Announcing the Festival of Jewish Theatre

The Association of Jewish Theatres has announced that its annual conference will be held this year in New York. It will also overlap the Festival of Jewish Theater being mounted by Untitled Theater Company #61, which runs May 20 through June 14.

Here's some information on the conference:

We are extremely excited about this year's conference, Jewish Theatre of Ideas and Beyond which will be held June 6 – 10, 2009, in one of the hearts of Jewish theatre and the world of theatre: New York City. Untitled Theater Company #61 will be hosting us. They are presenting their Festival of Jewish Theatre and Ideas from May 23 – June 14, parallel to the conference. The festival will include over 100 performances of over 15 productions originating from across the United States and the world, at numerous venues throughout the city.

This year's conference takes advantage of New York City, highlighting Jewish theatre and culture each day:

Sunday at Marymount Manhattan, the college whose Jewish theatre festival, in 1980, inspired the creation of AJT.

Monday at 92Y Tribeca, the new hip downtown venue for Jewish arts.

Tuesday at the stately Museum of the City of New York where, with other conference activities, we will get a private tour of the theatre archives, the largest collection of its kind in the world, including Jewish and American theatre in the United States.

Wednesday will be at the Center for Jewish History, which houses six different major Jewish organizations, including YIVO with its Yiddish Theatre collection.

Conference Fees and Registration Information:
Being in New York, we expect more registrants than usual, and there are space limitations. Early-bird registrants receive a $50 discount. The conference fee is $350 for early-bird members and $400 for non-members. After April 20th the fee will be $400 and $450 respectively, so book early. There will also be day passes for guests and others wishing to attend for single days.

Registration includes three kosher meals from great New York dining venues, free tickets to UTC61's production of Doctors Jane and Alexander, five other plays of your choice at the Festival, and of course workshops and panel discussions.

Playwrights and Solo Performers:
Playwrights will once again have the very popular Playwrights' Forum, where we will present seven-minute excerpts of your plays, performed by professional actors and staged by professional directors. Playwrights please note - if you are interested in participating in this forum we can only accept the first 15 scripts submitted. The deadline is April 20. So please be sure to get your play in early to Norman Fedder: fedder@ksu.edu

Solo performers will once again have a solo showcase. For information on Solo Performances, email Deborah Baer Mozes at: dbm@netreach.net or Jeanine Frank at: frankent1@juno.com You must be registered for the full conference to participate in either program.

Housing:
Two housing options are available now for those who require New York accommodations: The Muse, our main hotel, is an elegant and trendy boutique venue in the heart of midtown with a rate of $259/room or $130/night if you plan on sharing (a very low rate for a 4* hotel in New York). For those on a budget, we have an amazing deal through a partnership with NYU/Tisch School of the Arts; and have arranged for NYU dormitory room, at $60/single and $40/double per night. If you are interested in booking or sharing a room, contact Kayla as soon as possible: kayla@afjt.com and she will add you to the rooming lists. Don't delay: we have guaranteed only a small number of booked rooms. We are in the process of reaching out to donors for subsidies for students. We will keep you posted.

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