NEW YORK — The Downtown Urban Theater Festival (DUTF) will provide 13 emerging playwrights, from coast to coast, with the opportunity to showcase their work at the HERE Arts Center, May 6 thru 16. This year DUTF will celebrate its 7th Season with twelve new works by playwrights from across the U.S. Over two weeks, this multicultural, cross section of artists based in Chicago, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York and San Francisco will present original works of urban life on topics such as the imperfections of our leaders, stereotypes, hate crime, living on the “DL” and self-immolation.

Not only will DUTF foster the development of new works and promote diversity in the theatre, it provides free educational events to bring the arts into the community and cultivates new audiences for theatre. DUTF will offer the following free events before and during the festival.

1. First time ever, special sneak previews of select DUTF plays on 4/25 and 5/2 at 1PM at Union Square Park
   
2. Award-winning Playwright, Helena D. Lewis, moderates an exclusive panel discussion on “Surviving the Economic Crisis: The Art of the Hustle” on 5/9 at 5PM at HERE. This event is open to the public
   
3. DUTF in the Schools Panel Discussion Series: Award-winning Playwright, Desi Moreno-Penson, moderates at the Bronx Theatre High School for students only
   
4. Activist and Performance Artist, Imani Henry, will facilitate an engaging discussion on the intersection of gender, sexuality, and racial/ethnic identities in relation to the Performance Arts
   
5. On 5/6 at 10PM, exclusive kick-off party to inaugurate the 7th Season of the festival at the HERE Arts Café. This event is open to the public
   
6. On 5/16 at 10PM, closing party at the HERE Arts Café. This event is open to the public

DUTF Performance Schedule:

LIFE COULD BE UN SUEŇO by Lina Sarrello
A comical glimpse of a first-generation American girl dealing with the traditions of her drama-filled Latino family shortly after her mother’s death.

MAN UP by Carlos Andrés Gómez
Gómez takes the audience on a gritty, raw and often hilarious trip through sexuality, family, fear and dreams, in this solo work that attempts to uncover the definition of what it means to be a “good man.”

A BOY CALLED NOISE by Julia Steele Allen
The story of Noise – the male victim of a hate crime – is told through the unwavering voices of his family and the admirers who loved him. Only after their loss do they see the young man for who he was.

ALTERNATE SIDE STREET PARKING by Dina Laura
New York City can be complicated if you own a car. Steve and Jessica have just discovered that when you stop parking and start talking, life is full of surprises.

THE KING’S MISTRESS by Patricia Ione Lloyd
The stolen kisses and desires of a king and the dreams of the women who loved him. This fictionalized tale of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., explores the need to have leaders be perfect and/or godlike. Is it possible for one to be a hero to their family and community, while possessing a somewhat flawed humanity?

Saturday, May 9 — DOUBLE FEATURE

SOLO MAN WATUSI by Mel Nieves
It’s another New Year, filled with new beginnings, fresh starts, and an excitement for the unknown. But for two old friends who ponder all that could have been, but never was, the New Year is nothing more than a stinging reminder that the ‘little boy’ on the inside has – once again – tripped up the ‘big man’ on the outside.

REPRESENTA! by Paul S. Flores and Julio Cardenas
What happens when a Chicano spoken-word poet meets a Cuban rapper at the Havana Hip-Hop Festival? Find out in this bilingual, hip-hop journey that uncovers the challenges of a poetic friendship.

All shows will begin at 8:30PM at HERE Arts Center located on 145 Sixth Avenue between Spring and Broome Streets (enter on Dominick), NYC. Tickets are $18. For Tickets & Information: www.here.org or call 212-352-3101. For complete schedule and info on DUTF, visit www.downtownurban.net.

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About HERE
This production is being presented through HERE’s Supported Artist Program, which provides artists with subsidized space and equipment, as well as technical and administrative support. Since 1993, the OBIE-winning HERE Arts Center has been a premier arts organization in NYC and a leader in the field of new, hybrid performance work. Under leadership of Founding Artistic Director Kristin Marting and Producing Director Kim Whitener, HERE has served over 12,000 emerging to mid-career artists developing work that does not fit a conventional programming agenda. Work presented at HERE has garnered 13 OBIE awards, an OBIE grant for artistic achievement, three Drama Desk nominations, two Berrilla Kerr Awards, three NY Innovative Theatre Awards, an Edwin Booth Award and a Pulitzer Prize nomination. HERE proudly supports artists at all stages in their careers through full productions, artist residency programs, festivals and subsidized performance and rehearsal space. Work at HERE is curated based on the strength and uniqueness of the artist’s vision. HERE’s Artist Residency Program (HARP) provides development, commissions and full production for up to 20 artists over one-to-three years. In 2005, with the support of the FJC, a foundation of donor advised funds, Lower Manhattan Development Corporation and the City of New York, HERE Arts Center purchased its long-time home as part of a five-year “Secure HERE’s Future” campaign. With full-scale renovations to the space concluding in June 2008, thanks to generous support from the City of New York, HERE is poised to continue and expand its role as a downtown haven for the finest emerging art. Offering a comfortable, eclectic setting for artists and audiences alike, HERE features a new café and two state-of-the-art performance spaces.

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