Dramatic Literature. She is a member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society, Florida Professional Theatre Association, Theatre Communications Group.

CLIVE CHOLERTON (Director) returns for his second stint directing for City Theatre where he made his South Florida directorial debut in 2008. In between, he has directed Sweeney Todd, 1776, Camelot, Man of La Mancha, Company, The Most Happy Fella, and 110 in the Shade for Palm Beach Dramaworks. Formerly artistic director of Caldwell Theatre Company; directorial highlights include the world premieres of Vices: A Love Story, Dangerous, and Stuff, as well as such personal favorites as The Whipping Man, The Voysey Inheritance, Distracted, The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity, and Clybourne Park.

MICHAEL YAWNEY (Director) wrote and directed Exile Jesus Starbucks (Miami Light Project/Here & Now). He directed Susan Westfall's A Stitch in Time (Jewish Museum of Florida), Rudi Goblen's PET (Miami Light Project and YoungArts), Rebecca Joy Fletcher's Ringing True (MTC/Sandbox), as well as Heather Woodbury's 12-hour stand-up novel As the Globe Warms (Vortex Rep/Austin, Redcat/L.A. and FIU). Yawney teaches at Florida International University where he runs their play development program, The Greenhouse.

Caryl Fantel (Musical Director) works regularly at theatres and schools throughout South Florida and beyond. A Carbonell and two-time Silver Palm Award recipient, her credits include productions/readings/events off-Broadway and at/with The 5th Avenue Theatre in Seattle; Carnegie Hall; Maltz Jupiter Theatre; Zoetic Stage at the Arsht Center; Palm Beach Dramaworks; Theatre Lab; Actors' Playhouse; Slow Burn and Outré Theatres; City Theatre; Arsht Center, Broward and Kravis Performing Arts Centers; and others.

SUMMER SHORTS' creative team features set design by Jodi Dellaventura; costume design by Ellis Tillman; lighting design by Eric Nelson; and sound design by Steve Shapiro. Naomi Zapada is the production's stage manager.