Breaking Ground Festival of New Play Readings

April 3-6, 2008
Calderwood Pavilion at the BCA

Festival Schedule & Play Descriptions
Ticket Information
Blogging Breaking Ground: Take a Peek Backstage

The 5th annual Breaking Ground Festival of New Play Readings is just around the corner. April 3-6 brings Boston audiences five new plays by writers from the Boston region and beyond, all conveniently located at the Calderwood Pavilion at the BCA. Over the last five years, Breaking Ground plays have appeared on Huntington stages, and at theatres across the country, and internationally. It's a program that brings exciting national writers into partnership with the Huntington and promotes the work of local playwrights to the larger community.

Daniel Goldstein, a Huntington fixture over the last few seasons, has directed numerous Breaking Ground readings. Last season, he took on John Shea's Claire Silva. The festival, Goldstein notes, "allowed me to re-team with a favorite playwright of mine, whom the Huntington had given a Playwriting Fellowship. Without that, and Breaking Ground, a playwright like John Shea, a truly original voice in the theatre, would never have the chance to be heard."

Campbell Scott in the 2006 Breaking Ground reading of The Atheist

David Rambo, a California-based playwright, brought his play The Ice-Breaker to Breaking Ground in 2004. It went on to a production at Watertown's New Repertory Theatre, thanks in large part to the work Rambo did with the Huntington. "Plays change on us," he notes. "There's the play that one hears in one's head during the writing, then there's the play those same words become when spoken by actors around a table for the first time. But the most magical transfiguration occurs when the element of an audience is added; Breaking Ground gave me the opportunity to experience that."

Now you have the chance to witness the extraordinary work of top-notch playwrights, actors, and directors as they bring new plays to life. Join us for five exciting new plays, and help us wish the Breaking Ground Festival a very happy fifth birthday.