The New Works Festival From the Blockheads
About the Show
As a part of its first annual New Works Festival for Emerging Playwrights, The Blockheads Collective has chosen three very different plays which capture a similar sentiment about American culture in 2016. Though each show is contrasting in tone and subject matter, they are united by a through line of disenfranchisement and resilience that seems to characterize the human experience. We invite you to witness a rehearsed reading of these incredibly salient works and fill out a comment card with feedback. At the end, you will have the opportunity to win two tickets to this year's Shakespeare in the Park production of The Taming of The Shrew at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park (because why wait in line?!).
Tickets to each night's reading are free, and raffle tickets for Shakespeare in the Park are $5.
Thursday May 12th: The Contract
Chris Graybill's The Contract presents an absurdist alternate reality where the aging "boomer" generation doesn't just remain young at heart--they look, act, and feel just as vibrant as their "junior" counterparts. Lead by President Jake and his band of outrageously attractive advisors, the boomers manipulate the labor of the younger generation to stay afloat, until a group of fed-up friends launch a plan to take them down from the inside. This cutting social satire examines the seductiveness of ultimate power and what happens when those who have it refuse to pass the torch.
Friday May 13th: Lost/Not Found
Working a dead-end customer service job that barely pays for his video games, Kip is a 20-something New Yorker who's realized the fallacy of the American Dream. His situation changes, however, when a missing autistic girl walks into his life, giving he and con-artist friend Bill Gartrell an opportunity to hold her captive until the reward money reaches it's peak. In Lost/Not Found, writer Kirby Fields presents a story of (mostly) good people who realize their own powerlessness and decide to take what they've been denied, no matter the cost.
Saturday May 14th: Pooka
In Pooka, 12-year-old outcast Martin is terrorized by middle school bullies and his mother's ne'er-do-well boyfriend, with only his precocious best friend - and sometimes love interest - Daphne to confide in. When a mischevious shapeshifter promises to fix Martin's life, he soon realizes that no magic wish can remodel his fractured reality. Written by James Mclindon, Pooka is a darkly whimsical and surprisingly comedic story of angst, frustration, and growing up.
About the Company
The Blockheads are a collective of young theater artists who aren't afraid to fail. Based in New York City, we are made up of actors, writers, and directors who want to offer a safe platform to work, play, and create. We're unapologetically not perfect, we're Blockheads. Please visitwww.weareblockheads.com to learn more.