Works by student playwrights debut this spring

Works by three Princeton seniors will have their world premieres during the Program in Theater and Dance's 2004 Spring New Play Festival.

David Brundige, Maura Cody and Khalil Sullivan have written the plays as their senior theses projects. Brundige's "Pig Tales," the first student-written play to be produced at the new Berlind Theatre at McCarter, will open March 5 and run through March 12. It tells the story of five quirky friends who try to reconcile their shared childhood experiences as they become adults in a tiny New Jersey town. Curtain times are 8 p.m. on March 5, 6, 10, 11 and 12.

Cody's "Spettacolo!," based on improvisations by a company of actors and designers, will open April 1 and run through April 10 at the Matthews Acting Studio, 185 Nassau St. It explores the transformations three American tourists go through during their stay in Italy. Curtain times are 8 p.m. on April 1, 2, 3, 8, 9 and 10.

The festival will conclude with Sullivan's "Playing in the Dark," which will run from April 16 through April 24 at the Berlind Theatre. Billed as a "musical, multi-media, minstrel dramedy," the play chronicles an inter-racial relationship between two young college-aged men. Curtain times are 8 p.m. on April 16, 17, 22, 23 and 24.

Princeton's Program in Theater and Dance has produced a number of alumni who have gone on to achieve success in professional theater. "Take Me Out" by Richard Greenberg, a member of the class of 1980, won the Tony for Best Play in 2003. Other former students include Tristine Skyler, a 1993 graduate who wrote "The Moonlight Room," and Anthony Clarvoe, a 1981 graduate who wrote "CTRL+ALT+DELETE."

In addition to the debuts of three talented young playwrights, the spring season will include a March 26-27 production of "The Same Sea" by Paul Binnerts, a Dutch director and playwright who is currently in residence at Princeton. The play, based on a novel by Amos Oz, will be presented by Princeton's Atelier in conjunction with the Program in Theater and Dance. Curtain times are 8 p.m. at the Berlind Theatre.

Tickets are $10 for general admission and $8 for students, faculty, staff and seniors. For tickets and more information, call the Frist Campus Center ticket office at (609) 258-1742 or the McCarter Theatre box office at (609) 258-2787.