B Street Theatre Presents
THE 2024 NEW COMEDIES FESTIVAL
other series - THE 2024 NEW COMEDIES FESTIVAL - 07/18/2024 at 1:00 pm, 07/18/2024 at 2:00 pm, 07/18/2024 at 5:00 pm, 07/18/2024 at 8:00 pm, 07/18/2024 at 7:00 pm, 07/19/2024 at 5:00 pm, 07/19/2024 at 8:00 pm, 07/19/2024 at 7:00 pm, 07/20/2024 at 2:00 pm, 07/20/2024 at 5:00 pm, 07/20/2024 at 8:00 pm, 07/20/2024 at 7:00 pm, 07/21/2024 at 2:00 pm
THE 2024 NEW COMEDIES FESTIVAL
4 Talented Playwrights
4 Never-Before-Seen Comedies
1 Future Mainstage Production (At least!)
B Street Theatre’s New Comedies Festival is back for the fifth time! Every year, we ask playwrights from across the country to submit their best brand new, unproduced comedies. After hundreds of submissions and several rounds of review by dozens of script readers, we then choose the top four to receive live staged readings. Previously held in our Upstairs @ the B space, the festival has grown over the years to find its new home on the Mike and Bobbie Voris Mainstage where at least one of these new comedies will be chosen to receive a full B Street Theatre Mainstage production for the upcoming season!
Previous winners include: THE FOREVER QUESTION (Jim Christy Jr.), PROCLIVITY FOR KITING (Jacob T. Zack), INSERTION (Sarah Groustra), and this year’s upcoming THE NEWLYWED GAME (Alyssa Haddad-Chin). Even the finalists have the chance to make the leap to the Mainstage, such as RESCUE ME (Peter Story & Tara Sissom-Pittaro) and COSMO ST. CHARLES IS DEAD AND SOMEONE IN THIS ROOM KILLED HIM (Nicole Zimmerer).
Want to help us choose another 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 2025 Mainstage Season slot.
THE PLAYS!
THIS IS GOVERNMENT by Nina Kissinger
A lockdown on a Monday is a tough way to start the week. Three summer interns find themselves stuck in the one place no one has ever wanted to work overtime: the U.S. government. As the crisis unfolds and their snack supply runs out, they question what power, if any, they have in this increasingly unstable system. THIS IS GOVERNMENT, a new dark comedy, grapples with the real-time consequences of political disarray.
THE MALLARD by Vincent Delaney
A yard sale is no small ordeal; it is the sacred battle ground of bargain making. When Freya and Gillian hold a desperate yard sale before moving out of their home, antique addicts Regan and Davis are ready to finagle a million-dollar wooden duck carving for a cheap buck. But it'll take a lot more than money to swindle Freya and Gillian out of their beloved wooden mallard. Who will become the ultimate victor: the buyer or the seller?
DOG MOM by Tate Hanyok
Liz is already in the middle of a mid-life crisis when she finds a stray dog outside her new apartment building. Desperate to get this dirty canine out of her life in the most humane way possible, she begrudgingly agrees to foster it for a few weeks. Soon a friendship forms. But can she really take care of another living being when her life is such a disaster?
ADVICE by Brent Askari
We all have that one friend. On the evening of their anniversary, Joy and Ron hear the most ridiculous news: their idiot friend Gary has written a self-help book and it's getting published. Their musings on what the book would entail soon become reality when Gary shows up and asks them to try out some of his “couple exercises.” The games soon turn into something much more revealing when they discover things about each other that put a strain on their anniversary.
WEEKEND PACKAGE
- Access all 4 readings and save $$$!
- Access to the NCF 2024 closing party.
Once you purchase the package, you will be sent a form where you will indicate which readings you would like to attend.
VIP PACKAGE
- Access to all 8 readings.
(Often the plays change in between performances based on audience feedback, so seeing all 8 readings gives you the full festival experience!)
- Access to NCF 2024 opening and closing parties.
- Preferred seating in the Voris Mainstage Theatre.
- Exclusive VIP merch!
- Once you purchase the package, you will be sent a form where you will indicate which readings you would like to attend.
FESTIVAL MEAL PACKAGES
The B Street Theatre is pleased to offer meals for this year's festival, which will include a buffet from Jayna Gyro as well as a choice of soda, water, beer or wine from the B Street's Kelly Bar.
When you purchase a meal, someone from our Box Office will get in touch to ask about any dietary requirements you may have.
Read about our Health & Safety protocols HERE