9th Annual International Playwrights Festival Virtual Edition

Warner Theatre’s 9th Annual
INTERNATIONAL PLAYWRIGHTS FESTIVAL
AN INVITATION TO MY CIRCUS by Charlene Donaghy (CT)
ANALOG by George Kelly (NH)
Streaming December 4-17, 2020

Torrington, CT – The Warner Theatre will present the next two productions of the 9th Annual International Playwrights Festival – AN INVITATION TO MY CIRCUS by Charlene Donaghy and ANALOG by George Kelly - from the Warner’s Nancy Marine Studio Theatre beginning Friday, December 4 at 7:00 pm. In response to the Covid-19 pandemic, the International Playwrights Festival will be a virtual event – each production will be recorded in the Warner’s Nancy Marine Studio Theatre over a period of several weeks and then streamed via YouTube and Facebook every other Friday from November to April.

The mission of the International Playwrights Festival is to recognize the work of emerging and established playwrights and to build a link between the playwrights, the theatre community and our audiences. The festival is a celebration of new works by playwrights from across the country and around the globe. For the ninth year, 150 plays were accepted for consideration from across the United States and as far away as China and New Zealand.

Each production will be available to view online for a period of two weeks before being taken down. There is no fee to watch but donations are always accepted. This virtual festival is made possible with a generous donation from The Marine Family.

Streaming for AN INVITATION TO MY CIRCUS and ANALOG will begin Friday, December 4 at 7:00 pm and be available online until Thursday, December 17 at 11:59 pm.

ABOUT AN INVITATION TO MY CIRCUS by Charlene Donaghy (CT)
Be seduced by an actor as she weaves a spell of bearded ladies, circus clowns, and swords.

ABOUT CHARLENE DONAGHY: Charlene A. Donaghy is an award-winning playwright with plays produced and/or awarded from New York City to Los Angeles, in Canada and Great Britain. Hansen Publishing Group publishes Charlene's Bones of Home and Other Plays. Charlene has been honored with numerous other publications. Charlene is Producer/Tennessee Williams Theater Festival, Festival Director/Warner International Playwrights Festival and teaches playwriting and theatre at University of Nebraska Omaha. She is a founding member Proscenium Playwrights, and a member of 9th Floor Playwrights, The Playwrights Center, and The Dramatists Guild. www.charleneadonaghy.com

ABOUT ANALOG by George Kelly (NH)
An English Professor believes that “real learning” is under assault as his university rushes to accommodate its “Digital, Millennial” students. He stands alone in his reluctance to embrace change. But his stance places his career in jeopardy. In order to remain a “teacher,” he may have to compromise his “analog” beliefs.

ABOUT GEORGE KELLY: George Kelly is a playwright living in Concord, New Hampshire. His work has been presented at The Hatbox Theatre, The Players’ Ring, and at The International Playwrights Festival, among other venues. He is a “sometimes” actor, and “oftentimes Director,” and a lover of The Arts. His latest work, “The College Game,” is currently in production.

The remaining streaming schedule for the winning playwrights:

PUT ON A GRUMPY FACE by Reed Halvorson, SC (1/1-1/14)
GOOD MORNING by Anne Lucas, MA (1/15-1/28)
PERMANENT INK by Charlene Donaghy, CT (1/29-2/11)
FOLDED by Bara Swain, NY (2/12-2/25)
EXTENDED PLAY by Ben Marshall, NJ (2/26-3/11)
RELATIVITY AND ME by Len Cuthburt, Ontario, Canada (3/12-3/25)
MOTHERHOOD by Lawrence Aronovitch, Ontario, Canada (3/26-4/8)
SAUL by Colleen O'Doherty, NE (4/9-4/22)

This virtual festival is made possible with a generous donation from The Marine Family.