The Dorothy Strelsin Fresh Ink Reading Series offers the first opportunity to hear seven brand new plays from the playwrights in the Dorothy Strelsin New American Writer's Group. It marks the first time the playwrights hear their work aloud.

The 2012 Fresh Ink Reading Series will take place from April 17 - April 29, 2012. The full schedule will be announced shortly.

Last year's series included:

Where You Can't Follow

By Adam Szmkowicz

(My Base and Scurvy Heart,

Pretty Theft, Fat Cat Killers)

Matt's doctor tells him he doesn't have long to live. He realizes he's never been in love before. So he leaves home, flies to Paris and tries to find love before he runs out of time.

Show People: A New Musical

Book and Lyrics by David Caudle

Music by James Rubio

(South Beach Rapture, Damsel,

The Sunken Living Room, One Hot Kitchen)

In 1882, a 17-year-old NYU student is driven to help the disrespected and downtrodden actors in New York City.   Recruiting megastars Edwin Booth, James O'Neill, Sarah Bernhardt and Buffalo Bill, the teen hopes to realize his dream by establishing a fund for actors.  But to overcome society's prejudices, he must first overcome his own doubts and fears.

The Virtue of Raw Oysters

By Cheri Magid

(Manna, The Tavern Wench)

Bushwick 1894.  An 18-year-old entrepreneur and scamp boosts his father’s phonograph business by producing and selling aural smut.  When he gets caught, questions of indecency and censorship arise. 

Zero

By Tommy Smith

(Pidgeon, Fireman, The Wife,

Air Conditioning)

When an aspiring young architect receives a grant to work on his studies in a swanky condo for a year, the pressure of producing work overwhelms his psyche and forces him to externalize his inner turmoil, causing an increasingly aggressive relationship with his clueless doorman.

A Swell in the Ground

By Janine Nabers

(Annie Bosh is Missing, When the Levee Broke,

Welcome to Jesus)

CLOSED READING

28-year-old Olivia is grieving over the loss of her mother while her seemingly happy relationship with her fiancé Nate is starting to deteriorate.  A SWELL IN THE GROUND examines the 10 years that Olivia and Nate have loved each other and the friends they kept at a distance in order to grow up. A play about the process of mourning… the loss of yourself.

Bicycle Girl

By Rogelio Martinez

(Fizz, When Tang Met Laika,

Wanamaker's Pursuit)

In 1939 two girls from very different backgrounds travelled across America on bicycle. Their destination was New York and the World’s Fair with its promise of revealing to every single American The World of Tomorrow. A play about one world giving way to a new one, and two girls changing along with it.

Little Man

By Bekah Brunstetter

(Oorah!, Be a Good Little Widow,

Fat Kids on Fire)

Howie, or Little Man, attends his high school reunion with his best friend Andy. He’s suppressed his tragic high school experience. After all, now he’s a millionaire. Little does Little Man know the truth and whiskey to be had at the convention hall as the evening and his memories unfold in this dark, funny play with nametags and karaoke.

All Readings are held at Primary Stages, Studio A

307 West 38th Street, Suite 1510

New York, NY 10018