The South Florida Theatre League
Announces
WLRN sponsored Summer Theatre Fest Returns
with
Free Night of Theater and Brand New Programming

This summer, South Florida audiences will have a chance to see theatre for free, check out new plays in development by South Florida Playwrights, and tell the world what the arts – and theatre –  mean to them.

The South Florida Theatre League is inviting Florida theatre patrons to Get in Bed with the Arts with the return of Summer Theatre Fest, sponsored by WLRN.

The 2013 Summer Theatre Fest will mark the introduction of the Summer Theatre Fest Play Reading Series, and the return of Free Night of Theater, an audience development program that has proven to be immensely popular since the League first introduced it.

“Both these programs offer great opportunities for theatres and the League to develop a more meaningful interaction with our community,” says South Florida Theatre League Executive Director Andie Arthur.

Free Night of Theater

Theatre Patrons looking to try something new can visit summerfestfreenight.southfloridatheatre.com and enter to win up to three pairs of tickets in two separate windows – one for shows between June 12 and July 15, and the other for shows between July 16 and August 15.

 Free Night offers patrons an excellent opportunity to visit a venue they’ve never been to before, or sample a type of theatre they might not otherwise ever consider. Participating theatres include Actors’ Playhouse at the Miracle Theatre, Fort Lauderdale Children’s Theatre, GableStage, Lake Worth Playhouse, Mad Cat Theatre Company, Maltz Jupiter Theatre, Palm Beach Dramaworks, Sol Children Theatre, and Storycrafter Studio.

For performances between June 12 and July 15, patrons can enter to win up to three pairs of tickets beginning on May 28, with all entries finalized on June 7. All ticket winners will be notified by email on June 10th.

For performances from July 15 until August 15, patrons can enter to win up to three pairs of tickets beginning on June 24, with all entries finalized on July 8. Winners will be notified by email if they have won tickets on July 10.

The Theatre Communication Groups’ Free Night of Theatre was originally introduced as a three city pilot-program in 2005; the program’s the goal being to increase public awareness of the national theatre community, while in turn attracting new and non-traditional audiences to the theatre. During 2011’s Free Night of Theater over 400 participating organizations offered more than 55,000 tickets to over 1,800 performances in 19 states. The total value of the tickets offered was estimated at 1.75 million dollars!  Historically, over 33% of patrons who attend a show offered at Free Night of Theater come back and buy a ticket at that theatre.

Summer Fest Free Night – the South Florida Theatre League’s version of the program, began in 2008. The South Florida Theatre League is grateful to the LA Stage Alliance, the performing arts service organization of Greater Los Angeles, for facilitating the enter-to-win lottery system.
Get In Bed With the Arts

Every Thursday throughout Summer Theatre Fest, the South Florida Theatre League will bring the Get in the Bed with the Arts bed, which debuted at the League’s Carbonell Award ‘After Party’, to a member theatre.  Patrons will be interviewed on or beside the bed, and asked about what the arts – and theatre – mean to them. At the end of the summer, the bed will be entered in the Coconut Grove Bed Race.

Get in Bed With The Arts bed schedule:

June 7             City Theatre’s Summer Shorts at the Adrienne Arsht Center
for the Performing Arts (The Bed’s only Friday appearance)
June 13           Cock at GableStage
June 20           8 Track: The Sounds of the 70’s at The Plaza Theatre
June 27           Rehearsal for Spamalot at Fort Lauderdale Children’s Theatre
July 4              The Key Biscayne July 4^th Parade
July 11            P for Parenthood at Actors’ Playhouse at the Miracle Theatre
July 18            In the Heights at Lake Worth Playhouse
July 25            1,000 Years at Florida International University
August 1          Slava’s Snowshow at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the
Performing Arts
August 8          Beyond the Rainbow: Judy Garland at Carnegie Hall at
Arts Garage
August 15        Blow Me at Mad Cat Theatre at Miami Theater Center
August 22        Sleeping Beauty at Sol Children Theatre
August 29        Shorts Gone Wild at Island City Stage in partnership with City
Theatre
Sept 1              Coconut Grove Bed Race

Summer Theatre Fest Reading Series
Every Monday from June until August, member companies will be hosting readings of plays by South Florida Playwrights. There will be at least eighteen evenings of readings across four counties on the thirteen Mondays of Summer Theatre Fest. Playwrights range from established local favorites, including Carbonell winners and nominees, to emerging talents, with plays vastly ranging in subject matter and style. For more details, including a synopsis of each reading, please visit southfloridatheatre.com.

Summer Theatre Fest Reading Series Schedule:

June 3             Stages of the Sun: Readings by South Florida Theatre
League Playwrights at the Broward Center for the Performing
Arts
June 10           The Mother Issue by Kimberly Patterson at Main Street Players
June 17           Buck Fever by Juan C. Sanchez at the YoungArts Capmus
June 24           A Palm Beach Story by Jack Staubb at The Plaza Theatre
June 24            Crashfest: A collection of One Act Plays which at 20
meters becomes the portrait of a Vampire Hunter by James
Carrey at Crashbox Theatre in Association with Empire Stage
July 1              The Gift By Michael Leeds at Parade Productions
July 1               Moment of Grace by Bob Bowersox at TheatreXP
July 8              Timmins Children by Mark Perlberg at Palm Beach Dramaworks
July 8              Heavenly Hands by Ricky Martinez at New Theatre
July 15            Women Always Win by Marj O’Neill-Butler and Roger Martin at
Actors’ Playhouse at the Miracle Theatre
July 22            The Secret of the Biological Clock by Andie Arthur at Lost
Girls Theatre, performing at the Deering Estate
July 29            The Death of Kings: An Encyclopedia by Vanessa Garcia at
The Kane, performing at PAXMiami
July 29            Flashing Lights by Edward G. Excaliber at Outre Theatre
Company
August 5          Choreographing A Rape Scene for a Feminist Play by Ann
Gillespie at GableStage
August 5           Fate Motif by Christopher Demos-Brown at The Naked Stage
August 12         A Part of the Family by Marla Schwartz at Sol Children Theatre
August 19         The Happy Ones by Kim Ehly at Thinking Cap Theatre
August 26         Off Center of Nowhere by David Sirois at Arts Garage

The South Florida Theatre League is an alliance of theatrical organizations and professionals dedicated to nurturing, promoting, and advocating for the growth and prestige of the South Florida theatre industry.

For more information about the South Florida Theatre League, including a list of member theatres and their current and upcoming productions, visit: http://www.southfloridatheatre.com/ or contact Andie Arthur at:  andie@southfloridatheatre.com .