July 18-24 at the O’Neill Playwrights and Musical Theater Conferences:
New Plays and Musicals by Benjamin Budick, Andrew Case, Cheryl Coons, Jorge Ignacio Cortinas, Julia Jordan, Keith Byron Kirk, Chuck Larkin, Wayne Peter Liebman, Victor Lodato, Steve Mackes, Kara Manning, David Ogrin, Lauren Robert and John Shea.

Waterford, CT, July 16, 2004 ­ The O’Neill Playwrights and Musical Theater Conferences continue with new plays and music theater works by Benjamin Budick, Andrew Case, Cheryl Coons, Jorge Ignatio Cortinas, Juila Jordan, Keith Byron Kirk, Chuck Larkin, Wayne Peter Liebman, Victor Lodato, Steve Mackes, Kara Manning, David Ogrin, Lauren Robert and John Shea through July 18-24 at the 2004 O’Neill Playwrights and Musical Theater Conferences. These conferences offer playwrights, composers, lyricists, book writers and hundreds of professional theater artists, trustees, and teachers as well as audience members an opportunity to gather for four weeks to advance new theatrical works. This is the first time in the O’Neill’s forty-year existence that both the Playwrights and Musical Theater Conferences will be combined. The O’Neill Theater Center will hold staged readings of ten plays and three music theater works from July 11 to July 31.

Next week’s O’Neill Playwrights and Musical Theater Conference events are:

.22 Caliber Mouth Book by Lauren Robert; Music by Lauren Robert; Lyrics by Lauren Robert; Directed by David Pittu; Music Direction by F. Wade Russo
July 18 at 2:00 p.m., also July 24 at 4:30 p.m.
The human mouth is a dangerous weapon. .22 Caliber Mouth is a drama with mystery, a tragedy with humor and a musical in two acts which explores the potency and impact of language...words said...and words unspoken. A union between strangers sparks a repartee borne of shamefilled, secret pasts.

Transference by Wayne Peter Liebman, Directed by Gene Lasko
July 18 at 4:30 p.m., also July 22 at 8:00 p.m.
The changing social order of the 20th Century is the background for the Freud/Jung conflict dramatized by their mutual (and Jung’s first) patient, Sabina, who is, at once, Freud’s enigma and Jung’s muse, even as they serve as her guides.

Dark Yellow by Julia Jordan, Directed by Melissa Kievman
July 16 and 20 at 8:00 p.m.
A tale of one violent evening and the night that follows.

Erin Go Bra-less by John Shea, Directed by Daniel Goldstein
July 20 at 8:00 p.m., also July 23 at 4:30 p.m.
A group of close friends find out what happens when celebration crosses the line into inebriation. A St. Patrick’s Day weekend leads to accusations, insults and assault, testing the bonds of friendship and family ties. And then there is the morning afterŠ

Hell Hole Honeys Book by Steve Mackes; Music by David Ogrin; Lyrics by Benjamin Budick, Steve Mackes, and David Ogrin; Directed by Doug Moser; Music Direction by Tom Kitts and David Loud
July 20 at 8:00 p.m.
Afast-paced, musical comedy with dark undertones. Mary Jo Huntsinger, an idealistic TV producer, refuses to name a source, and is thrown into Bellpole Prison. This twisted tale gives us a sensuous shower scene, a repressed Jesusfreak guard, a courtyard fight, a bold escape and even an insane prison riot. It’s a great way to do some time.

afterdark by Kara Manning, Directed by Bill Partlan
July 17 and 21 at 8:00 p.m.
A rebellious teenager, a Seattle food writer, a late night deejay, a dying drummer and the bellicose, trumpet toting spirit of Miles Davis are among the lost characters meandering the unsettled streets of Brooklyn in December, 2001 - grieving George Harrison and the devastated Manhattan skyline, but still reaching out to resurrect their own missed connections and altered youth.

Slay the Dragon by Victor Lodato, Directed by Melissa Kievman
July 21 at 8:00 p.m. and July 24 at 2:00 p.m.
A young, mentally retarded man living with his aging, party-girl mother and his scatterbrained grandmother makes a confused effort to claim his independence as Halloween fast approaches and family skeletons jump out of the closet.

The Electric Century by Andrew Case, Directed by Joe Grifasi
July 22 at 8:00 p.m.
Set in a 19th Century New York of Murray Hill Mansions and Five Point Saloons, this historical fantasy imagines a meeting between Thomas Edison and Belle da Costa Greene, the curator for JP Morgan’s library.

As Reaper In Summer Grain by Keith Byron Kirk, Directed by Oz Scott
July 23 at 8:00 p.m.
1914. Julian Carlton and his wife Gertrude have been hired to work in the home of the great Frank Lloyd Wright. What Carlton learns will eventually lead him to madness and murder. Based on actual events, this is a tale about the tragic events that took place during that summer at Wright’s famous home, Taliesin.

River’s End Book by Cheryl Coons; Music by Chuck Larkin; Lyrics by Cheryl Coons; Directed by Jack Cummings, III; Music Direction by Mary-Mitchell Campbell
July 23 at 8:00 p.m.
Based on the true story of Glen and Bessie Hyde, who vanished on their honeymoon to the Grand Canyon in 1928, River’s End weaves together two completely different scenarios of what might have happened to the couple, with two pairs of actors playing Glen and Bessie Hyde. Two marriages begin and end the show in drastically different states.

Blind Mouth Singing by Jorge Ignacio Cortinas, Directed by Melvin Bernhardt
July 24 at 8:00 p.m.
Reiderico sneaks out and spends nights in the garden with a boy who is living at the bottom of a well, while Aunt Bolivia secretly earns money treating syphilis patients at the open-air market. When the boy and Reiderico trade places, secrets are exposed and their worlds forever transformed.

O’Neill Playwrights and Musical Theater Conference 2004 public readings will be held Tuesday through Sunday, July 11 through July 31. Ticket prices range from $10 to $12, or $8 weekdays for O’Neill members. To reserve tickets or receive a summer schedule, call The O’Neill at 860-443-5378 or the box office at 860-443-1238. For more information, visit www.TheONeill.org.

The O’Neill’s 40 x 40 Sunday Brunch Discussion Series of guest speakers will continue on July 18 at 10:00 a.m. with Ms. Susan Hardesty, the gallery director of the gallery at Norwalk Community College. Ms. Hardesty will speak on exploring the work produced as a designer to a final living picture on stage, out of context of intention. The final Sunday morning discussion will be held on July 25 at 10:00 a.m. The curator of the 40 x 40 set design exhibition is G. W. “Skip” Mercier. The public is welcome to join in these events.

The Eugene O’Neill Theater Center, founded in 1964 and based in Waterford CT, is a learning community dedicated to advancing the American Theater through programs that encourage creative excellence and develop diverse voices and new work. These include the Puppetry Conference, the Playwrights and Musical Theater Conferences, the Critics Institute and the National Theater Institute, a college-accredited training program for theater artists. The O’Neill also owns and operates the Monte Cristo Cottage, childhood home of America’s only Nobel Prize-winning playwright, Eugene O’Neill, and holds an annual celebration honoring the life and works of its namesake every October.