Pittsburgh New Works Festival Announces Line-Up For 28th Season

The Pittsburgh New Works Festival (PNWF) has announced its line-up for their 28th season of presenting world premiere plays to Pittsburgh audiences. The 2018 Festival includes 18 new plays presented by one of 18 Pittsburgh-region theater companies.

Each of these plays were selected from 341 submissions PNWF received from seven countries and 35 states.

The PNWF kicks off with two "pay-what-you-like" evenings of plays as part of its LabWorks Series. Each evening concludes with a reception and talkback with production teams and playwrights, when available:

LabWorks Week 1 (Sunday, August 19 at 7:00 p.m.)

- "Astronaut (or Frantic Action)" by Shelby Solla of Brooklyn, NY

produced by Hambones Theater Company

- "The Once and Future King of Zanzibar" by Ted Stenson of Calgary, Alberta

produced by Retro Red Productions

- "Tagged" by Jim Moss of Tampa, FL

produced by Split Stage Productions

LabWorks Week 2 (Sunday, August 26 at 7:00 p.m.)

- "The Bad Bone" by Jeremy Hermann of Berkley, MI

produced by South Park Theatre

- "Henrietta" by Joseph Krawczyk of New York, NY

produced by Actors Civic Theater

- "License and Registration" by Elliot Kreloff

produced by Iron Horse Theatre Company

The MainStage Festival includes four different programs, each includes three plays. Programs A & B alternate from August 30-September 9 and Programs C & D alternate from September 13-23.

Program A will be performed:

Thursday, Aug. 30 at 8:00 p.m.
Saturday, Sept. 1 at 4:00 p.m.
Sunday, Sept. 2 at 2:00 p.m.
Friday, Sept. 7 at 8:00 p.m.
Saturday, Sept. 8 at 8:00 p.m.

- "The Survivor" by Gordon Bennett of Coatesvilles, PA

produced by McKeesport Little Theater

- "AleynaAnna" by Allston James of New York, NY

produced by Cup-A-Jo Productions

- "Survivor's Guilt, or, The Jumping-Off Point" by Alex Flanigan of Winchester, VA

produced by The Duquesne University Red Masquers

Program B will be performed:

Friday, August 31 at 8:00 p.m.
Saturday, Sept. 1 at 8:00 p.m.
Thursday, Sept. 6 at 8:00 p.m.
Saturday, Sept. 8 at 4:00 p.m.
Sunday, Sept. 9 at 2:00 p.m.

- "Thursday Mornings and Sunday Nights" by Charlotte Giles of Celina, TX

produced by The South Hills Players

- "Brace" by Annie LaRussa of New York, NY

produced by Little Lake Theatre

- "Columbus Day" by Stephen LaRocque of Bethesda, MD

produced by The Theatre Factory

Program C will be performed:

Thursday, Sept. 13 at 8:00 p.m.
Saturday, Sept. 15 at 4:00 p.m.
Sunday, Sept. 16 at 2:00 p.m.
Friday, Sept. 21 at 8:00 p.m.
Saturday, Sept. 22 at 8:00 p.m.

- "I Forgot to Worry" by Lawrence Paone of Metuchen, NJ

produced by Stage Right Pittsburgh

- "When Romcoms Go Bad" by Ken Levine of Los Angeles, CA

produced by Prime Stage Theatre

- "Malum" by Ashley Rice of Boulder, CO.

produced by The Heritage Players

Program D will be performed:

Friday, Sept. 14 at 8:00 p.m.
Saturday, Sept. 15 at 8:00 p.m.
Thursday, Sept. 20 at 8:00 p.m.
Saturday, Sept. 22 at 4:00 p.m.
Sunday, Sept. 23 at 2:00 p.m.

- "An Unexpected Mourner" by Michael Wolfson of Valley Village, CA

produced by R-ACT Theatre Productions

- "The Civil War" by Michael Champagne of Brooklyn, NY

produced by Thoreau, NM - A Production Company

- "Where the Star Fell" by Kelly Bancroft of Youngstown, OH

produced by CCAC South Campus Theatre

All performances are held at Carnegie Stage (25 W Main St, Carnegie, PA 15106). Free parking is available.

A Festival Pass is the best value, allowing patrons to see every program of the MainStage Festival for $50. Single tickets are available for $17 (advance) or $20 (door). Student tickets are available for $15 (with valid ID). PittsburghNewWorks.org/tickets

The 2018 Pittsburgh New Works Festival is supported by media sponsors WYEP-FM and 90.5 WESA, along with support by the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts and the Off The Wall Productions Charitable Trust.

The Pittsburgh New Works Festival, Inc. (PNWF) is a non-profit organization with a mission of encouraging and supporting the writing and production of original one-act plays. Since its founding in 1991, PNWF has served as a collaborative organization, pooling the talents and rich resources of western Pennsylvania's emerging theater community and playwrights from around the world in a series of creative activities. The PNWF is dedicated to fostering the development of original one-act plays. Each year, 18 new one-act plays are produced by Pittsburgh region theater companies during the six weeks of the festival.