Comments (0)

By admin, July 21, 2010 7:25 pm

BoxFest Detroit announces 2010 festival schedule

18 Female directors reshape the theatrical box for BoxFest Detroit 2010

The producers of BoxFest Detroit are pleased to announce BoxFest Detroit 2010 hosted by Magenta Giraffe Theatre Co., an annual theatre festival that showcases and creates opportunities for women directors.  The festival will run Friday evenings and Saturday afternoons and evenings, Aug. 6 – 21, with a celebratory opening event on Thursday, Aug. 5.  BoxFest Detroit 2010 will be held at The Furniture Factory, 4126 3rd St, Detroit, MI 48201.  Admission is payable by cash only at the door with day passes for $10 and festival passes for $30.

This year’s festival showcases eighteen women directors as they direct original plays.  Some directors will be familiar faces to past BoxFest Detroit attendees, but this year there is a record number of participating new directors.  Directors reshaping the box this year include Sharon L. Brooks, K Edmonds, Angie Ferrante, Katie Galazka, Kennikki Jones, Debbie Lannen, Kathleen Lietz, Sarah Lucas, Molly McMahon, Lyndsay Michalik, LoriGoe Nowak, Jess Preville, Angie Ransdell, Kelly Rossi, Andrea Scobie, Frannie Shepherd-Bates, Jackie Strez, Kristen Wagner, and Keara Woods.

The production staff for this year’s festival includes Molly McMahon, serving as artistic director, while Kelly Rossi returns as executive director.  New producer, Frannie Shepherd-Bates joins returning producer, Lyndsay Michalik, while Jill Dion rounds out the team as this year’s new visual art coordinator.

While the festival officially begins on Friday, Aug. 6, BoxFest Detroit 2010 will commence with an opening celebration on Thursday, Aug 5.  The festivities will start at 7pm with a cocktail hour and casual meet and greet with directors.  A special encore performance of Henrietta Hermaline’s Fall from Great Heights, directed by Molly McMahon, will begin at 8pm.  This is the same production that McMahon directed after winning the audience vote in 2009, allowing her to direct a show for the Late Night Series at Planet Ant Theatre.  Following the performance, a podcast, sponsored by Encore Michigan and hosted by Barton Bund, will feature a panel of women directors discussing relevant topics about theatre and BoxFest Detroit.

BoxFest Detroit 2010 opens Friday, Aug. 6 and runs through Saturday, Aug. 21 with a performance schedule as follows:

Fridays:

• 7pm: Cocktail hour
• 8pm – 10pm: Two hour-long blocks of programming

Saturdays:

• 3pm – 6pm: Three hour-long blocks of programming
• 7pm: Cocktail hour
• 8pm – 10pm: Two hour-long blocks of programming

A detailed performance schedule can be found on our website, under the Schedule of Events page.

BoxFest Detroit has served and continues to function as a springboard for many women and their directing careers.  Directors who have participated in past festivals have gone on to pursue graduate studies at highly competitive universities, become directors at professional theatres, and form their own successful theatre and production companies.

BoxFest Detroit is an annual theatre festival that showcases and creates opportunities for women directors.  Though the main focus of the event is the directors, BoxFest Detroit creates a festive energy by including performances by local musicians, and uses the lobby to create an art gallery for female inspired art.  Proceeds from the event are given to two directors as a scholarship to help further her career and the winner of the audience vote competition is given the opportunity to direct a show with Planet Ant Theatre’s Late Night Series.

For more information about BoxFest Detroit, please visit www.boxfestdetroit.com.

Detailed Schedule of BoxFest Detroit 2010

Block 1:
A Mugging by Marty Shea and Ian Bonner, directed by Jackie Strez
The Reckless Romantic by Jacquelyn Priskorn, directed by Kathleen Lietz
The Other Side by Kitty Dubin, directed by Debbie Lannen

Block 2:
Boys, Meet Girl by Audra Lord, directed by Lyndsay Michalik
Flowers by Hillary Sea Bard, directed by Jess Preville
You? by Angie Ransdell, directed by Angie Ransdell

Block 3:
There Will Come Soft Rains by Jacquelyn Priskorn, directed by Kennikki Jones
Wonder by Kelly Rossi, directed by Katie Galazka
Flowers by John Wencel, directed by Kristen Wagner

Block 4:
Bar Reading by Hillary Sea Bard, directed by Sarah Lucas
God Needs Jumper Cables by Andy Olesko, directed by Angie Ferrante
Upon the Heath by David P. Wahr, directed by Frannie Shepherd-Bates

Block 5:
Armchair Dating by Magaret Edwartowski, directed by Andrea Scobie
Birthday Beer by Jacquelyn Priskorn, directed by Keara Woods

Block 6:
Sun Trust by Linda Lazar Curatolo, directed by LoriGoe Perez
The Meek Shall Inherit by Jacquelyn Priskorn, directed by K Edmonds
get (t)his… by Nicole M. Young, directed by Sharon L. Brooks

Please see the Schedule of Events page for a detailed schedule by date and time.

Comments (0)

By admin, July 14, 2010 7:16 pm

BoxFest Detroit announces 2010 festival and a new Artistic Director!

We are pleased to announce BoxFest Detroit 2010, an annual theatre festival that showcases and creates opportunities for women directors.

The festival will run Friday evenings and Saturday afternoons and evenings, August 6 through August 21, with a celebratory opening event to precede it on Thursday, August 5.

BoxFest Detroit 2010 will be held at The Furniture Factory, 4126 3rd St, Detroit, MI 48201.  Admission is payable by cash only at the door with day passes for $10 and festival passes for $30.

BoxFest Detroit has undergone many changes since its inception and this year is no different.  Shannon Ferrante has been the artistic director of the festival for the past five years but she has been accepted to the University of California at Irvine to pursue an M.F.A. in Directing.  In her stead, Molly McMahon will replace her as artistic director of BoxFest Detroit.  McMahon was the winner of the audience award at BoxFest 2009 and directed the production Henrietta Hermaline’s Fall from Great Heights to critical acclaim at Planet Ant Theatre this past March.  “I am excited and honored to become artistic director of BoxFest Detroit and cannot wait to see the shape this year’s festival takes” said McMahon.

Preparations for the 2010 festival have already begun and currently the producers are seeking artists to fill nearly all positions.  Directors, playwrights, actors, designers and technicians interested in participating in BoxFest Detroit 2010 should click on the “Contact Us” link to send us an email.  In the email please include your name, contact information and how you would like to be involved in the festival.

All interested artists must respond by June 14.

All positions are volunteer based