Phoenix Theatre's 15th Hormel New Works Festival

Phoenix Theatre presented readings from the 15th Hormel New Works Festival livestreamed on the global, commons-based peer-produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv from Friday 13 July to Sunday 22 July 2012.

Phoenix Theatre announced its 15th Hormel New Works Festival, and its sixth national playwrights’ competition. The New Works Festival presented four staged readings of plays each summer at Phoenix Theatre, the oldest arts organization in Arizona and the largest Phoenix-based producing theatre. Playwrights whose work has been presented include Jack Heifner, Janet Neipris, Craig Bohmler, Hal Corley, James McClure, Rich Orloff, Nathan Sanders, Eric Coble, Dale Wasserman, and Richard Warren.

The following events were livestreamed on HowlRound TV here on six different days.

Friday, July 13th:

First Casualty by Monte Merrick
7:30 p.m.-9:45 p.m. PDT / 9:30 p.m.-11:45 p.m. CDT / 10:30 p.m.-12:45 a.m. EDT

Caitlin's husband, Matt, a soldier in the current war, has been killed by friendly fire. She sets out to track down one of the two men responsible for his death. She finds Jon in Seattle, now employed as a firefighter. Caitlin's intention is to confront Jon and make him apologize and suffer for what he has done. However, he honestly doesn't know if it was himself or his comrade Mark who fired that fatal shot. Frustrated by her inability to get retribution, Caitlin finds herself drawn into a relationship with Jon; challenging them both with their inability and perhaps, desire to move on from the tragedy. What results is an unwilling love story—neither wanting to get involved with the other but unable to resist their need to find solace and a new way to live.

Saturday, July 14th:

The Wilds by Scott McCarrey
2 p.m.-4 p.m. PDT / 4 p.m.-6 p.m. CDT / 5 p.m.-7 p.m. EDT

Townes and Hayes Wild are estranged brothers who haven’t spoken in years. While Townes fled the family home in Texas for success as a writer in New York, Hayes, a musician and perpetual college senior, stayed behind to take care of their ailing father. When their father dies, the brothers are surprised that he has left them the family’s hunting cabin in the mountains of Big Bend. Now, for the first time in years, Hayes and Townes must come together to spend a weekend in the cabin and decide who gets to keep it. The Wilds is a darkly comic family drama about the troubled relationships of modern American men.

Nureyev’s Eyes by David Rush
8 p.m.-10:15 p.m. PDT / 10 p.m.-12:15 p.m. CDT / 11 p.m.-1:15 p.m. EDT

During the 70's, Jamie Wyeth (son of Andrew) did a series of paintings of Rudolf Nureyev, the famous ballet dancer. The play imagines what those encounters may have been like and how they changed the two men. At first, Nureyev refuses Jamie's request but changes his mind when he realizes how Jamie's work can help further his own career. The two men are cautious collaborators at first, however they gradually become intimate friends. Their encounters over time deal with conflicts over the nature of the work, moments of shared self-disclosures, reacting to public disapproval of the first showing, helping Jamie get over his fears—conveyed by his inability to "get the eyes right," and to cope with Nureyev's dying of AIDS and so forth. Two collaborators become two stronger artists and friends. At the end, Jamie understands the true significance of Nureyev's eyes.

Sunday, July 15th:

Short Play Festival by Kirt Shineman and Scott McCarrey

7:30 p.m.-9 p.m. PDT / 9:30 p.m.-11 p.m. CDT / 10:30 p.m.-12 a.m. EDT

Friday, July 20th:

Smugglers by Jose Zarate
7:30 p.m.-9:45 p.m. PDT / 9:30 p.m.-11:45 p.m. CDT / 10:30 p.m.-12:45 a.m. EDT

Sam leads a drug cartel on the Mexico-U.S. border; another cartel is moving in and threatening her empire. The rival cartel has bought out the police from under her and kidnapped her son. Meanwhile, Luis is an undercover federal agent who has been ousted by his boss. With his cover blown, he is forced to help Sam recover her son or suffer the same fate— his own death or that of his family.

Saturday, July 21st:

I Am Van Gogh by Pasha Yamotahari
2 p.m.-4:30 p.m. PDT / 4 p.m.-6:30 p.m. CDT / 5 p.m.-7:30 p.m. EDT

When eight year-old Marc is taken by his devout parents to his first ever museum, he is quickly entranced and flung into one of Van Gogh’s paintings. The immortal painter shares his own destiny, and the fate that awaits Marc.

24 Hour Theater Selections 7 p.m.-7:30 p.m. PDT / 9 p.m.-9:30 p.m. CDT / 10 p.m.-10:30 p.m. EDT

The selection process of the playwrights, directors and actors who will create the six plays in twenty-four hours.

Big Dreams by Scott Withers
8 p.m.-10:30 p.m. PDT / 10 p.m.-12:30 a.m. CDT / 11 p.m.-1:30 a.m. EDT

Big Dreams is a slightly dark comedy that dives head first into the world of beauty pageants and the women who live for them. As prissy and reserved Mimi and loud-mouthed, loose Shanda face off to become Miss Oklahoma America, they meet the mysterious Louella, who is more than the mousy secretary she seems to be. As three women face the moment between success and failure, each examines what beauty is, how they define themselves and how far they'll go to achieve a dream that's as big as their hair.

Sunday, July 22nd:

24 Hour Theater Project 7:30 p.m.-9 p.m. PDT / 9:30-11 p.m. CDT / 10:30 p.m.-12 a.m. EDT

Experience six new works created from conception to production in one twenty-four hour period.

About HowlRound TV

HowlRound TV is a global, commons-based, peer-produced, open-access livestreaming and video archive project stewarded by the nonprofit HowlRound. HowlRound TV is a free and shared resource for live conversations and performances relevant to the world’s performing-arts and cultural fields. Its mission is to break geographic isolation, promote resource sharing, and develop our knowledge commons collectively. Anyone can participate in a community of peer organizations revolutionizing the flow of information, knowledge, and access in our field by becoming a producer and co-producing with us. Learn more by going to our participate page. For any other queries, email [email protected] or call Vijay Mathew at +1 917.686.3185 Signal. View the video archive of past events.