SheNYC Arts Will Present Five New Shows by Women Selected from 450 Submissions at the 2024 SheLA Summer Theater Festival
The SheLA Festival, which annually features the works of West Coast-based women, trans, & non-binary playwrights, will run from July 15-21, 2024 at the Zephyr Theatre in West Hollywood. The festival will feature both an in-person audience and select digital performances.
The 2024 SheLA Summer Theater Festival will present four new full-length plays: Blanche Stuart Scott by Kristen Ritter, Breakby Caroline Ullman, here comes the night by Lisa Kenner Grissom, and Zora and Langstonby Imani Mitchell. It will also present one full-length musical: Ink & Paint by Danielle E. Moore.
SheNYC has also announced an online auction fundraiser to support this year’s Festival. Donors can bid on an exciting selection of items. All proceeds will go towards the 2024 SheLA, SheNYC, SheATL, and SheDFW Summer Festivals. Items up for auction include tickets to Saturday Night Live, dinner and a show at NYC’s City Winery, one-on-one meetings with entertainment professionals, and tickets to Broadway shows. Learn more about the auction at SheNYCArts.org.
The SheLA shows were selected after a rigorous, blind, months-long selection process out of over 450 submissions. Select Summer performances will be filmed and made available online through digital tickets.
“At SheLA, we especially take pride in our completely open submission process,” says SheLA Executive Producer Emily Rellis. “This process means we find the absolute best full-length shows in the country, and this year’s festival will reflect that. Our five selected shows stood out because of their urgent themes, compelling characters, and brilliant writing.”
Tickets to the performances will be available beginning on June 1. You can learn more about each show at www.SheNYCArts.org/She-LA.
ABOUT THE SUMMER FESTIVAL SHOWS
Blanche Stuart Scott by Kristen Ritter
It’s 1910 and the future is now! Blanche Stuart Scott decides she must become one of the first women to drive across the entire country, and nothing — not outlaws, not Girl Scouts, not even Gertie, her cynical reporter companion for the journey — will prevent her from going down in the history books. But when the women pick up a mysterious third passenger, will they be able to get the Model 38 Overland across the finish line? Blanche Stuart Scott is a historical-ish comedy about the literal lengths women must go to be recognized in their time.
Break by Caroline Ullman
College seniors Nora and Elliot have been dating for five years. When their high school friends stage an intervention for their relationship, they’re quick to dismiss any accusations that either of them have been unhappy. Determined to be proven right, Sam, Annie and Nico begin to take drastic measures to try and split up what they proclaim to be a doomed couple. Secrets are revealed, friendships are tested, and a lot of marijuana is ingested. Can Nora and Elliot’s relationship survive? And are these decade-old friendships worth saving?
here comes the night by Lisa Kenner Grissom
When Olivia, a musician’s wife and climate science advocate, invites Maggie, an old friend turned social media influencer, to spend the weekend while she has an at-home medication abortion, she doesn’t realize that Maggie is about to throw Olivia off course. And actually, these women of different generations are about to alter each other’s lives in ways they hadn’t expected or imagined. What happens when a woman’s right to choose becomes a litmus test for all of her life choices?
Zora & Langston by Imani Mitchell
At the height of the Harlem Renaissance, we find two bright talents: Zora Neale Hurston, a fiery novelist with a flair for eccentricity, and Langston Hughes, a cerebral poet who plans to strategize himself to the top. A friendship quickly blossoms, filled with artistic passion, emotional depth, and a streak of competition. But soon, the pair find themselves controlled by the incessant demands of their benefactor, which leads to the demise of their friendship. This play grapples with the complexity of relationships, the passion of artists, and the literary heart of Harlem in the 1920s.
Ink & Paint by Danielle E. Moore (Book, Music, & Lyrics)
Ink & Paint is a madcap musical mashup of mid-century American history, the golden age of hand-drawn animation, and the wild, wisecracking women who fought tooth, nail, and paintbrush for their place in it. It follows five women artists at the Walt Disney Studios in the 1930s and beyond, whose ranks included immigrants, a single mother and architect, and a record-breaking pilot. When they reconvene decades later to accept an award on behalf of their deceased friend and colleague, Mary Blair, they share their experiences working in a male-dominated industry in the shadow of global conflict and labor uprising.
For more information on SheLA’s sister Summer festivals, SheNYC, SheDFW, and SheATL, visit www.SheNYCArts.org.
ABOUT SheNYC Arts
SheNYC Arts is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization devoted to producing plays, musicals, and adaptations by writers of marginalized genders, to prove that these works are meaningful, high-quality, and commercially viable. SheNYC produces Summer Theater Festivals in New York City, Los Angeles, Dallas, and Atlanta annually, as well as CreateHER, a free program for high school students interested in careers as playwrights and producers. Through additional educational and community engagement programs, including The Broadway Women’s Alliance, SheNYC aims to make the theater industry a better place for all people. Learn more at www.SheNYCArts.org.
