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Ingram New Works Festival

Presented by Tennessee Repertory Theatre at Vanderbilt University - Neely Auditorium

June 1-June 11, 2011

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The Ingram New Works festival will feature staged readings of new plays from seven local playwrights as well as Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize-winner John Patrick Shanley. Shanley is this year’s recipient of the Ingram New Works Fellowship.

The Martha R. Ingram New Works Fellowship was created by Tennessee Rep co-founder Martha R. Ingram to provide an opportunity for theatre artists to develop new theatre works while in residency with Tennessee Rep. Past recipients include David Alford (Clara’s Hands), Victoria Stewart (Rich Girl), and Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize-winner David Auburn (The Columnist), which will make its Broadway premiere in January 2012.

Currently in its fourth year, the program has evolved to include a New Works Lab for seven local playwrights who are being mentored by Shanley. The Lab offers these playwrights the opportunity to not only receive feedback but also hear their works read by professional actors during the writing process.

The seven local playwrights-in-residence include Nate Eppler, Heidi Ervin, Joe Giordano, Shawn Knight, May McCallum, Christine Mather, and Lisa Soland.

Schedule for Readings of New Plays:
Wednesday, June 1, 2011, 7:00pm
Henson by Shawn Knight
The play tells the tale of one stray black dot in a sea of white. For over eighteen years, Matthew Alexander Henson struggled alongside Commander Robert Peary to be the first man to stand at the North Pole. When Henson learns he may not reach his goal, how does he salvage his life's work and find value of his own?

Thursday, June 2, 2011, 7:00pm
The Hobo and the Housecat by Heidi Ervin
The Hobo and the House Cat is a quirky modern-day fairy tale about what happens to a girl after her mother leaves her in the middle of the night. In an attempt to appease the evil Mrs. Swanson and cope with her own unique abandonment issues, Bernie tries to throw a typical suburban dinner party. Her guests include a prince who hates his kingdom, a father who was transformed into a child, his new crazy waitress girlfriend, a party crashing hobo, and a little sister who has her own ideas on how to glue Bernie: The Broken Girl back together.

Friday, June 3, 2011, 7:00pm
Hunger in Paradise by Mary McCallum
Set against the backdrop of the 1921 Tulsa riots, Hunger In Paradise introduces the audience to the citizens of Greenwood, a thriving area of black-owned businesses and prosperity. When proprietor Damie Rowland's adopted son "D" becomes involved with a white woman, racial tensions explode into violence and destruction, irreversibly altering the relationships among the Greenwood and Tulsa neighbors.

Saturday, June 4, 2011, 7:00pm
The City of the Dead by Nate Eppler
In The City of the Dead, two sisters bury their dead father. He breaks out of Hell to see them again, and Hell comes looking for him... Can the sisters bring themselves to give him back? A ferocious dark comedy by Nate Eppler, author of Long Way Down, that asks the question “What happens when we can't let go of the dead?”

Sunday, June 5, 2011, 2:30pm
The Hand on the Plough by Lisa Soland
The Hand on the Plough reminds us that the Great Depression was not the end of hard times in the United States. World War II brought about a whole new wave of problems and hardships for the American people. The Sorensen family is a farming family in the rural town of Decorah, Iowa. Their story takes us through the beginning of the Second World War with the bombing of Pearl Harbor and the struggles of keeping the family together while sending their boys, one by one, off to war. The battles are not only fought in the fields of Europe and Japan, but also on American soil, as the ones left behind fight the daily struggles of farm life in the 1940s.

Tuesday, June 7, 2011, 7:00pm
Now You See Him by Christine Mather
In Now You See Him, a boy disappears, and his mother finds herself in a maze of bureaucracy while her son navigates strange waters in a magical drama that contrasts growing up with letting go.

Wednesday, June 8, 2011, 7:00pm
She’s Dead by Joe Giordano
When the love of Sam’s life dies, he is left to fulfill Erin’s last wish of providing a funeral for her in their own home. Burdened with cleaning her body, dressing her, sitting with her, and digging a hole to bury her in, Sam and his small group of twisted friends attempt to deal with their pain through laughter. But laughter alone cannot mend the hopelessness of a shattered heart, and in his darkest hour, when all seems lost, Sam turns to an unexpected source of strength -- Erin's mother.

Thursday–Saturday, June 9–11, 2011 7:00pm
Sleeping Demon by John Patrick Shanley
Set in the Bronx, Sleeping Demon continues the exploration of spiritual themes that characterized Doubt. The play tells the story of a Bronx borough president who, in taking up for a constituent and long-time friend, is thrust into confrontation with a black minister from New Orleans. Complicated by the involvement of a loan officer and a bank president, the clash of politician and minister forces each man to grapple with his conscience and examine the path of his calling. At its core, Sleeping Demon is concerned with the relationship between the Civic and the Spirit in serving humanity, and the insidious influence of the pocketbook. Can politics be void of spiritual guidance, and religion void of civic responsibility? Do the ends justify the means when it comes to serving a cause of social justice? Is the contemplation of spiritual matters a means to itself, or is action necessary? Like Doubt, rich with complex characters and brilliant dialogue imbued with Shanley’s keen sense of humor, Sleeping Demon tells a captivating story that won’t let you go until the last heart-wrenching moment.