Women Playwrights Festival Comes to Pleasantville

From Axial Theatre: In what is believed to be a first for Westchester theater, a festival celebrating women playwrights, with seven one-act plays, will be presented on two consecutive weekends -- March 24-26 andMarch 31-April 2 -- by Axial Theatre at its Pleasantville venue.

Glass Ceiling Breakers, the umbrella title for the all-female festival, offers a pungent mix of comedy and drama written by women and directed by women. Coinciding with Women’s History Month (March), the plays range from farce to fantasy, tackle themes from spiritual salvation to workplace brutality, and present a diverse parade of women characters and the men in their lives.

The festival was conceived by Gabrielle Fox, playwright instructor at Axial and at Young Authors Conference, who curated the festival with Linda Giuliano, Axial’s Associate Artistic Director and Literary Manager. Both also are playwrights.

Says Fox, “Over the past few years, there has been a lot of talk about women playwrights being under represented. I looked around Axial and realized, we're ahead of the trend, we’ve been producing new work by women all along.”

She hopes that the production will “draw attention to the level of talent and the variety of voices of women theatre artists.”

Giuliano notes that she “often observes women playwrights as successfully creating intensely private and intimate experiences in the public space of the theatre.” Committed to quality local theatre, she notes that “Westchester provides important venues for theatre artists seeking to bring their work before an audience and audiences seeking to be deeply moved.”

Performances take place Friday, March 24 and 31 at 8 p.m.; Saturday, March 25 and April 1 at 3 p.m. and 8 p.m.; and Sunday, March 26 and April 2 at 4 p.m. at the Community House of St. John’s Episcopal Church, 8 Sunnyside Ave., Pleasantville, New York 10570.

Tickets are $25 general admission, $20 seniors and students. They can be purchased online atbrownpapertickets.com (search: Axial Theatre). For more information: (914) 286-7680.

Glass Ceiling Breakers Synopses and Who’s Who

A Day of Wonderful by Alexandra Angeloch. Directed by Laura Credidio. George tries to order “a day of wonderful” at a surreal coffee shop but gets something entirely different.

Actress and published playwright/short story writer Angeloch has had plays produced at Half Moon Theater, Poughkeepsie; ASK, Kingston; Woodstock Women’s Fest; and has had readings in Manhattan at Abingdon Theatre/Women’s Project and Productions. Credidio is an alumna of Lincoln Center Theater Directors Lab.

Dear Crossing by Lisa Kimball. Directed by Rachel Jones. A vehicle collision brings a married couple onto the shoulder of the road, where they examine the damage from the inside of their truck.

A member of A Howl of Playwrights in Rhinebeck, Kimball has had plays produced nationwide in Manhattan, San Diego, and Alaska; and locally at Half Moon Theater in Poughkeepsie. Jones is an Axial Theatre actor and director, and acting coach with Howard Meyer’s Acting Program.

Dry Bay Leaf by Linda Giuliano. Directed by Rachel Jones. A woman, a man and a wake provide the backdrop for an encounter of regret and hope.

Giuliano, a founding member of the WritersGroup, has had her work produced throughout Manhattan at such venues as Waterline, Lanyard, and Playwright Horizon’s Summerfest; in the Toronto and Portland Fringe Festivals; and at Axial.

Free Day Shipping Every Day by Jill Maynard. Directed by Christina Neubrand. A new hire for the Christmas season at an Amazon warehouse gets schooled in the ways of workplace survival.

Playwright and actor Maynard has had plays produced in New York and Los Angeles. She has appeared in feature roles for film and TV, as well as on New York and regional stages. Neubrand is an actor and director who trained at Roundabout Theatre Company and now is with Harlem’s Movement Theatre Company.

Small Talk by Evelyn Mertens. Directed by Christina Neubrand. Two ex-lovers meet after a brief, guilt-ridden affair to confront their genuine feelings.

Axial member Mertens has had one-acts and monologues produced by Westchester Collaborative Theater and Manhattan Rep and was twice a finalist in the Aery 20/20 Festival (2015 and 2016).

The Late Great Gordon Kaplan by Robin Anne Joseph. Directed by Robin Joseph. At her husband’s funeral, a grieving widow makes an unusual demand about how to eulogize her husband.

Actor, director, and playwright Joseph has been produced through such venues as Axial and the Strawberry One-Act Festival, and won Best Play for two consecutive years at the Aery 20/20 One-Act Festival (2015 and 2016).

The Second Coming by Gabrielle Fox. Directed by Jennifer Siciliano. A come-to-Jesus moment in Joe’s survival bunker.

Fox is an award-winning playwright (Planet Activist Award and best play and overall production at Planet Connections), whose work has been seen in multiple productions throughout Westchester and Manhattan including La MaMa. Siciliano has directed for educational theater and Ossining’s Blueberry Pond.

Image via the Axial Theatre