Fresh Fruit Festival

(Above: a stage shot from “Parlor Tricks” – 2019 Fresh Fruit Festival)

The 2024 Fresh Fruit Festival MAINSTAGE!

Variety – Diversity – DIFFERENCE

April 22 through May 5, 2024

At our home theater, the WILD PROJECT – the newest East Village Landmark space

All seats $12 to $23, Series and single tickets, Note: Advance sales for a performance not available on the performance day itself.

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Week – 1

Café Americano – by Joshua Piper

FRIDAY 4/26 at 6:30 pm; SATURDAY 4/27 at 8:00 pm – 95′; SUNDAY 4/28 at 7:45 pm

Texas – a young, accomplished playwright/actor/tv-writer still reeling from the premature death of his husband has fled from New York to Paris to attempt writing his next play amidst his grief. Meeting a barista’s husband complicates his world.

Clara & Carmilla – by Aidan Pauer

WEDNESDAY 4/24 at 6 pm; THURSDAY 4/25 at 6 pm; SATURDAY 4/27 at 8 pm – 90′

Clara (she/they) discovers a vampire novel written before Dracula which follows a sapphic relationship between the vampire Carmilla and the main characters. Clara becomes obsessed with the novel and one night actually starts to see Carmilla.

Ercolé & Megara: A Couple’s Journey by Lester Cook, – A Staged Reading, Special Event – All Tickets $12 – 90′

SUNDAY 4/28 at 1:30 pm. A multi-media Staged Reading of the fascinating emotional journey taken by a Lesbian couple, each in the act of “transitioning” – one physically, one emotionally. Can they find their voices both as a couple and independently? Directed by Jessica Jennings. Reception follows immediately.

The Memory Of – by Rachel Schulte – (Equity Showcase)

TUESDAY 4/23 at 6:30 pm; THURSDAY 4/25 at 6:30 pm; SATURDAY 4/27 at 3:30 pm

We begin in a memory, as Renee, a young artist struggles to overcome personal trauma and the grief of losing a loved one. The family of friends she has built in New York, along with the sister who raised her, try to help her as she spirals. We shift between memories of the past and present, as thoughts and reality fight for dominance in Renee’s life. Which is which? And will she realize the truth before it’s too late?

Non-Disclosure – by Remy Van Collen

MONDAY 4/22 at 7:00 pm; WEDNESDAY 4/24 at 8:00 pm; SATURDAY 4/27 at 1 pm – 95′

Iggy Mitzner, a non-binary Los Angeles Public School Teacher, has been dating movie star Fenway Cooper for a year now, and not a soul knows about it. Then Fenway’s new film role complicates the arrangement.

Bigfoot, Angels and a Girl: 3 1-Act plays – FRIDAY 4/26 at 8:45 pm; SUNDAY 4/28 at 5:30 pm – 70′

• An Angel, A Demon and a Totally Religious Holiday – by Rhys Collins
• The Guy Who Killed Bigfoot – by Courtney Taylor
• Not That Kind of Girl – by Zee Bendici

Details:

The Guy Who Killed Bigfoot – Kennedy, a trans man in his twenties who shot Bigfoot and went viral, is tracked down unexpectedly by his cryptid-hunting ex. Directed by Abby Davis
An Angel, a Demon and a totally Religious Holiday – The angel Orifiel, and the demon Astaroth, are roommates . . . with a human named Nadia.
Not That Kind of Girl – Rachel, a 20-something trans girl, meets Crystal, a bubbly ‘scene girl,’ on a night out. But Crystal is not who she seems.

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Week – 2

1001 Nights: Love Stories on Death Row – by Olga El – 100′ – 1 intermission

WEDNESDAY 5/1, THURSDAY 5/2, FRIDAY 5/3, All at 8:15 pm.

Legendary storyteller Scheherazad, reborn as Shezadi – a queer, immigrant mother and abuse survivor – shares stories about her life, and folklore from her culture, in order to remain sane during her imprisonment and impending execution. Don’t miss this multi-media musical with live music & dance.

Board of Ed – by Richard Spitaletta – 100′ – (Equity Showcase)

MONDAY 4/29, 8 pm; WEDNESDAY 5/1, 6 pm; SATURDAY 5/4 at 1 pm “WAIT-LIST at Thtr“

A comedy following Connor and Dana, two aimless millennials as they go from serving at a gastropub to running for Board of Education in Woodmont, New Jersey against small town super villain Claudia Roberts.

Goddess of the Hunt – by Doug DeVita – 95′ – (Equity Showcase)

TUESDAY 4/30 at 6:30 pm; FRIDAY 5/3 at 6:30 pm; SATURDAY 5/4 at 6:30 pm;

“A light comedy about dark people leading private lives in public places.”

Directed by Rosie Corr, this comic manic-mystery will keep you guessing and howling at the antics of the society podcaster from hell, and the various, often-clueless gay lads in her circle. Who will next fall to Diana, the Huntress?

How To Break Up A Wedding – by Katharine McNair – 65′

THURSDAY 5/2 at 6:30 pm; SATURDAY 5/4 at 3:15 pm; SUNDAY 5/5 at 2:30 pm

“How to Break Up a Wedding is a comedy about three sisters — Margaret, Julie and Tonya — trying to stop their brother’s wedding.”

La Pucelle – by Adam O’Connell – 60′

A folk retelling of the final days of the life of Joan of Arc, through a uniquely trans allegory.

MONDAY 4/29 at 6:30 pm; TUESDAY 4/30 at 8:30 pm; SATURDAY 5/4 at 5:00 pm

the 2024 Slam LGBT Poetry Contest – TUESDAY 4/23 at 8:30 pm

Short Shorts! 4 short but sweet plays, All Tickets $15

Saturday 5/4 at 8:30 pm & Sunday 5/5 at 4:15 pm

• Hand Me Downs – by Dave DeChristopher
• Coming and Going – by Jaymie Bellous
• When A Faggot Finds A Flower – by Jude Cramer
• Out – by Matt Morse

Details:

• When a Faggot Finds a Flower – A fable about a boy who’s sick of his bent wrist, and what he stands to lose by straightening it out. -by Jude Cramer
• Coming and Going – They say drag queens can do it all, but what happens when Betty Zatop finds herself hostwriting on a “certain app” for a young Romeo? In a whirlwind of mistaken identities and romantic misadventures, these two discover that true love might just be one swipe away. -by Jaymie Bellous
• Out – High school baseball star Cal is forced to choose between his love for the game and his love for his boyfriend, Ryan. -by Matt Morse; directed by Abby Davis
• Hand Me Downs -by Dave DeChristopher
  Matriarch Mildred is overjoyed at the upcoming wedding of her son Roger to his beau, Craig. But mother and son have very different ideas about one aspect of the ceremony. directed & produced by Shela Xoregos.

the 10-MINUTE PLAYS Contest, Part 3: The Finals! Sunday 5/5 at Noon. All Tickets $15

Our March competitions gave us 8 finalists who now compete for the top prizes!

Details:

• Searching for the Gays – by Monika Orzelowski
• YOU + ME: An Exploration of Deceased Identities and Falling In Love In Spite of It – by Mattie Tindall
• Caged – by Drew Keil
• A Very Public, Very Family Friendly Park Bench – by Mary Darling
• Like The Sea – by Raine Grayson
• For Sale By Owner by – Sam Turlington
• Grave Offense – by Lenny Hort
• Doctor Truth – by Sam Affoumado