Founded in 1989 by Molly Thom and Kerri MacDonald, Alumnae Theatre Company’s festival of new works provides playwrights, directors, actors and technicians with the opportunity to develop never-before-produced short scripts. 

The New Ideas Festival is a juried, three-week annual festival of new writing, works-in-progress and experimental theatre, with a different lineup of short plays each week, and a staged reading (+ Talkback) on Saturdays at noon.  This year, a Sunday matinée performance has been added each week, in addition to the existing Saturday matinee. Each play in the weekly program (Wednesday – Sunday) now receives 6 performances, and the readings have one each.

New Ideas is unusual among festivals, in that the scripts are read “blind” by a committee, which does not learn the writers’ identities until the plays have been selected. This year, 122 submissions were received - from all over Canada, about 20% from the U.S., and one from the U.K.

The 2012 Festival presents 15 world premieres (12 productions and 3 staged readings), ranging in length from 12 to 70 minutes.  There’s something for everyone, including lovers’ fantasies and regrets, secrets revealed, butterflies, puppets, trips to Newfoundland and to Bali, and an unusual night at the Laundromat!

WEEK ONE:

Wednesday March 14 – Sunday March 18 (8pm Wed – Sat; Sat. & Sun matinées 2:30pm)

Staged Reading: Saturday March 17 at noon

- The Man with a Butterfly Hat  by Donna Langevin / Directed by Anne MacMillan*

- Our Eliza  by Megan Coles / Directed by Andrew Freund

- Let My Mind Run Dry  by Cassidy Sadler / Directed by Mairin Smit

- Lover’s Flight  by Joel Fishbane / Directed by Jonathan Heppner

(Total running time with intermission: approx. 2 hrs)

Saturday Staged Reading, March 17 only:

Eating Pomegranates Naked by Andrea Scott / Directed by Kimberly Radmacher

(70 minutes + Talkback)

WEEK TWO:

Wednesday March 21 - Sunday March 25 (8pm Wed – Sat; Sat. & Sun matinées 2:30pm)

Staged Reading: Saturday March 24 at noon

- Orpha and Beatrice (Act I) by Claire Frances Muir / Directed by Taylor Graham

- Less Than a Second  by Gerry McBride / Directed by Peter Bloch-Hansen

- The End of an Organism by Jordan Mechano / Directed by Joanne Williams

- The Jewel in the Crown  by Diane Forrest / Directed by Sukumar Nayar

(Total running time with intermission: approx. 2 hrs)

Saturday Staged Reading, March 24 only:

In Their Glory  by Eugenie Carabatsos / Directed by David Suszek

(70 minutes + Talkback)

WEEK THREE:

Wednesday March 28 - Saturday April 1 (8pm Wed – Sat; Sat. & Sun matinées 2:30pm)

Staged Reading: Saturday March 31 at noon

- Worms For Sale by Stacy Gardner / Directed by Janina Kowalski

- It All Leads to the Lemon Scene  by Pamela Winfrey / Directed by Lynn Zeelenberg

- Everything Blows Away  by Kelly DuMar / Directed by Chelsea Ferrando

- Gloria’s Guy (Act II) by Joan Burrows / Directed by Anne Harper

(Total running time with intermission: approx. 2 hrs 10 minutes)

Saturday Staged Reading, March 31 only:

Ganga’s Ganja  by Radha Menon  / Directed by Pam Redfern*

(65 minutes + Talkback)

For complete show descriptions, production photos, and cast and crew bios please go to http://alumnaetheatre.com/ideas.html

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The Details - New Ideas Festival 2012:

Running Time:Approximately 2 hrs (including intermission) for each weekly program

of 4 plays.  Saturday readings approx. 1 hr each + Talkback.

Opening Nights:Wednesday March 14, March 21 and 28, 2012

Performance Dates:Wednesday March 14 – Sunday April 1, 2012

Schedule:Wednesday – Saturday 8:00pm;

Saturday Reading at noon (followed by a Talkback session);

Saturday matinée at 2:30pm (followed by a Talkback session);

NEW THIS YEAR:  Sunday matinée at 2:30 pm.

Tickets:Wednesday – Sunday (evening or matinées) $15 per week;

Saturday Readings PWYC;

Festival Pass (good for the full three weeks & all the Readings) $35.

Location:Alumnae Theatre, 70 Berkeley Street, 3rd floor Studio, Toronto

(SW corner of Berkeley and Adelaide St. East)

Box Office:416-364-4170 (box 1) or email reservations@alumnaetheatre.com.

Our box office opens one hour prior to each performance.

Please note: Box Office does not accept credit or debit cards.

Absolutely no latecomers.