Next week, Elyse will return to B Street Theatre to direct a staged reading of Below Zero by Anna Watts as part of B Street Theatre’s fourth New Comedies Festival, August 17-20.
Below Zero:
When Nellie’s high school boyfriend, Erik, goes missing in the Northwoods of Minnesota in the middle of winter, she decides to take matters into her own hands. As a stand-up comic living in New York City, Nellie has no idea how to survive in the cold Northwoods. Luckily, or maybe unluckily, she convinces Mary Anne, Erik’s current girlfriend and a dog sledding guide, to help her look for him. The two women must overcome their differences and find Erik before they all freeze to death.
The New Comedies Festival:
Four talented playwrights.
Four never-before-seen comedies.
One future mainstage production (At least!)
B Street Theatre’s New Comedies Festival is back! For this fourth annual festival, B Street asked playwrights from across the country to submit their best brand new, unproduced comedies. After more than 400 submissions and several rounds of review by dozens of script readers, they’ve chosen the top four to receive live staged readings for the first time in our Voris Mainstage Theatre!
But wait, there’s more! At least one of these new comedies will be chosen to receive a full B Street Theatre Mainstage production for the 2024 Season! You can see the selected piece from last year’s festival on the Mainstage this summer from July 5th to August 15th – Sarah Groustra’s steamy, heartwarming and hilarious INSERTION. In addition to INSERTION, B Street will produce two additional plays from last year’s festival including RESCUE ME by Company Members Peter Story and Tara Sissom and COSMO ST. CHARLES IS DEAD AND SOMEONE IN THIS ROOM KILLED HIM by Nicole Zimmerer.
Want to help us choose this year’s winner? Attend a reading of all four plays and you can vote for your favorites to help the B Street Artistic Staff decide who will get that coveted 2024 Mainstage Season slot.