Meet our crack design team who is in the midst of reimagining the wonderful shape-shifting space of West of Lenin:

We are pleased to announce the directors for this year’s festival:

Anita Montgomery will direct Yussef El Guindi’s The Tyrant,
Peter Dylan O’Connor* will direct Brendan Healy’s Things to Say When It’s Too Late to Say Them, a.k.a. Proof You Were Here,
Annie Lareau will direct K Brian Neel’s iI,
and Rachel Katz Carey will direct Juliet Waller Pruzan’s Cumulus.

Now let’s get busy with some casting, designers, and production staff y’all. More to come.

*Member of Actors’ Equity Association

Our sincerest thanks to everyone who came out to West of Lenin to support the countdown to SOAP Fest 2014. Playwrights were honored, artists entertained, and generous patrons cheered for enticing previews of what’s to come in June. And a special thanks to Cochon Catering and Liv’s Ahoy for providing such delicious treats. We can’t wait to unveil these exciting new plays in their entirety. Stay tuned.

Yussef El Guindi’s most recent productions include Pilgrims Musa and Sheri in the New World (winner of the Steinberg/American Theatre Critics Association New Play Award in 2012; Gregory Award in 2011) at ACT, and at Center Repertory Company in Walnut Creek, CA; and Language Rooms (Edgerton Foundation New American Play Award, as well as ACT’s New Play Award), co-produced by Golden Thread Productions and the Asian American Theater Company in San Francisco; at the Wilma Theater in Philadelphia (premiere), and at the Los Angeles Theater Center. His play Our Enemies: Lively Scenes of Love and Combat, which won the M. Elizabeth Osborn award, was recently published in the anthology Four Arab American Plays, published by McFarland Books.

Brendan Healy‘s plays have been produced in Seattle, Chicago, Miami, Louisville, Minneapolis, California, and Connecticut. His play picnic (pik’nik’): v.i. received the 2004 Heideman Award from Actors Theatre of Louisville, and his play The Way it Really, Truly, Almost Was was a finalist for the 2013 award. His play The Secret Recordings of Lenin to His Lost Love Mary Anne of Topeka, KS was published by Rain City Projects and picnic (pik’nik’): v.i. was published by Playscripts, Inc. A Sandbox member, Mr. Healy is also the Managing Partner of Pony World Theatre and a member of Seattle Rep’s Writers Group.

K Brian Neel has written six solo plays: The 42nd Floor, Crazy 8, Double Climax, Pryk, Omon Ra, and Vaud Rats. Most of these have been presented in theaters and festivals across the US, Canada, and Australia. Brian’s full-length plays include Pieces of the first, which won two Garland Awards, and The Devil’s Mile, co-written with Paul Shipp. He has written for 14/48 several times, and wrote one-third of Aisle 9 for Radial Theater Project. Most recently he was commissioned by Seattle Symphony to write an interactive theatrical concert with Carnegie Hall. Brian is a full-time performer, director, playwright, and educator.

Juliet Waller Pruzan teaches dance, drama, and playwriting, choreographs regularly for theater, writes plays, and was a dancer for many years. Her new play, Lollyville, co-written with long-time writing partner, Bret Fetzer, will be produced by Macha Monkey in May of 2014.

With great enthusiasm we present the new plays of 2014:

The Tyrant, by Yussef El Guindi
A captured Middle Eastern president, currently imprisoned in the United States, is permitted to speak to an American audience to address the issues that led to his arrest. Attempting to win them over to his viewpoint, he also implicates them as one of the causes for the political upheavals happening in his home country.

Things to Say When It’s Too Late to Say Them,  a.k.a. Proof You Were Here, by Brendan Healy
On the occasion of an unusual anniversary, Eric and Annalisa wrestle, box, sing, and smash dishes, as they reveal all the many things they never told each other.

iI, by K Brian Neel
Thirty-six hours into a hackathon, three young programmers make an Earth-altering discovery. But are they ready to take responsibility for unleashing their creation upon history?

Cumulus, by Juliet Waller Pruzan
On a flight between Seattle and Denver, strangers start conversations, including one anxious young man getting ready for an on-board surprise. Meanwhile, the stories told on the flight continue to play out both below and above the plane.

We hope you’ll stay tuned as we bring you upcoming details of SOAP Fest 2014. We look forward to seeing you there, June 4 – June 8 at West of Lenin in Fremont!

SOAP Fest is an independent project initiated by members of The Sandbox Artists Collective, a membership based collective of working theatre professionals, formed as a place for mid-career artists to explore their craft in the company of their peers. It was originally created in the fall of 2008 by Freehold’s Theatre Lab in an effort to continue to push for a renaissance of new, courageous and experimental work in our artistic community.

To read the interview, please continue here.

The Sandbox One-Act Play Festival may be over six months away, but at SOAP Fest headquarters, we anticipate another successful run. We are thrilled to announce that SOAP Fest 2014 will be held at West of Lenin, Wednesday, June 4 – Sunday, June 8, allowing artists and audience members to have a more intimate theatre experience. The facility itself is brand new, and we thought it a most appropriate setting for a lineup of all new plays. Our sincerest thanks to AJ Epstein for making room on the busy production calendar for us.

West of Lenin is located in the heart of Fremont at 203 N 36th Street. Check out their current season here.

Photo by John Ulman/For more production photos click here.

After playing three sold out performances to Seattle’s most enthusiastic audiences, we look forward to returning in June 2014. Here’s to premiering brand new works that have yet to be written! Here’s to company! Here’s to SOAP Fest!

Nicole Merat and Shawn Belyea*/Photo by John Ulman

Tonight four new plays will come to life in front of an audience. We are grateful for the support of our SOAP Fest Friends, without whom none of this would be possible. What began in August 2012 has been an incredible journey of new ideas, taking risks, magnificent talent, and the Sandbox Artists Collective spirit. Congratulations to all.

*Member of Actors’ Equity Association

Susan Corzatte*, Tim Hyland*, and Paul Mullin

In these last few days, we work the tiny brush strokes. Tomorrow we’ll move to the theatre where lights, sound, and costumes will be added. The hours leading up to opening night are long, but the excitement is palpable. With actors such as these, the script is in masterful hands.

*Member of Actors’ Equity Association