For Immediate Release: January 18, 2007
Media Contact: Megan Wendell, for Theatre Alliance of Greater Philadelphia, 215.272.6393

The Philadelphia New Play Festival website, complete with schedules, play descriptions, playwright bios, online ordering of Festival Passes and more, is now online at www.theatrealliance.org/newplayfestival. Festival passes are now on sale for $20 and provide discounts to participating theatres, restaurants and businesses. Festival brochures are also now available at area theatres and local businesses.

Presented by the Theatre Alliance of Greater Philadelphia, the inaugural year of the New Play Festival runs from February 8 - 18, 2007 and features nine main stage World Premiere productions by the region's leading theatre companies, fourteen new play readings, and other new work that share the thrill of giving birth to a new play and celebrate Philadelphia as a hotbed of new play activity.

In addition to these events, the Festival will host symposia with playwrights Christopher Durang, Jeffrey Hatcher, Michael Hollinger, Thomas Gibbons, and Willy Holtzman. On Saturday, February 10th at 5:00 p.m., renowned playwrights Christopher Durang and Jeffrey Hatcher will discuss how a new play comes into being and share their process of creating new work. The discussion moderated by director and Villanova University theatre professor Harriet Power will take place at The University of the Arts' Hamilton Hall, 320 S. Broad Street.

On Saturday, February 17th at 5:00 p.m., also at Hamilton Hall, three pairs of playwrights and directors who have a history of collaborating will discuss the art of bringing a new play to the stage in a panel moderated by Warren Hoffman, Literary Manager/Dramaturg of Philadelphia Theatre Company. The panelists are Abigail Adams (Artistic Director, People's Light & Theatre Company) and playwright Willy Holtzman, Terrence J. Nolen (Producing Artistic Director, Arden Theatre Company) and playwright Michael Hollinger, and Seth Rozin (Producing Artistic Director, InterAct Theatre Company) and playwright Thomas Gibbons. Symposia are free to Festival Pass holders and $10 for the general public.

World Premieres being presented in the Festival are:
Anne of Green Gables - People's Light & Theatre Company
Bookends - Walnut Street Independence Studio 3
Dex and Julie Sittin' in a Tree - Arden Theatre Company
Enemies, A Love Story - The Wilma Theater
A House With No Walls - InterAct Theatre Company
Nerds://A Musical Software Satire - Philadelphia Theatre Company
Hearts & Soles - Theatre Exile
Stormy Weather: Imagining Lena Horne - Prince Music Theater
The Wedding Consultant - The Vagabond Acting Troupe

Free readings and other events will be presented by Arden Theatre Company, Flashpoint Theatre Company, Hedgerow Theatre, InterAct Theatre Company, Madhouse Theater Company, Philadelphia Dramatists Center, Philadelphia Theatre Company, Philadelphia Young Playwrights, Theatre Exile, Vagabond Acting Troupe, and The Wilma Theater.

For a full New Play Festival schedule, Festival Pass discounts, and more information, please visit www.theatrealliance.org/newplayfestival or call (215) 413-7150.

Major support for the Philadelphia New Play Festival is provided by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation.

The Theatre Alliance of Greater Philadelphia strengthens and leads the region's richly diverse theater community, with more than 100 member organizations and 200 individuals, by promoting awareness and serving as a resource for information, professional development and advocacy. For further information, visit www.theatrealliance.org or call the Theatre Alliance at (215) 413-7150.

To request interviews, press kits, photos, press passes, and more information, please contact: Megan Wendell, Canary Promotion, 215-242-6393, megan@canarypromo.com.

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