SPARKy Presents: TPF 2013 Overview

14 Jul SPARKy Presents: TPF 2013 Overview

Dan Castellaneta, playwright & voice of Homer Simpson, in town for Telluride Playwrights Fest

SPARKy Productions is proud to present the annual Telluride Playwrights Festival, which takes place this heart from Tuesday, July 23 – Sunday, July 28. The 2013 event includes new membership options, exclusive events, and some of the biggest names in theatre and television such as Dan Castellaneta and Deb Lacusta.

Besides being award winning writers and actors, Castellaneta and Lacusta are renowned Second City improvisers. And Castellaneta also just happens to be the voice of Homer Simpson on the TV show “The Simpsons.”  So yes, you could say Homer is coming to town.

This year, TPF is partnering with the Bloomington Playwrights Project in Bloomington, Indiana. Next year the company will be premiering Castellaneta and Lacusta’s new comedy, “The Banana Tree,” along with another new play are we are showcasing, a science thriller, “Sequence,” by Canadian playwright Arun Lukra.

As is the tradition of TPF, actors work on the play for a week before presenting it to the community in the form of a staged reading.The plays are all in their final “incubation” phase and Telluride is the perfect laboratory. After every reading, we hold a “talk-back” session to help the playwrights further the play’s journey. Playwrights have repeatedly told us they find that exchange particularly helpful and the Telluride audiences have reported they enjoy the interaction too. Plays that have been read in Telluride have gone on to productions in larger theatres in New York, Chicago, Denver, and Detroit.

Along with the two main-stage readings is a new play by Rich Orloff, “Chatting with The Tea Party.” Orloff is a New Yorker who traveled the country talking to members of, duh, the Tea Party.

The last few years has seen the Festival add a comedy show and this year, the writing, acting team Adam Carpenter and Zachary Steel are presenting a late night show,”Me Rich You Learn.” The show was a recent hit at the Hollywood Fringe Festival.

2013 FESTIVAL SCHEDULE

Tuesday, July 23 – PlaySLAM

Open-mic night with a focus on theatre at The Steaming Bean, starting at 9 p.m. until last call. Anyone and everyone is invited to attend and/or participate. This event is free.

Wednesday, July 24 – Me Rich You Learn

This bawdy tax-evasion comedy, written by Adam Carpenter and Zach Steel (son of long-time local John Steele), directed by Turner Munch, and utilizing the talents of the award-winning Los Angeles troupe Four Clowns, takes place at the Sheridan Opera House at 9 p.m. Admission is free for those with festival passes.Individual tickets will be available at the door for $15.

Father (Johnny Gerona) and daughter (Emma) of The Village Table. Restaurant featuring Adriatic food is setting for SPARKy fundraiser.

Thursday, July 25 – Benefit for Telluride Playwrights Festival

Three-course dinner at Johnny Gerona’s The Village Table in Mountain Village, 7 p.m. Ticket: $85/person. A chance to meet and chat with 2013 playwrights and actors. Short, exclusive live auction: night at Dunton Hot Springs, dinner at Sutcliffe vineyard, case of vintage wine and more.

Friday, July 26 – IMPROV Night

It’s improv. At the Sheridan Opera House. Professionals, locals, and local professionals will get the opportunity to stretch their improvisational legs, creating characters and scenes from scratch for your amusement. Begins at 8 p.m. Admission is free for those with festival passes . Individual tickets can be purchased for $15 at the door.

Saturday, July 27 – Chatting with the Tea Party

This innovative new play from writer Rich Orloff comes from a series of interviews the author conducted at various “Tea Party” events since 2011. “I don’t think we’ll progress beyond where we are politically in this country until we stop viewing each other as strangers,” the author writes on his website. This event is FREE,and takes place at 10 a.m. downstairs at the Sheridan Opera House.

Saturday, July 27 – Sequence

A riveting scientific thriller by Arun Lakra begins at 8 p.m. at the Sheridan Opera House. This event is free to those with festival passes. Individual tickets are available for $15 at the door.

Sunday, July 28 – D’oh, It’s Not TV

A free coffee talk with the playwrights: Dan Castellaneta, Rich Orloff, Arun Lakra, Adam Carpenter and Zach Steel. This event begins at 10 a.m. downstairs at the Sheridan Opera House, and is free and open to the public.

Sunday, July 28 – The Banana Tree

A wacky new comedy involving a robber, a convenience store clerk/aspiring magician, a stoned teenager, and a telepathic banana tree, written by four-time Emmy winner Dan Castellaneta, best known as the voice of Homer Simpson (and a host of other characters) and renowned writer Deb Lacusta, The play begins at 8pm and is free to those with festival passes. Individual tickets are available at the door for $15.

TICKETS, PASSES, AND MEMBERSHIPS:

Single Tickets – $15

Individual tickets for shows can be purchased at the door for $15.

Festival Pass – $57

The basic pass includes access to all posted shows and events and costs $57 for all six days.

One Act Membership – $150 and up

This membership includes ONE ticket to the 2013 Playwrights Festival, the winter film series SPARKfilm, and access to SPARK NT Live, plays simulcast at The Palm from the Royal National Theater in London. $50 of this pass is tax-deductible.

Two Act Membership – $275 and up

This membership includes TWO tickets to the 2013 Playwrights Festival, SPARKfilm, SPARK NT Live, and exclusive rendezvous with the actors and writers before and after the festival. $75 of this pass is tax-deductible.

Three Act Membership – $550 and up

This membership includes THREE tickets to the 2013 Playwrights Festival, reserved seating, SPARKfilm, SPARK NT Live, rendezvous, and exclusive SPARK events including salon-style cocktail parties, readings, FUNraising events and more. Under our “Starving Artist” program, for every Three Act membership purchased SPARKy will donate a festival pass to someone who would like to attend but cannot afford one. $350 of this pass is tax deductible.

Passes and Memberships can be purchased at www.sparkyproductions.com.

For more information, contact info@playwrightsfestival.org or call 970-708-2372.