DON'T MISS THE 2013 EMERGING WRITERS GROUP SPOTLIGHT SERIES

BE THE FIRST TO SEE FREE READINGS OF THE PLAYS WRITTEN IN THE PUBLIC'S EMERGING WRITERS GROUP PROGRAM!

The Public created The Emerging Writers Group to target playwrights at the earliest stages in their careers and to create an artistic home for a diverse and exceptionally talented group of up-and-coming playwrights. Through the Spotlight Series, we are delighted to share their full-length plays with you. 

TICKET INFORMATION
Tickets for the Emerging Writers Group Spotlight Series are free, but must be reserved in advance by calling the Public Theater Box Office at 212.967.7555.

Please note: Tickets may be picked up in The Public Theater lobby beginning one hour prior to curtain. Reservations are honored until fifteen minutes prior to the reading. All seating is general admission.

CLICK HERE to learn more about the Members of the 2013 Emerging Writers Group.

Wednesday, March 27
3pm and 7pm
MANAHATTA
Written by MARY KATHRYN NAGLE
Directed by Kate Whoriskey
When a modern day Lenape woman returns to her ancestral land to work on Wall Street, she must reconcile all that her people have lost with what she now attempts to gain. MANAHATTA simultaneously tells the story of the Lenape Indians who lived on the island of MANAHATTA in the 1600’s, when Peter Minuit and the Dutch claim to have purchased the island for $24, and explores how the concepts of indigenous identity, ownership, and the entire system of American capitalism have made us who we are today.

Monday, April 1
3pm and 7pm
SOUND IS VIBRATION
Written by BRIAN “DYALEKT” KUSHNER
Directed by Kent Gash
Melody’s into beatboxing and physics/ It’s too bad that Def Jim can’t hear her lyrics/ It is the letter of the law and the spirit/ To say she brings a new meaning to “I can feel it”/ So how do we communicate?/ Will vocabulary elucidate?/ Or will we search the walls and let the graf writers choose the way?/ Love don’t play, don’t know no s’il vous plait/ It’s like Miles. It’s the words we don’t say.

Wednesday, April 3
3pm and 7pm
DAYS LIKE DIAMONDS
Written by BOO KILLEBREW
Directed by Gaye Taylor Upchurch
Sarah’s best friend Sam is being tried for the savage murder of his girlfriend. Sarah is horrified when she realizes that she is unsure of Sam’s guilt or innocence. As details of the gruesome crime emerge, so do the truths of Sarah and Sam's friendship. DAYS LIKE DIAMONDS travels backward in time as it asks the question: How well can we ever know another person?

Monday, April 8
3pm and 7pm
SEEK
Written by SUSAN SOON HE STANTON
Directed by Kip Fagan
In 1926, British mystery writer Agatha Christie went missing for 11 days. Once discovered, she claimed amnesia and never spoke of the incident again. In a fictional retelling of this real life disappearance, SEEK imagines Agatha on the Big Island of Hawaii in Puna: a rough and unforgiving landscape. Burdened by a dark secret and chased halfway around the world, Agatha's life begins to resemble the dark stories she imagined.

Wednesday, April 10
3pm and 7pm
ARMATURE
Written by ANDREW KRAMER
Directed by Liesl Tommy
Candidate Blythe Ames prepares - with a voice as smooth and strong as a song - for the upcoming governor's election. Her husband Denson should be happier for her political success. Her daughter Monica should stop dyeing her hair. Across town, pop-culture blogger Evan meets sexy stranger Shod at the dark and sordid Armature Bar where Mama serves the drinks - if he's able to avoid the reporters. The lives of these very different people collide as a roaring fire erupts with biblical wrath and passion, devouring everything in its path.

Monday, April 15
3pm and 7pm
NOTHING TO LOSE
Written by MANUEL BORRAS
Directed by Joanna Settle
Prison can rob a person of their resolve and their humanity, but some utilize the mind to escape. Raw and steeped in experience, this American story follows Lance Poet Rivera as he enters prison and struggles to beat the odds of two decades of incarceration and its aftermath when he is released.

Wednesday, April 17
3pm and 7pm
THOREAU, AND OTHER ASSHOLES
Written by KYLE WARREN
Directed by Lisa Peterson
There are about two hundred thousand words in the English language. And not one of them describes what’s about to happen to Jean De Bernis. For once, Jean might actually be happy. He’s a college professor, his partner’s pregnant, and the novel that’s going to put him on the literary map is about to be published. But on the day his book is released, he discovers that another author has published a novel identical to his. Forced to fend off accusations of plagiarism, paranoia and worse, Jean fights to maintain a shred of ownership over his work, his words, and, eventually, every thought in his head.

Monday, April 22
3pm and 7pm
THE BOTTOM
Written by A-LAN HOLT
Directed by Eric Ting
In the bottom of a high-rise housing complex, two kids find themselves tumbling between dreams, tripping over highs and lows, and loving and lamenting the limitations of their bodies.

Wednesday, April 24
3pm and 7pm
SWEET
Written by HARRISON DAVID RIVERS
Directed by Leah C. Gardiner
The Baker sisters have always been the best of friends, but when their next door neighbor returns home from college, desire threatens to tear them apart. A bittersweet coming of age story about the sacrifices we make in order to hold onto the ones we love.

Monday, April 29
3pm and 7pm
OTHER FARMERS’ FIELDS
Written by RITI SACHDEVA
Directed by Patricia McGregor
Since 1995, over 300,000 farmers in India have committed suicide to escape their debt to corporations that manipulated them into buying genetically modified seeds that don’t reproduce. In this sensual and macabre revenge fantasy, what goes around comes around for bio-tech CEO Darren Warren when Asha, the widow of one of these farmers, comes to work in his home and care for his pregnant wife, Hope.

Time Warner is the Founding Sponsor of the Public Writers Initiative.

The LuEsther T. Mertz Charitable Trust provides leadership support for The Public Theater's year-round activities.