many, many march events
it's madness
Good mid-morning, one and all, and welcome to this month’s edition of the 1319 Press newsletter. We have a plethora of events coming up, so take your pick and we’ll see you there!
upcoming events
There will be a reading of The Great Impresario Boris Lermontov Would Like To Invite You To Dinner with Making Our Space Theatre Company TODAY in Brooklyn. Written by Tristan B Willis and directed by Matt Storti.
The Great Impresario Boris Lermantov Invites You to Dinner
Two actors meet onstage and flip a coin to decide who plays which character in this performance. One takes on the role of Boris Lermontov, the boisterous and boastful impresario of a popular ballet company, while the other plays his employee Noa, an unappreciated dancer who’s been tasked with serving dinner to Lermontov and his guest (that’s you, the audience). The façade of the dinner party quickly starts to crumble as tensions rise between impresario and dancer, revealing the faulty hierarchical structures inherent to such working relationships. As the actor playing Lermontov tries to show the effects of such power imbalances can be solved with the Right Person in the role of impresario, they fall further and further into a trap they’ve created for themself.
Artist Salon-athon
On March 28th, 1319 Press playwright Jake Alexander is hosting an Artist Salon as a fundraiser to take his new one person show to the fringe festival. The show, Like A Good Neighbor, is about friendship, bullying, planning a wedding, and trying to save a stray cat. See poster for details and donate to Jake’s GoFundMe here.
Lillian Mottern’s 1319 play Moonshiner is also happening in NYC this month, presented by Adult Films. Directed by Danica Selem, the show will be running until April 4th in Ridgewood.
As the annual wildfires rage along the border of Los Angeles, four women contemplate their futures and wage emotional battles from the rooftop of a stucco apartment building.
There will be a staged reading of Loey Jones-Perpich’s new play DAUGHTERHOOD, happening on April 11th. It’s a developmental reading directed by Kimmarie McCrann and produced by Fisheye Theatre Company at the New York Theatre Workshop. Tickets are on sale now.
It’s June in the year 2000, and a beloved middle school orchestra teacher has died. Brought together in the wake of his untimely death are his two children, Mariana and Joanie. There’s only one problem: neither knew the other existed until now. A biological family drama, DAUGHTERHOOD explores sibling isolation and the aftermath of genetic donation, asking what it truly means to be someone’s child.
new titles
Celebrity Crush written by Sarah Hoogenraad
Shannon gets an unbelievable opportunity: her celebrity crush, Taylor Zane, wants to sleep with her. Her roommate Amy is already settled in for the night and hides in the next room, hoping for an opportunity to meet the star. When things go horribly awry, Shannon and Amy have to scramble to ensure they don’t end up spending the night in jail.
Celebrity Crush also has a student edition! This is the first time 1319 Press is releasing a student version of a play in our collection. If you are on the hunt for student shows, here’s your sign!
Monster (or #MeToo, Brute) written by Marshall Logan Gibbs
When a journalist threatens to expose the dark secrets of a massive YouTube star, his production team and friends are forced to choose between their loyalty to the content creator king and their own morality. Toxic influencer culture, parasocial relationships, and digital accountability are all explored in this shocking re-imagining of “Julius Caesar” for the chronically online.
Reckless Black Dropouts written by Kenndall Wallace
Four Black college dropouts — Naima, Raymond, Camille, and Jordan — attempt to return to their alma mater through the school’s groundbreaking “Bring Black Kids Back” Initiative. Spearheaded by the university’s DEI department co-head Nakhia, who’s as overworked as she’s underpaid, the BBKB, and the dropouts, are her sole responsibility.
However, in order to return to the university, each student must first explain the reasoning behind their choice to drop out — confronting their own traumas of collegiate racism along the way. As the dropouts bond, vent, and work through deeply laden emotions, they must ultimately make the choice of whether or not to go through with re-enrollment; or back out of the program, living up to the stereotype of the “Reckless Black Dropout.”
author spotlight
The Vulture did a write up about Jeana’s Scotti’s play oh, Honey, reflecting on the 2024 performance. Read the article here.
oh, Honey written by Jeana Scotti is a new acquisition, so it’s not published yet but will be soon!
Four women meet on the first Monday of each month in the same diner, at the same time (when they’re on time) where they complain about the slow service, their dietary restrictions, the latest Real Housewives episodes, bad-smelling tuna fish sandwiches, and their college sons’ sexual assault allegations.
That’s all for today. Thanks for reading. See you next month.