With affection and humor, 25 actors in 11 new plays by emerging playwrights in the third annual Beast Festival will explore the relationship between humans and animals, from the zoo we live in to the nature of the beast in all of us. Artistic Director Nancy Rogers directs the zooscape of the festival

The Beast Festival will present playwrights' works from 8 different states which are CONNECTICUT: Kato McNickle (Bull!); FLORIDA: Joseph Reed Hayes (Tell It To The Bird); MISSOURI: Frank Higgens (Koko's Achilles' Heel); NEW JERSEY: Susan Barsky, (Horse Sense); OREGON: Susan Gidding-Green (In The Middle Of The Road); TEXAS: Deborah Carr (No Goats); NEW YORK: Deborah A. Vines (For The Love Of Mike); Mark Levine (Princess Grace); Jean Reynolds (Bingo); Elaine Schloss, (Hail Mary); and VIRGINIA: Dwayne Yancey (The Everglades).

The 25 actors participating in the festival range in age for 7 years to 80:
Doug Barron, Dana Bate, Kitty Chen, Tiffany Clementi, Eric Conley, Daniel Damiano, Arthur French, Kaci Gober, Judith Greentree, Mervin V.T. Haines, Manon Halliburton, Dick Hughes, Joe MacDougall, Ellen McLaughlin, Sylvia Norman, Dorian Weekes O'Neal, Shad Ramsey, Al D. Rodriguez, Bryan Schany, Joan Shepard, Eugene Osborne Smith, Leslee Warren, Hannah Wolfe and Teresa Yenque.

Rescue organizations will be on hand at each performance with animals to adopt. Come early to see the adorable dogs and cats looking for homes!

Appropriate for audiences 10 and older.