America’s Short Play Festival - Summer Shorts - Silver Anniversary 2022
City Theatre (@CityTheatreMIA) and the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County (@ArshtCenter) are proud to present the 25th Silver Anniversary season of SUMMER SHORTS, featuring a program of new short comedies, dramas and mini-musicals as well as fresh revivals of past Festival favorites written by the country’s best playwrights.
SCHEDULE
Thursday, June 2 at 7:30 p.m. – Preview
Friday, June 3 at 7:30 p.m. – Preview
Saturday, June 4 at 7:30 p.m. – Opening Night
Through Saturday, July 2
Tickets: $50, $60, $65, $75*
Carnival Studio Theater
Image of Daniel Llaca and Diana Garle* in “21 Chump Street” by Lin-Manuel Miranda – Photo by Morgan Sophia Photography
Playing June 2-July 2 in the Arsht Center’s intimate Carnival Studio Theater, SUMMER SHORTS showcases the diversity of Miami through a variety of short plays and musicals.
Tickets to SUMMER SHORTS are $50 and $60*. VIP tickets are also available for $65 and $75*, which include up-front, reserved seating and a free drink ticket. Tickets may be purchased at the Adrienne Arsht Center box office by calling (305) 949-6722, or online at arshtcenter.org.
Launched in 1996, City Theatre is one of Miami’s oldest theater companies. They are nationally distinguished for being the only theater in the country producing 10-minute plays and musicals year-round and for all ages. City Theatre has won four Carbonell Awards, including the Bill Von Mauer Award in 2016. The company was recognized by Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine-Cava in honor of “City Theatre 25th Anniversary Day” on June 9, 2021.
“City Theatre is eager to present our milestone 25th Silver Anniversary SUMMER SHORTS Festival for our South Florida audiences!” said Margaret M. Ledford, City Theatre’s Artistic Director. “The cool thing to do on a hot summer’s night is back, featuring a fantastically talented acting ensemble, and ten short plays and musicals by today’s hottest American playwrights. It’s a hilarious and thought-provoking evening for all. SUMMER SHORTS honors the roots of the Festival and its past 25 years, while looking forward to the next 25 years. SUMMER SHORTS is a theatrical experience!
Image of (from left) Daniel Llaca, Lindsey Corey*, Stephon Duncan and Diana Garle* in “A Small Breach In Protocol at Big Rick’s Rocking Sky Dive Academy” by Daniel Hirsch – Photo by Morgan Sophia Photography
Summer Shorts features the following:
21 CHUMP STREET – Festival Favorite!
Book, Music and Lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda (2016 Pulitzer Prize winner, Hamilton)
Directed by Margaret M. Ledford
Music Direction by Caryl Fantel
Choreography by Sandra Portal-Andreu
Originally produced in Summer Shorts 2017
A cautionary tale about an honor student who will do anything for his new crush.
A LITTLE BIT OF CULTURE – Festival Favorite!
by Staci Swedeen
Directed by Gail S. Garrisan
Choreography by Sandra Portal-Andreu
Originally produced in Summer Shorts 1999
For one / man the concert promises a nap, until the music sweeps him away.
A SMALL BREACH IN PROTOCOL AT BIG RICK’S ROCKIN’ SKYDIVE ACADEMY – Southeastern Premiere!
By Daniel Hirsch
Directed by Elena Maria Garcia
2020 Finalist, City Theatre National Contest for Short Playwrighting
When a routine skydive jump seems to go awry, Rae, Alicia, Chad and Tina face big existential questions about meaning, mortality and maybe a mistake as they plummet 200 miles per hour to Earth.
CHRONICLE SIMPKINS WILL CUT YOUR ASS – Festival Favorite!
By Rolin Jones (2006 Pulitzer Prize finalist; previous credits include Weeds, United States of Tara, Boardwalk Empire)
Directed by Elena Maria Garcia
Originally produced in Summer Shorts 2008
Fourth-grader Chronicles Simpkins is the Undisputed Unified Tetherball Champion of Recess, Lunch, and After School. She rules the tetherball court of Woodlake Avenue Elementary with an iron fist -- but what happens when a new challenger dares to enter her ten-foot circle of pain?
Image of Margot Moreland*, Lindsey Corey* and Stephon Duncan in “Chronicles Simpkins Will Cut Your Ass” by Rolin Jones - Photo by Morgan Sophia Photography
GO GET’EM, TIGER! – World Premiere!
By Steve Yockey (2021 Primetime Emmy nominee; showrunner, The Flight Attendant)
Directed by Michael Yawney
An encounter with a tiger complicates a day at the zoo for John and Linda.
MISDIAL – Southeastern Premiere!
By David Lindsay-Abaire (2007 Pulitzer Prize winner, Rabbit Hole)
Directed by Gail Garrisan
Fran answers a wrong number and finds herself unable to be understood in a hilarious mess of miscommunication!
NIGHT VISION – Southeastern Premiere!
by Dominique Morriseau (2018 MacArthur Fellowship recipient)
Directed by James Randolph
Ayanna and Ezra witness an assault on the street. When they return to their apartment to call the police, they discover danger in how their accounts of the attacker differ and question the truth of what they saw.
Image of Stephon Duncan and Jovon Jacobs* in “Night Vision” by Dominique Morriseau - Photo by Morgan Sophia Photography
TANGO, THE MUSICAL! – World Premiere!
Music & Lyrics by Joe Illick
Book & Lyrics by Susan Westfall
Directed by Margaret M. Ledford
Music Direction by Caryl Fantel
Choreography by Sandra Portal-Andreu
Joe and Sandy are out for their usual dull Friday date night when the evening becomes decidedly unusual.
WEBSTER’S BITCH- Miami Premiere!
By Jacqueline Bircher
Directed by Michael Yawney
2020 Winner, City Theatre National Contest for Short Playwrighting
The employees of Webster's dictionary find themselves at the center of a Twitter uprising over gender, obscenity and the future of the English language itself.
WINNER
By Amy Berryman
Directed by James Randolph
2020 Finalist, City Theatre National Contest for Short Playwriting
Tori Walker's won a prestigious playwriting award, Charlie Harvard hasn’t, and he's not used to losing. A timely play about privilege and claiming space.
The SUMMER SHORTS cast includes Alex Alvarez, Lindsey Corey, Stephon Duncan, Diana Garle, Jovon Jacobs, Daniel Llaca, Margot Moreland and Tom Wahl.
The SUMMER SHORTS creative team includes City Theatre Artistic Director Margaret M. Ledford; musical director Caryl Fantel; set designer Jodi Dellaventura; sound designer Steve Shapiro; costume designer Ellis Tillman; lighting designer Eric Nelson; choreographer Sandra Portal-Andreu; properties designer Jameelah Bailey; production stage manager Naomi Zapata; and assistant stage managers Ariana Rodriguez and Randall Swinton.
Image of Alex Alvarez*, Margot Moreland*, Tom Wahl* and Diana Garle* in “Tango, The Musical!” by Susan Westfall and Joe Illick - Photo by Morgan Sophia Photography
Click here for full cast, creative team and playwright bios.
*Members of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States.
*All programs, artists, ticket prices, availability, dates and times are subject to change without notice. Visit arshtcenter.org for up-to-date information.
The Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County is made possible by the public support of the Miami-Dade County Mayor and the Board of County Commissioners, the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs and the Cultural Affairs Council, the Miami-Dade County Tourist Development Council and the City of Miami Omni Community Redevelopment Agency, as well as the State of Florida, Department of State, Division of Arts and Culture and the Florida Council on Arts and Culture. The Adrienne Arsht Center also receives generous support from individuals, corporations and local, state and national foundations.
Image of Stephon Duncan and Tom Wahl* in “Winner” by Amy Berryman - Photo by Morgan Sophia Photography
More on Adrienne Arsht Center
Set in the heart of downtown Miami, the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County is committed to welcoming and connecting ALL people to the arts, to the Arsht Center and to each other. Each year, we serve more than 60,000 young learners and offer more than 100 culturally diverse and inclusive education programs — many enhanced by the Arsht Center’s relationship with Miami-Dade County Public Schools, local teaching artists and Miami-based arts organizations.
The Arsht Center is also a home stage for three resident companies — Florida Grand Opera, Miami City Ballet and New World Symphony — and a launch pad for local artists to make their mark on the international stage. For more information, visit arshtcenter.org.
More City Theatre
City Theatre is an award-winning professional theater company founded in Miami in 1996 that is dedicated to the development and production of new works and programming that entertains, informs and resonates with its diverse audiences. City Theatre has made its main stage home at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts’ Carnival Studio Theatre since 2007, where its signature SUMMER SHORTS FESTIVAL will enjoy its postponed 25th Milestone Anniversary Season in 2022. City Theatre has produced holiday seasons of WINTER SHORTS and full-length plays as part of the Arsht Center’s Theatre Up Close Series, including JACOB MARLEY’S CHRISTMAS CAROL by Tom Mula in 2021 and Bekah Brunstetter’s THE CAKE in 2019. Recently, City Theatre and the Arsht in association with the Atlantic Council, presented the Miami professional staged reading of WAR WORDS by Michelle Kholos Brooks, as part of a national project honoring veterans and Veterans Day.
City Theatre is an Associate Member of the National New Play Network (NNPN) and participated in the Rolling World Premiere production of Robert Schenkkan’s BUILDING THE WALL produced at the Arsht in 2018; the Theatre League of South Florida; the Florida Professional Theatre Association. In 2016, City Theatre was honored by the Carbonell Committee with the prestigious Bill Von Maurer Award, which recognizes significant contributions to South Florida theater development by an individual or group, for the company’s dedication to the short-form play format and fostering new play development. For more information, visit citytheatre.com.
