The festival was inspired by Quo Vadimus Arts' concern with the continuing polarization of American media. With various news organizations tilted to the left or right, Quo Vadimus Arts endeavored to seek submissions from artists worldwide to explore what it means to live in America today.
Quid Vadimus Arts' festival received 332 submissions from 33 states and six different countries, including Canada, England, Ireland, Scotland and Nigeria. A panel anonymously selected the 30 works to be presented during the ID America Festival.
The plays have been broken down into three separately themed categories, which will be performed on a rotating schedule throughout the festival. Eight plays comprise each theme:
American Dreams
"The American dream means something different for everyone. From the nightmare of the notorious Sacco & Vanzetti to the aspirations of an Upper East Side cocker spaniel with eating issues, the dreams we explore in this evening are singularly American. In the course of an evening Irish immigrants, fallen soldiers and heiresses will chase their American dreams." All performances will be directed by Josh Gelb.
Alarm
(Paul Moulton, Chicago, Illinois)
Appetite
(Caren Skibell, Dallas, Texas)
Night Before Last
(Doug Reed, Richmond, Virginia)
Normal Is A Country
(Steven Schutzman, San Francisco, California)
Onus On Us
(Cheryl Games, Youngstown, Ohio)
Peace Talk
(James McLindon, Schenectady, New York)
Prospect Park
(Brendan O'Brien, Raynham, Massachusetts)
Upgrade
(Albert Pergande, Milwaukee, Wisconsin) American Culture
"American culture is the blending of many different peoples from around the world into something new. It is cell phones, cowboys, American Idol and bar fights. It is something reshaped and altered in the forges of September 11th and the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. Playwrights from coast to coast examine our cultural differences and search for commonality." All performances will be directed by Kerry Whigham.
Asparagus
(Schatzie Schaefers, Anchorage, Alaska)
Bobby Hebert
(Samuel Brett Williams, Hot Springs, Arkansas)
Close Encounter
(Amy Tofte, Brookings, South Dakota)
Human Resources
(Mike Folie, Belford, New Jersey)
Interpreting a Dream
(Judy Klass, New York, New York)
The New Sign
(K. Biadaszkiewicz, Wyandotte, Michigan)
Please Pass the Salt
(Debbie Wiess, Lexington, Massachusetts)
Shift: A Political Allegory
(Jordan Smedberg, Minocqua, Wisconsin)
American Psyche
"A look into the minds of various Americans reveals a young woman's fear of attack, a couple's voyeuristic tendencies and a teenage girl's medicated struggle with sanity. Some journeys inward reveal inner superheroes while others reveal helplessness and paranoia. Our playwrights reach into their own psyches and present us with uniquely American frames of mind." Performances will be directed by Deena Selenow.
Followed
(Edith Weiss, Mittelschefflenz, Germany)
Here To Serve You
(Barbara Lindsay, Santa Monica, California)
Moment
(Matt Haldeman, Abington, Pennsylvania)
Run of the River
(William Kovacsik, Massapequa, New York)
Simultaneity
(Melanie Wallner, New York, New York)
Soapbox
(Carl Brandt Long, Cleveland, Ohio)
Superhero
(Mark Harvey Levine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania)
To Darfur
(Erik Christian Hanson, Monroe, Connecticut)
The ID America Festival will be presented at the Clemente Soto Velez Center, located in Manhattan at 107 Suffolk Street. For tickets and detailed performance schedules, phone (212) 352-3110 or by visit www.idafestival.org.
