The Kennedy Center hosts its third annual PAGE-TO-STAGE New Play Festival, featuring more than 25 theaters from the D.C. metropolitan area, all with a mission to produce and support new work. This three-day Kennedy Center–wide event offers a series of free readings, special events, and panel discussions for plays and musicals in development. This year's highlights include new works by celebrated novelist and poet Joyce Carol Oates and Olivier Award–nominated dramatist
Moira Buffini, along with offerings from local playwrights, including a musical parody by Shawn Northrip and a historical drama by 2003 Charles MacArthur Award winner Ernie Joselovitz. Plus, preview new musicals on the Millennium Stage, including excerpts from works by Emmy Award–winning director Paris Barclay, five-time Tony Award® nominee Michael John LaChiusa, and multiple Helen Hayes Award winner John Strand. And don't miss Source Theatre Company's annual Ten-Minute Play Competition and the return of the New Play Slam. With so much talent under one roof, the PAGE-TO-STAGE New Play Festival is your best chance to get a fascinating first look at works being developed for upcoming Washington premieres!

PARTICIPATING THEATERS
Participating companies include:

PERFORMANCES
Programs and artists subject to change.

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 4

THE ACTORS’ THEATRE OF WASHINGTON
In the Time of Aten
Written by Jeffrey Johnson
This new play by ATW’s artistic director is the tale of ancient Egyptian rulers Akhenaten and Nefertiti. Mystery, sex, and intrigue are intertwined with political betrayal, ancient prophesy, and murder.
September 4, 7:15–10 p.m., North Atrium Foyer

CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY OF AMERICA
Catholic University of America presents four plays written by students from the CUA M.F.A. program: How the Ground was Healed and The Nitrogen Cycle by Deborah DeGeorge; Children of the Sea by Glen Sevilla Mas; and Interior Rift by Adam Lehmanis.
September 4, 2:30–5:30 p.m., Terrace Gallery

The War Over Feldspar
Written by E. Warren Perry Jr.
The Tush family, a force in American politics for many generations, must switch gears from the family’s oil-based economy to the new economy brought about by the development of the feldspar engine.
September 4, 7:15–10 p.m., Terrace Gallery

THE CENTER COMPANY/WASHINGTON WOMEN IN THEATRE
Stella Adler
Written by Sidra Rausch
Directed by Karen Berman
In the year 1949, legendary acting teacher Stella Adler struggles against all odds—including America’s “Red Scare” Communist blacklist—to start her conservatory.
September 4, 2:30–5:30 p.m., North Atrium Foyer

THE PLAYWRIGHT’S FORUM
The Left Hand of Justice
Written by Ernie Joselovitch
Following the Boston Massacre of 1770, John Adams defended the soldiers on charges of murder and found himself pitted against his mentor and older cousin Samuel Adams. This stirring production follows John Adams’s journey from protégé to leader, from protest to revolution. Ernie Joselovitz’s Shakespeare, Moses, and Joe Papp won the Charles MacArthur Award for Best New Play in 2003.
September 4, 2:30–5:30 p.m., South Atrium Foyer

THE RORSCHACH THEATRE COMPANY
Behold!
Written by James Hesla
Directed by Randy Baker
Rorschach’s artistic director stages this epic comedy about the ways in which myths shape our lives. Startling collisions of disparate characters and contradictory odysseys lead all paths to converge on one mysterious box whose contents could change the world forever.
September 4, 7:15–10 p.m., South Atrium Foyer

SMALLBEER THEATER COMPANY
Smallbeer presents three plays: Bound by Kate Taylor with Kate and Sra Bever; I, Witness by Bari Biern, Lani Howe, and Lynnie Raybuck; and If It Bends by Channon Bernstein.
September 4, 2:30–5:30 p.m., Film Theater

SOURCE THEATRE COMPANY
McBeth’s McTragic McMusical
Written by Shawn Northrip
Music by Christian Imboden
Featuring Ian Armstrong, Marybeth Fritzky, and Tyee Tilghman
Only one will survive the fast food war in this musical parody of Shakespeare’s classic work. When McBeth literally kills his Burger Palace competition, a rhyming inspector appears on the scene. Meanwhile, three hip cashiers use Tarot to divine McBeth’s future and conjure a series of apparitions straight out of McDonaldsland.
September 4, 8:30–10 p.m., Film Theater

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 5

CATALYST THEATER COMPANY
Motion Sickness
Written by Christopher Gallu
Peter can’t stop moving from town to town, driven by his work and an unidentified illness. Wendy is the one constant in Peter’s life and the only person who can see the true impetus behind his never-ending movement. Motion Sickness is the story of one night in the lives of two people searching for the same thing in different places.
September 5, 8:30–10 p.m., North Atrium Foyer

CHARTER THEATRE
Of a Sunday Morning
Written by Richard Washer
Directed by Keith Bridges
Featuring Lee Mikeska Gardner
In a society where terrorism and fear have created a strict code of conduct, any expression of thought, no matter how private, needs to be controlled. Who can be trusted, and who is really dangerous? This futuristic play featuring Helen Hayes Award winner Lee Mikeska Gardner explores one woman’s spiritual quest for truth in a time when the only priority is national security.
September 5, 2:30–5:30 p.m., Terrace Gallery

CHERRY RED PRODUCTIONS
9/11/XX
Written by Ian Allen
Alternately heartfelt and heartrending, the three acts of this new work tell the stories of events that have taken place throughout American history on September 11: the 1857 Mountain Meadows Massacre in southern Utah, the first televised Miss America Pageant in 1954, and the 2001 terrorist attacks.
September 5, 8:30–10 p.m., Film Theater

FIREBELLY PRODUCTIONS
Conversing Elevens
Dunce
Written by David Cahill
In Conversing Elevens, a married couple’s ids, egos, and superegos are led astray through an impromptu therapy session with a nosy waiter named Sigmund. In Dunce, three people are locked in a room, ignorant of their captors and unable to remember even their own names. With the past a blur, the trio searches for meaning in a stark, absurd present.
September 5, 7:15–10 p.m., South Atrium Foyer

THEATRE ALLIANCE
Blavatsky’s Tower
Written by Moira Buffini
Directed by Kerri Rambow
Featuring Ian LeValley
Staying in is the new going out. Hector Blavatsky is dying, blind, and lives secluded with his three children. Ingrid tends her sky garden and transcribes his visions. Roland lives on a diet of daytime TV. And Audrey has a day job to keep them all supplied with stationery, mulch, and chocolate-topped sponge cakes. Chaos ensues when a young doctor tries to drag them into the 21st century. September 5, 2:30–5:30 p.m., South Atrium Foyer

WASHINGTON STAGE GUILD
Arguing About Every Single Thing
Written by Mary H. Webb
Directed by Bill Largess
When a mother raises her son to be as strong-willed as she is, mutual respect and affection don’t prevent frequent disagreements. As the two relive their adventures—from civil rights activism to backpacking through Africa—each learns to depend on the other for support and challenge.
September 5, 2:30–5:30 p.m., North Atrium Foyer

WOOLLY MAMMOTH THEATRE COMPANY
Belly of the Whale
Written by Scott Organ
Directed by Andrew Wassenich
Featuring Jason Stiles, MaryBeth Fritsky, Daniel Frith, Brian Sutherin, and Erica Sheffer
Henry’s about to lose the whole popsicle. Laura’s trying to shed a few pounds. Jack just came here for the work. Lily will help you discover the truth. Stu just wants to take his sister home. And Stan will change your mind. Don’t miss this dark, modern comedy about the rat race, family ties, cults, and de-programming.
September 5, 2:30–5:30 p.m., Film Theater

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 6

AFRICAN CONTINUUM THEATRE COMPANY
Draft Day
Written by Marvin McAllister
Directed by Jennifer L. Nelson
This dark fantasy explores the lives of two basketball players on the verge of skyrocketing into mega-media NBA careers. Illusions of slaves on the auction block populate this tale as two men discover the importance of standing one’s ground.
September 6, 2:30–5:30 p.m., Film Theater

THE GEORGETOWN THEATRE COMPANY
Bushwa
Written by John Morogiello
The French political satire Ubu Roi, by Alfred Jarry, gets a modern twist in this new adaptation.
September 6, 2:30–5:30 p.m., North Atrium Foyer

SOURCE THEATRE COMPANY
10-Minute Play Competition
Hosted by Keith Parker
Source Theatre Company presents its annual festival of short new plays. The audience will choose its favorite play.
September 6, 2:30–5:30 p.m., Theater Lab

The 2004 Washington Theatre Festival Literary Prize Winner
CAUSALITY
Written by Alexis Clements
September 6, 7:15–10 p.m., Terrace Gallery

THEATRE J
The Tattooed Girl
Written by Joyce Carol Oates
Directed by John Vreeke
John Vreeke directs prolific novelist and sometime playwright Joyce Carol Oates’s play about the relationship between an ailing Jewish writer and a woman in his employ who harbors anti-Semitic views. A conversation with Joyce Carol Oates will follow.
September 6, 7:15–10 p.m.,Theater Lab

TRUMPET VINE THEATRE COMPANY
Harlequin, Again! (or H,A!)
Written by M. Magnus
Featuring Evan Casey
Will Harlequin triumph when a major corporation taps him to make them a fortune? Or will he take the fall while the CEOs walk away with millions? Commedia dell’Arte meets Wall Street in this hilarious rethinking of classic Italian theater.
September 6, 2:30–5:30 p.m., South Atrium Foyer

Back By Popular Demand!!
NEW PLAY SLAM
Favorite area actors star in seven-minute snippets of new plays in development. Co-hosted by Allyson Currin and Catherine Weidner. Participating theaters include African Continuum Theatre Company, Arena Stage, Catalyst Theater Company, Catholic University of America, CenterStage, Kennedy Center Youth and Family Programs, Signature Theatre, and Young Playwrights’ Theater.
September 5, 7:15–9:30 p.m., Terrace Gallery

MUSICAL MILLENNIUM STAGE

The Kennedy Center Millennium Stage presents three opportunities to see excerpts from exciting new musicals.
6–7 p.m. each evening, Millennium Stage North

METROSTAGE
Becoming George
Music by Linda Eisenstein
Book & Lyrics by Patti McKenny and Doug Frew
Featuring Cat Taylor
In revolution-torn France, Alexandre Dumas the Younger needs a hit show to outshine his famous father. He tempts retired feminist George Sand with a sizzling play of her life starring Sarah Bernhardt as the kind of revolutionary George used to be. In this witty new musical, Sand confronts her true role as an extraordinary woman living outside the lines.
September 4

THEATER OF THE FIRST AMENDMENT
In the Works: A New Musical Showcase
Broadway veteran Andrea Frierson-Toney and a stellar ensemble featuring Steve Tipton, Jenna Sokolowski, Eric Lee Johnson, and Eleasha Gamble perform selections from new musicals conceived in the Washington, D.C., area.
September 5

SIGNATURE THEATRE
Selections from musicals in development
The Highest Yellow
Music & Lyrics by Michael John LaChiusa
Book by John Strand
A young provincial doctor encounters Vincent Van Gogh in this story of madness and genius, love and obsession.
The Poe Project
Music by Matt Conner
Lyrics by Edgar Allen Poe
Book by Norman Allen
Edgar Allan Poe’s poetry set to an atmospheric score illuminates the author’s famously conflicted life story.
One Red Flower
Music and Lyrics by Paris Barclay
Adapted from the book Dear America: Letters Home From Vietnam, this rock-and-roll musical is inspired by actual letters written by soldiers serving in Vietnam.
September 6