Photo: Tom Stankowicz

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: August 13, 2001

Fort Point Stage announces the Fort Point Outdoor Theater Festival
An outdoor evening of 10-minute plays by regional playwrights

Fort Point Stage is hosting the Fort Point Outdoor Theater Festival on September 15 at 8:00 PM on Necco Court in South Boston. This free event presents an evening of powerful 10-minute plays by regional playwrights. The festival stage is being constructed on a waterfront parking lot, with outdoor amplification, creative lighting and milkcrate seating.

Plays to be performed include Tanko Bushi/Yellow Man by Allan Fujita, Dan Miranda and Marguerite Miranda, The 9:07 by Seth Michaels, Timber by Stephen M Libby, Clerestory by Patrick Cleary and Gate 28 by Jimmy Hickey.

A host of entré-acts, including musicians, puppeteers, magicians among others will perform during set changes. As an added attraction, artists representing Fort Point's stalwart performance art company Mobius will stage a 10-minute experimental piece designed for the festival. Musical group Thought Brigade will perform from 7:15 PM to 8:00 PM, during intermission, and a set after the last play.

The Fort Point Outdoor Theater Festival will be presented absolutely free of charge to the audience. The Necco Court site, four blocks from the South Station MBTA stop, is handicap accessible. Limited parking will be available onsite.

For further information contact the festival's creative director Steve Hollinger at 617 338-2222 or visit the festival website at www.moxie.com/fptheater.

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Background

Fort Point Stage is a group of volunteers, including Fort Point based artists, residents and business owners. The Fort Point Outdoor Theater Festival was conceived to introduce the region's theater arts community to South Boston's Fort Point neighborhood-the largest concentration of painters, photographers, sculptors and other visual artists in New England.

Regional Playwrights

Fort Point Stage hosted a month-long play submission period during which thirty-one playwrights from Massachusetts and Rhode Island contributed works for consideration. Six of these plays were selected for the festival by a team of literary managers, including Boston based actor/photographer Kippy Goldfarb, Cambridge-based artist/writer Ayida Mthembu, and San Francisco based director Christian Schneider. The selected plays represent a cross-section of artistic expression, from melodrama to comedy.

Tanko Bushi/Yellow Man by Allan Fujita, Dan Miranda and Marguerite Miranda, tackles bigotry with resonating symbolism. The 9:07 by Seth Michaels, weaves its stirring tale in a smoky barroom. Timber by Stephen M Libby is in its author's words a "wood-be romance". Clerestory by Patrick Cleary explores the inner mechanics of its two characters. And Gate 28 by Jimmy Hickey presents two airline passengers discussing their fate, moments before departure.

These plays will be distinguished during set changes by a host of short performances, including a performance surprise by Alisia Waller, jazz saxophone by Steve Silverman, cello by Somer Waters, and an entré-act skit created for the festival by playwright Kellian Garrity Adams.

Stage, Spotlights, Parking Lot

To welcome new and established playwrights, the Fort Point Stage team focused on creating an unparalleled outdoor venue for the performers and audience alike. The team developed its festival framework on its three critical components: the stage, spotlights and a parking lot on the water's edge.

To secure a stage, Fort Point Stage members contacted the Boston Childrens Theatre, a nonprofit performing plays for children. The theater company agreed to provide Fort Point Stage access to their roving "stagemobile" - a truck that unfolds into a 22 x 13 foot stage.

Stage lighting for the festival will be provided by light sculptor John Powell. Powell's work has included an installation for Boston's Institute of Contemporary Art and a soon-to-be completed project spotlighting Fort Point's magnificent bridges. The festival will also present a custom sound system designed for this particular waterfront venue.

The intimate festival location on Necco Court along the Fort Point Channel is imbued with a sense of historic timelessness. The lot, set adjacent to two of Fort Point's turn-of-the-century industrial warehouses, presents the Boston skyline as a stage backdrop. Use of this location was made possible through the generous permission of the site's property owner, The Gillette Company and the property management company, RM Bradley.

Organization

Fort Point Stage is comprised entirely of a team of volunteers. The festival producer and creative director is Steve Hollinger. The administrative director is Jeannie Finks. The stage director is Melora Kuhn. A number of other volunteers and area artists have contributed time and inspiration to the success of this event.

Fort Point Stage
Attn: Steve Hollinger

617 338 2222
fax 617 338 2223
mail at fortpoint dot org
www.fortpoint.org