TheatreWorks' 2013 New Works Festival

Continuing its commitment to developing new
works, TheatreWorks, the
nationally-acclaimed theatre of Silicon Valley, will once again assemble
playwrights and composers from across the nation in its 2013 New Works Festival.  The
twelfth annual Festival runs August 10-18
at TheatreWorks at the Lucie Stern Theatre in Palo Alto, with
multiple staged readings of five new plays and musicals, a panel discussion, live
outdoor music from local musicians, and pre-show food truck offerings, all open
to the public.  Each new work has the
opportunity to be revised throughout the process as playwrights and composers
respond to audience feedback, continuing to refine their material over a series
of performances.  This year’s
festival will feature LAUGH, an edgy
new farce inspired by the slapstick comedies of Hollywood’s Roaring 20s, from
Pulitzer-winning playwright Beth Henley; CUBAMOR,
a saucy cross-cultural musical romance directed by Kent Nicholson; MRS. HUGHES, a sensational musical
drama about the tangled lives of Sylvia Plath, her husband Ted Hughes, and his
mistress Assia; THE GREAT PRETENDER,
a bittersweet comedy by David West Read (Broadway’s The Performers); and GATHER
AT THE RIVER, a captivating comic drama from Laura Marks (Bethany) about a liberal New Yorker who
volunteers for a non-profit run by a Bible-thumping Kentucky clan.  Festival-goers have the opportunity to
interact directly with the writers in a special Meet the Artists Panel at 4:00pm,
August 18.  For the first time ever, the Meet the Artists Panel will be
live-streamed online through HowlRound TV, allowing audiences around the world
to participate.  Available at the
Festival will be local Bay Area food trucks such as Curry Up Now, We Sushi,
MoGo BBQ, and more, where attendees can enjoy gourmet quick meals between
performances.