Headwaters Festival – 2017

ABOUT THE FESTIVAL WEEKEND

The 2017 Headwaters New Play Festival is on August 25th from 10:00AM to 4:00PM and August 26th from 10:00AM to 12:30PM. Your ticket includes staged readings of new plays, lunch on Friday, and the opening performance of CRT’s bi-lingual Young Audience Outreach Tour that will later travel around the southwest serving over 22,000 students!

FESTIVAL WEEKEND SCHEDULE

Friday 8/25 at the Ruth Theatre

9am-9:45am – Audience Enrichment Event “The Art of Feedback”

10am – Introduction/Welcome

10:15am – Reading: The Mess of Us by Moss Kaplan and Greg Ungar

12:30pm – Lunch in the Lobby

1:15pm – Reading: Caliban’s Island by Diana Burbano

2:15pm – Reading: Visible From Four States by Barbara Hammond

Come see General Store, 7:30pm at The Main Stage

Saturday 8/26 at the Ruth Theatre

10am – World Premiere of Young Audience Outreach Tour
Albert Porter: Boy Explorer/Niño Explorarador 

11am-12:30pm – Moderated talkback with directors and playwrights

Come see General Store, 1:30pm at The Main Stage
Join us for a Small Business Panel Discussion after the show

2017 HEADWATERS NEW PLAY FESTIVAL LINE-UP

We received over 250 submissions this year.
CRT is proud to announce our three selections for the 2017 season.

Visible from Four States
by Barbara Hammond

This subtle, profound story will grip you until the final blackout. Visible from Four States centers around a small American town wrestling with whether to put a cross or a cellphone tower on its only hilltop. As the townspeople grapple over their core beliefs, the local prison warden’s friendship deepens with a young man on death row. Barbara Hammond explores the deepest issues of responsibility, tradition, and mercy by placing each of her characters at the modern crossroads of belief and communication. Can an individual carry the moral burden of a nation?

Director – Kent Thompson
Stage Manager – Nia Sciarretta
Dramaturg – Jessica Kahkoska

Daniel – Stuart Rider
Joanna – Anne F. Butler
Pastor Al – Ben Newman
Ike – Logan Ernstthal
Pilgrim/Guitarist – John S. Green
2nd Musician – TBD
Stage Directions – Bethany Talley

The Mess of Us
by Moss Kaplan and Greg Ungar

Sam and Ross’s life is getting a bit messy: their 15 year-old daughter Ruby is caught sexting, a job opportunity threatens to uproot the family, Sam’s mother has become something of a hoarder, and now the family’s off to Vermont to help clean out her ramshackle home. But there’s more to clean up than is possible for this combustible family. The Mess of Us is an intelligent, big-hearted comedy that will test the bounds of a family’s love and leave audiences rolling in the aisles. As Nagle Jackson put it: “CRT audiences will bless you for this!”

Director – Lynne Collins
Stage Manager – Alex Skaar
Dramaturg – Jessica Kahkoska

Cheryl – Christy Brandt
Sam – Kate Berry
Ross – Rick D. Wasserman
Ruby – Wren Green
Dennis – Jim Hunt
Stage Directions – Zoe Ruth Sisson Silberblatt

Caliban’s Island
by Diana Burbano

Characters from Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night and The Tempest intertwine when a set of twins is shipwrecked on an island. As the siblings race to reunite, they encounter a young girl with magical powers, a deceptively cute fairy, and a horned monster with a heart of gold. Caliban’s Island explores the struggle between wishes, dreams and wisdom. Bring the entire family to this witty, whimsical celebration of language and life. Part Peter and the Starcatcher, part Shakespeare, Burbano writes with a unique voice all her own.

Director – Charlie Oates
Stage Manager – Aaron McEachran

Mira – Portland Thomas
Caliban – Graham Ward
Fluffy – Caitlin Wise
Vi – Rachel Irwin
Bast – Claudio Venancio
Stage Directions – Lucas Bareis-Golumb