New Play Festival 2014

directed by Professor Laural Meade

Mashed-up settings and styles in Jack Courage in the Land of Olives send characters from a classic Spaghetti Western roaming through a Judaic desert. Jack, a man with “a headless horse and serpent skin," meets his ultimate match in the young and beautiful Dinah-Lee. When Jack kills the wrong man in their village, Dinah exacts justice - poetic and Biblical.

Nina Carlin is a junior Theater major from New York, who is currently in the studio production of The Bald Soprano. She is a huge supporter of excessive amounts of Westerns, Blues, and poetry.

directed by guest artist Michael Sargent

In the Garden of Eden is a new stage farce in the best old school style: campy, silly, tightly wrought, and truly funny. Drawing inspiration from the stock characters in the game Clue, this classic comedy takes the murder mystery genre to a absurdly delightful new level, where “who done it?!" morphs in to “who wrote it, acted it and directed it?!"

Criss-crossing the country several times as a child, the theater was always a place to call home. After acting in other Oxy productions such as HAIRSPRAY The Broadway Musical and Noah's Jurassic Ark, Sarah Martellaro is excited to begin a writing career, and premiere her first play at Occidental's 2014 New Play Festival.

directed by guest artist Patrice Quinn

On a particularly bad day in Fire, Brimstone and 401k, a knock on down-and-out Don’s door leads to fantastical, comedic interaction with none other than Satan himself. As he offers the unemployed Don the job of a lifetime - or many life times - Don must confront his past crimes, triumphs, losses and loves. All while eating the best rueben sandwich only power can buy.

Reza Vojdani is a senior Theater/DWA double major who has been involved in all things tech theater since high school after taking a tech theater class on a whim. Working mostly as a lighting designer, electrician, and stage technician, this is Reza's first foray into playwrighting.

directed by guest artist Patrice Quinn

Face Time imagines a future dystopia where we’ve become so attached to our electronic devices that the government mandates we all spend actual “face time" with one another - talking, telling stories, sharing our lives (imagine that!). Whimsical, strange and funny, the play follows the one hold-out for real life as she finally meets - and then tries to kill - Siri. Yes, that Siri!

Hailing from Boston, Massachusetts, Griff Wynne is a first year at Occidental College. She is a hoarder, a cheating vegan, and a champion whiner. Writing Face Time has been Griffin's first experience with Occidental Theater and she denies ever complaining about "drama kids".