Directors for O'Neill's 2006 Conferences Announced; Mentors, Dramaturgs Selected

June 6, 2006

Wendy C. Goldberg, Artistic Director of the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center's National Playwrights Conference and Paulette Haupt, Artistic Director of the O'Neill's National Music Theater Conference, today announced the Directors and Music Directors of the projects selected for the 2006 season. Ms. Goldberg also named the mentors and dramaturgs who will work with playwrights during the National Playwrights Conference.

National Playwrights Conference directors include Michael Barakiva, Resident Director of the Lake George Theatre Lab; Steve Cosson, Artistic Director of the Obie Award-winning New York troupe "The Civilians;" Oskar Eustis, Artistic Director of New York's Public Theatre and past Artistic Director of Trinity Repertory Company; Wendy C. Goldberg; New York based director Melissa Kievman, former Associate Artistic Director of New Dramatists, who has directed and developed new works throughout the country; Kent Thompson, Artistic Director of Denver Center Theatre Company and past Artistic Director of Alabama Shakespeare Festival, where he created the Southern Writers Project; and Louis Tyrrell, Producing Director of Florida Stage.

National Music Theater Directors and Music Directors include Matt Cowart, Artistic Director of the Offbeat Theatre Company; Robert Longbottom, Director/Choreographer of Broadway shows Side Show and The Scarlet Pimpernel; Dale Reiling, whose credits include the Broadway productions of Miss Saigon and Les Miserables; and Stan Tucker, whose international credits include the Broadway productions of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, The Phantom of the Opera and Aida.

Mentors and Dramaturgs for the National Playwrights Conference include Jessica Cooke, Playwright, from Ireland; Celise Kalke, Literary Manager, Alliance Theatre, Atlanta, Georgia; Emily Shooltz, Literary Manager, Manhattan Theatre Club; David White, Literary Manager, Eugene O'Neill Theater Center; and Max Wilk, writer, screenwriter and longtime dramaturg at the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center.

Heideman Award-winning playwright Lynn Nottage (Crumbs From the Table of Joy; Mud, River, Stone; Intimate Apparel, which won the New York Drama Critics Circle Award, the Francesca Primus Prize and the Steinberg Award ) will be a Writer In Residence at the O'Neill during the summer conferences.

The O'Neill's 2006 National Playwrights Conference & National Music Theatre Conference schedule is:

National Playwrights Conference Projects

Bird in the Hand
By Jorge Ignacio Cortinas
Directed by Louis Tyrrell
Performances: Wed, July 5th at 8:00 pm; Fri, July 7th at 8:00 pm
A quirky and tender comedy about a young Cuban man tied in knots by romantic complications, the specter of S.A.T.'s and the fading flamingos in Miami. It's not easy to keep your color while flying the coop.

Air Conditioning
By Tommy Smith
Directed by Steve Cosson
Performances: Thurs, July 6th at 8:00 pm; Sat, July 8th at 5:00 pm
A biting and darkly-comic look at the dangers of meeting up with old friends when the rich are rich and the poor are desperate.

1001
By Jason Grote
Directed by Kent Thompson
Performances: Wed, July 12th at 8:00 pm, Fri, July 14th at 8:00 pm
Arabian Nights meets Manhattan as a touching love story unfolds inside a troubling political fantasy.

The Little Flower of East Orange
By Stephen Adly Guirgis
Directed by Oskar Eustis
Performances: Thurs, July 13th at 8:00 pm, Sat, July 15 at 5:00 pm
In a New York City hospital a woman, identity unknown, goes in and out of consciousness. In prison, her son tries to figure out how she got there. By the author of Jesus Hopped the A Train and Our Lady of 121st Street.

The K of D
By Laura Schellhardt
Directed by Melissa Kievman
Performances: Wed, July 19th at 8:00 pm, Fri, July 21st at 8:00 pm
The truth is, Charlotte's brother kissed her on the lips before he died. The legend is, now everything she kisses also dies. An urban legend is chronicled in a one-woman tour de force.

False Creeds*
By Darren Canady
Directed by Wendy C. Goldberg
Performances: Thurs, July 20th at 8:00 pm; Sat, July 22nd at 5:00 pm
While uncovering the source of his supernatural visions, a tormented young African American man discovers his own family's connection to one of American history's most horrific events.

The Exchange**
By Ursula Rani Sarma
Directed by Michael Barakiva
Performances: Fri, July 28th at 8:00 pm; Sun, July 30th at 3:00 pm
In a small post office in the West of Ireland, one man struggles to let go of the past and, with the help of his daughters, to move into the future.

Theater for Youth Project:

The Tale
By Tommy Smith
Director TBA
One Performance Only: Sun., July 16, 7:00 p.m.
A hilarious, fast-paced musical comedy rendering of Greek Mythology featuring Zeus, Athena, Hermes, Apollo, Aphrodite, Dionysus and many more in a zany look at the lives of the gods on Mount Olympus. Specially written for grades 5-9 and fun for the entire family.

*False Creeds is the winner of the Alliance Theatre's Kendeda Playwrighting Award.

**The Exchange comes to the O'Neill this summer as part of an international exchange with the Abbey Theatre in Dublin, Ireland. National Music Theater Projects

Kiki Baby
Book by Lonny Price, Music by Grant Sturiale, Lyrics by Ellen Fitzhugh
Directed by Matt Cowart; Stan Tucker, Music Director
Performances: Sat., July 15 at 8:15 pm; Sun., July 16 at 3:15 pm; Thurs., July 20 and Fri., July 21 at 8:15 pm
A four-and-a-half year old child prodigy becomes the breadwinner for her destitute family and greedy neighbors, resulting in hilarious yet scathing results. A cautionary tale about people who incrementally give up their values for fame and fortune.

Triangle
Book by Joshua V. Scher, Music by Curtis Moore, Lyrics by Thomas Mizer
Directed by Robert Longbottom; Dale Reiling, Music Director
Performances: Sat., July 22, Weds., July 26, Fri., July 28 and Sat., July 29 at 8:15 pm
The present resurrects the past and the past rescues the present in two New York stories - one set in 1911 and the other in 2001. Two people in love struggle to discover what freedom truly means in these volatile landscapes when their worlds collide.

Schedule is subject to change. Tickets will be on sale beginning Thursday, June 15. Please call the O'Neill Box Office at 860-443-1238 for times, prices and reservations. Outdoor performances will be moved indoors in the event of rain.

The Eugene O'Neill Theater Center, founded in 1964, has been home to more than 1,000 new works for the stage and 2,500 emerging artists and is itself the winner of a special Tony Award, the National Opera Award, the Jujamcyn Award for Theater Excellence and the Arts and Business Council Encore Award. Today, the O'Neill is home to the National Playwrights Conference, National Music Theater Conference, Puppetry Conference, Cabaret Conference, National Critics Institute, and the fully accredited National Theater Institute, which includes semester-long, fully accredited intensive theater-training programs and a six-week accredited summer program, Theatermakers. In addition, the O'Neill owns and operates the Monte Cristo Cottage, the childhood home of Nobel Prize-winning and four-time Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright, Eugene O'Neill. For more information regarding the Center, please visit the O'Neill website at www.TheONeill.org or call 860-443-5378.