Chicago, March 1, 2017 — Stage Left Theatre announces Drekfest 2017, which performs on Tuesday, March 28th at 7:30pm at CSz Theatre, 929 W Belmont. Stage Left is proud to again partner with CSz Chicago for DrekFest 2017. CSz team members will be joining Stage Left company members and guest artists in staging the four finalists.
DrekFest is on a mission to expose bad writing for what it really is: damn funny. We are not out to make fun of writers or those who love them. We are asking good writers to intentionally write awful plays so that we may laugh at them. We are ashamed to announce the four finalists for Drekfest 2017, four plays so bad that we weep for the future:
Angels in Afghanistan: A Gay Muslimist Fantasia
by Thor Rudebeck
Armageddon: A Play ( Not to Be Confused With The Film Of The Same Name )
by Eileen Tull
Desires Unleashed ( A Great American Tale of Great American Tales )
by Sean Paraventi
The Gyno Room, Or Aaron Sorkin Presents Women's Rights
by Kyle J. McCloskey
The finalists were chosen through a blind submission process by a panel of drunken Stage Left ensemble members. They will be performed as staged readings on: Tuesday, March 28th, 2017 at 7:30 pm at The CSz Theatre, 929 W. Belmont Ave. Tickets are $15 and are available at stagelefttheatre.com or by calling 773-883-8830. The theater is handicapped and CTA accessible via the Belmont El ( Red & Brown ).
A panel of judges will then rip the playwrights apart for blighting the world in this way. The audience in attendance will vote on the Grand Loser, who will be offered a sum of money to hide the offending play away forever.
Cash prizes will be given to all four finalists, as well as other highly coveted honors for the truly terrible.
Past Drekfest Grand Losers:
2016: "Mother Goose: The Royalty-Free Jukebox Musical" by Joe Zarrow
2015: "Moths" by Conor Woods
2014: "Dragons in America: A Fantasia on the Theme of How F**kin' Awesome Dragons Are" by Jonathan Baude
2013: "F*** You Janine: A Play Ruined by My Ex, Like Everything Else in My Life" by Peter
Papachronopoulos
2012: "Abortion Carnival of the Juggalos: by Jake Lindquist
2011: "A Fist Before Dying" by Jamie Campbell
2010: "Man Vs. Carp: An Environmental Tale Exploring Mostly, but not Exclusively, the Themes of Tolerance, Immigration, Conservation, and a General Understanding of the Problems Going on in the World Today" by Jake Lindquist
2009: "'SCARECROW' OR SOME SHIT, CALL IT WHATEVER YOU F***ING WANT, I DON'T CARE. A F***ing Harsh Play About Scarecrows and Killing Bitches" by Randall Colburn
2008: "The Frenzied Beating of the Jungle Tom-Toms Once More, Once More" by Rob Kozlowski
2007: "Wilhelm Ferguson, Nationally Renowned Playwright, in the Midst of the Production of his Holocaust Play The Holocaust, Falls in Love with a Wheelchair-Bound Vietnam Veteran with AIDS, Whose Name Remains Unknown, Like So Many Others Like Him" by Rob Kozlowski
ABOUT THE ANTI-DREK CAMPAIGN
Stage Left's annual production of Drekfest is a lot of fun—but it's also a cautionary tale. Stage Left strives to bring exciting, diverse new stories to the stage through its Downstage Left New Play development programs, the DSL Residency and LeapFest. New work is one of the Stage Left's chief priorities, which is why the company is launching an "Anti-Drek" campaign to raise $1,000 by DrekFest on March 28th. All proceeds from this campaign will support Stage Left's Downstage Left programs in order to continue to provide our audiences with the most thrilling, resonant, issue driven works for many seasons to come. Please consider supporting new work with a gift of any size! With your help, we can stamp out Drek in all its forms and continue bringing groundbreaking new plays to the Chicago storefront scene. We also hope to see you at this season's Drekfest on March 28th at 7pm at Comedy Sportz.
ABOUT THE DOWNSTAGE LEFT PROGRAMS
The DSL Residencies provide opportunities for playwrights to develop early-stage projects with support for Stage Left artistic staff over several months. ( Applications for Residencies in the 2017/2018 Season are due April 15! ) SLT's annual new play development festival, LeapFest, allows playwrights to work toward a production-ready script with semi-staged readings. We hope you'll join us for this season's festival July 9-26—more details to follow!
ABOUT STAGE LEFT:
Founded in 1982, Stage Left Theatre is committed to developing and producing plays that raise For questions or info, please contact: John Fentiman, Managing Director, at 773-883-8830 debate and challenge perspectives on political and social issues. Through a full subscription season and our new play development program Downstage Left, Stage Left strives to ask provocative social and political questions by producing a mix of new works, regional premieres and timeless classics.
ABOUT THE CSz THEATRE:
The CSz Chicago ( www.cszchicago.com ) is an improv-comedy entertainment and business services company. We provide smart, fast comedy in our theatre and on the road; and we use the fundamentals of improv to provide creative business solutions. Our theatre products and services include live shows in our theatre, improv training for life and work, and hosting events for small to large groups. Our creative business services include: customized corporate workshops and individual skills training; a traveling ensemble for private and hospitality events; talent/spokespeople for consumer events, trade shows and guerilla/street marketing; and other innovative, improv-based business solutions.
