Humana Festival of New American Plays: See It Here First
For the 35th year, audiences in Louisville will be the first to see productions of six new full productions at the Actors Theatre Humana Festival of New American Plays, which runs Sunday, February 27, through April 3, 2011.
This year’s festival presents the world premieres of “A Devil at Noon” by Anne Washburn, “Maple and Vine" by Jordan Harrison, “Elemeno Pea” by Molly Smith Metzler, “Edith Can Shoot Things and Hit Them” by A. Rey Pamatmat, “The Edge of Our Bodies” by Adam Rapp and “BOB” by Peter Sinn Nachtrieb.
In addition, the festival will include an evening of 10-minute plays and “The End,” a new work written by Dan Dietz, Jennifer Haley, Allison Moore, A. Rey Pamatmat and Marco Ramirez for the Actors Theatre Apprentice Company.
Actors Theatre, founded in 1964, is the state theater of Kentucky and a preeminent regional company, and the monthlong Humana Festival, which began in 1976, is the premiere event of its kind. The plays are chosen from the more than 2,000 scripts that are submitted every year. The works are fully staged with costumes and sets and run in repertory, with anywhere from two to five performed on a single evening and as many as seven different productions on weekends late in the festival.
Many plays that debut at the Humana Festival are subsequently produced elsewhere -- on and off Broadway and by other regional theater companies. Three Humana Festival plays have won Pulitzer Prizes: “The Gin Game” by D.L. Coburn, “Crimes of the Heart” by Beth Henley and “Dinner with Friends” by Donald Margulies. Those plays and five other Humana Festival works have also been adapted for film or television.
Last year’s festival drew nearly 40,000 people, including critics and arts writers from across the country who attended the two “industry weekends.” The festival is underwritten by The Humana Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Louisville-based health insurance company Humana Inc.
The Humana Festival is an opportunity to see what might be coming next in New York and to mingle with rising actors and others on the national arts scene. Be careful what you say about a play at intermission: The playwright might be sitting in the row in front of you.
Hello Louisville tip: Have dinner before the play or drinks afterward at Intermezzo Café on Actors Theatre’s lower level. Appetizers, including fried green tomatoes and brie with local honey, range in price from $5.50 to $9; entrees, which include parmesan-crusted tilapia and the Kentucky Hot Brown, are $16 to $23. Reservations are recommended for dinner: (502) 561-3344.
Posted on Mar 7, 2011 by Carla Carlton
