The 2019 New Artist Play Festival features four student-directed plays, three originally written
For further information, contact: Christian Kabbas, Digital Media Specialist, ckabbas@hendricken.com, 401.739.3450, ext. 121.
WARWICK, RI (January 25, 2019) – The Arts at Bishop Hendricken will present the 2019 New Artist Play Festival on Thursday, January 31, 2019 at 7pm in the Dr. Daniel S. Harrop Theater on the campus of Bishop Hendricken. The festival, now in its 15th year, features four entirely student-produced plays, three of which are originally written by students in the drama program.
Tickets for the festival are $10 general admission, and can be purchased at www.hendricken.com/boxoffice, by calling 401.739.3450, ext. 120, or at the Box Office one hour prior to curtain. Additionally, this year’s festival will be performed off-Broadway in New York City at the Helen Mills Event Space and Theater on Monday, February 18, 2019 at 5pm. Admission to the New York City performance is free.
“New Artist has always served as a vehicle to showcase the gifts and talents of our students as actors, directors, playwrights, and designers,” said Richard Sylvia, Director of Arts. “The four diverse plays presented in this year’s festival exemplify this mission and showcase how the young men and women in our program can engage their skills in leadership and critical thinking to fully realize the creative process through their productions.”
The festival’s Rhode Island showcase will honor Davis Alianiello ’09 for his contributions to the New Artist Play Festival, and the Arts at Bishop Hendricken, as a student and alumnus. Alianiello’s original play, The Moustache, was featured in the 2007 New Artist Play Festival, and went on to become professionally published through Playscripts, Inc., along with his other original work, Apocalypse or Bust. Both pieces have been produced across the country and internationally since their publishing.
The festival’s line-up features plays from a range of genres, including: Creation, originally written and directed by Harris Gazder ’19; The Way the Cookie Crumbles, written and directed by Brad Hutchison ’20 and Thomas Rocco ’21; Nuggets and Nationalism, written and directed by St. Mary Academy-Bay View senior Emily Fielding; and Sorry, Wrong Number, written by playwright Lucille Fletcher, and directed by Cranston High School West senior Lauren Smith.
“This process is even more meaningful for me because I get to direct it alongside my best friend; a brother that I met at Hendricken,” said Brad Hutchison ’20 about co-directing with classmate Thomas Rocco ’21. “Being able to bounce off each other’s ideas and work together has made this process even more rewarding.”
“Directing has not only given me the chance to share what I have learned as an actor with my cast, but has also allowed me to listen to new ideas and work with my peers to create the best possible product,” said Emily Fielding.
The festival features more than 30 student actors, directors, writers, and stage managers from various Catholic, public, and private schools from around the state of Rhode Island. It’s New York City showcase is the third leg of a performing arts tour of Virginia, Washington, D.C., and New York City in February. That tour will also feature a performance by Bishop Hendricken’s competitive show choir, Paramount, at the Menchville Clash of the Choirs in Newport News, Virginia on Saturday, February 16, 2019.