BROADWAY & SOAP STARS GRACE THE STAGE AT THE STRAWBERRY ONE-ACT FESTIVAL

BROADWAY & SOAP STARS GRACE THE STAGE
AT THE STRAWBERRY ONE-ACT FESTIVAL
AS THE RIANT THEATRE CELEBRATES ITS 15TH SEASON

THE RIANT THEATRE’S STRAWBERRY ONE ACT FESTIVAL

February 12th – February 22nd (Monday through Friday at 7:00pm & 9:00pm; Sat & Sun at 1pm, 3pm, 5pm, 7pm & 9pm)
At the American Theatre for Actors, 314 West 54th Street, between 8th & 9th Avenues.

Reservations: 646-623-3488 or online at www.therianttheatre.com. Tickets: $20.00
The Finals, February 21st at 1pm. Tickets: $25.00 (Price includes reception during intermission.)
The Awards Ceremony & Performance will be on Sunday, February 22nd at 2pm. Tickets: $25.00.

Alexio Barboza, who played young Simba in Disney's THE LION KING on Broadway and Laura Carrington, who played the headstrong Lisa on ONE LIFE TO LIVE and the lovable Dr. Simone on GENERAL HOSPITAL, will play son and mother respectively in CONNECTION by Michelle Weilert in the Strawberry One-Act Festival on Saturday, February 14th & Sunday, February 15th at 1pm. The play is being directed by Rob Anderson whose cinematography of New York scenes have appeared on Law & Order, Seinfeld, Gossip Girls, The Bronx Is Burning and Frank TV. In the age of technology and internet dating, CONNECTION deals with a young man, Brian, played by Alexio Barboza, coming to terms with his identity and the question that many youth deal with today: Is where you come from who you are? Brian asks himselof this question when his origins are revealed.

The Strawberry One-Act Festival opens on February 12th with 2 different shows at 7:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. at the American Theatre for Actors, 314 West 54th Street, NYC, between 8th & 9th Avenue. Tickets are $20 & $25. For tickets go to www.therianttheatre.com or call 646-623-3488.

Opening night features 4 one-act plays in Series A, February 12th & 13th at 7:30 p.m.; THE PARKING LOT written by Holly Hunt & directed by Susan Tromans; FAN-BOY written by Megan Sass & directed by Marie Buck; NO SEX IN THE CITY written by Elisabeth Kent & directed by Sara Schabach; and DAILY SOUNDS written by Jay Prasad & directed by Evan Pappas.

Series B, February 12th & 13th at 9:30 p.m.; STOOP written by Caroline V. McGraw & directed by Erica Cardwell, PEAR by Carol Paik & directed by Alyse Rothman, and STEEL OR PRETZELS written by Mara Gilbert & directed by Nonie Gilbert.

To see the full schedule of plays go to www.therianttheatre.com

The Strawberry Festival offers a wonderful opportunity for theatre goers to see 34 plays from all over the country and as far away as Ireland (DRAY HORSE - Series F 2/14 & 2/15 at 7pm) in 11 days. At each performance plays are voted on by the audience as well as the theatre's judges and advance to the semi-finals and then the finals. The four BEST PLAYS are presented at the AWARDS CEREMONY & PERFORMANCE on Sunday, February 22nd at 2pm, where awards will be presented to the Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Director and Best Play. The playwright of the winning play wins $1,500.00 and a development deal to have a full-length play produced by the Riant Theatre. Tickets for the Awards Ceremony are $25.

Over the 15 years that the Riant has been presenting the bi-annual Strawberry Festival, (it's also presented in the summer), several plays have been selected and published in our 5 anthologies THE BEST PLAYS FROM THE STRAWBERRY ONE-ACT FESTIVAL, which are available at the Drama Book Shop, www.amazon.com, www.barnesandnoble.com and other stores nationwide. As a result, several plays have been granted permission to be performed in festivals across the country, London and Canada.

The Riant Theatre is happy that it has been able to use the Strawberry One-Act Festival to help it fulfill it's mission of providing a nurturing environment to develop new plays and outstanding artists. Artist Director, Van Dirk Fisher says, "We are very proud of this accomplishment and I'm always delighted when I learn that a play that was seen in the festival has been picked up by a film producer and made into a short or feature film. But competition aside, the festival is a wonderful opportunity for all the artist to network and build bridges for future projects." Some of our alumni include celebrity biographer Charles Higham, whose biography "Howard Hughes: The Untold Story," was used for the film the Aviator starring Leonardo DiCaprio; and actor/director Chaz Palminteri.