WP Theater launches its second biennial Pipeline Festival, a month-long showcase of new works by its next class of graduating resident Lab artists, March 29. The festival is a culmination of the two-year residency of the collective made up of playwrights, producers, and directors.
The Pipeline Festival runs through April 28 at WP Theater at 2162 Broadway.
The festival kicks off with MJ Kaufman's Galatea or Whatever You May Be, directed by Mo Zhou and produced by Yuvika Tolani. The trans love story set against the backdrop of a climate crisis features a cast made up of Hennessy, Esco Jouléey, Eve Lindley, Pooya Mohseni, Bailey Roper, Futaba Shioda, and Morgan Sullivan. Performances continue through March 31.
Read: HOW ONE OFF-BROADWAY THEATRE ENSURES THE FUTURE IS FEMALE
The festival will continue with The Review or How to Eat Your Opposition by Donnetta Lavinia Grays with direction by Melissa Crespo. Billed as "a sexy, emotional, and intellectual game of football between critic and artist," the cast is made up of Chae Castello, Tia James, January LaVoy, and Chalia La Tour. Performances will run April 5–7. Roxanna Barrios produces.
Next up will be the musical Afloat with music and lyrics by Zoe Sarnak, a book by Emily Kaczmarek and direction by Ellie Heyman. Set in a future in which America has been ravaged by climate change, teenagers Blue, Nico, and Casey steal a boat and set sail. The cast is made up of Zeniba Britt, Jordon Bolden, AnnEliza Canning-Skinner, Ben Mayne, Max Sheldon, Angela Travino, and Michelle Veintimilla. Performances will run April 12–14. Nidia Medina produces.
Beginning April 19, the festival will present Power Strip by Sylvia Khoury, whose play Against the Hillside recently debuted at EST. The play, which looks at the life of a young woman inside a Syrian refugee camp, will be directed by Tyne Rafaeli. The cast is made up of May Calamawy, Nikki Massoud, Laith Nakli, and Babak Tafti. Performances continue through 21. Laura Ramadei produces.
Closing out the festival will be Leah Nanako Winkler's play Two Mile Hollow, directed by Morgan Gould (April 26–28). Two Mile Hollow turns the age-old theatre genre of affluent white families retreating to their big houses for the weekend on its head by casting them with non-white actors. The cast is made up of Bjorn Dupaty, Katie Lee Hill, Keren Lugo, Sathya Sridharan, and Jade Wu. Sally Cade Holmes produces.
The festival's mission is to funnel the work of WP artists to the forefront of the theatre industry by providing audiences access to the new works at various stages in development.
Shelley Butler leads the Director's Lab, Stephanie Ybarra leads the Producer's Lab, and WP Theater Producing Artistic Director Lisa McNulty leads the Playwright’s Lab.
For more information on the plays and to purchase tickets, visit WPtheater.org.
