Love, Family Takes Center Stage In Greenwich Village Theater Fest

GREENWICH VILLAGE, NY — For 25 years, the NYU Steinhardt's Department of Music and Performing Arts has helped foster not only young talent but also performances for young theatergoers with their annual New Plays for Young Audiences.

And this year, the three plays being read — for free — should delight families with stories about young love, a comic fantasy and a play about family and dreams.

The festival was founded in 1998 by Lowell and Nancy Swortzell to help develop and nurture plays for young audiences in a laboratory setting and has supported several playwrights who have gone on to win numerous awards and accolades, including Laurie Brooks (Deadly Weapons ,The Wrestling Season), Finegan Kruckemeyer (Zachary Briddling Who Was Awfully Middling), and Susan Soon He Stanton (Kilo Hoku).

Plus, Oscar winner Kevin Willmott, co-writer of BlacKkKlansman, worked with NPYA on The Watsons Go to Birmingham.

“The Swortzells' vision for the program has not changed much over the years. It places the playwright at the center of the development work where the actors, director, dramaturg, students and producer support their needs throughout the rehearsal process," said David Montgomery, professor and program director of Educational Theatre at Steinhardt who took over as artistic director of NPYA in 2008.

"This model has positively impacted hundreds of actors, directors and playwrights in the TYA field, and most importantly, the young audiences for whom the work is intended,” Montgomery said.

This year's festival, held at the Provincetown Playhouse (133 MacDougal St.) include three play readings that should delight young audiences and families.

On June 10 and 11, "ZEQ," a play with music about navigating young love for kids between 13-18, will kick off the season.

The next week on June 17, "The Witch of Boggy Depot," a "comic fantasy" featuring "a witch and a medicine show barker named Dr. Quack" best suited for kids aged between 11-15, will be read.

And to close out this year's festival on June 24, "The Dream Pillow," a play for kids between four to eight-years-old about a special pillow given to a four-year-old by her late grandmother, will be read. One of the readings, held at 3 p.m., will be a relaxed performance for neurodivergent audience members.

Tickets are free and available at the box office an hour before the performances begin.

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