Fast Theatre for a Good Cause :: Boston Theater Marathon

For more than a decade, the Boston Theater Marathon - to be held on May 11 - has brought together playwrights, directors and theatres in an effort to foster collaboration between artists and producers. Many playwrights have enjoyed full-length productions with collaborating theatres because of relationships forged during the Boston Theater Marathon.

Boston Playwrights' Theatre (BPT) presents the 16th annual Boston Theater Marathon and the sixth year of The Warm-Up Laps. The Boston Theater Marathon features 53 ten-minute plays, by 55 New England playwrights, produced by 53 New England theatres in ten hours.

On May 10, the Warm-Up Laps will feature "Romeo Chang" by Barbara Blumenthal-Ehrlich at 12 p.m. (sponsored by SpeakEasy Stage Company); "Judith" by Julian Olf at 2 p.m. (sponsored by Boston Playwrights' Theatre); and "One Day Earlier" by Constance Congdon at 4 p.m. (sponsored by Huntington Theatre Company). The Warm-Up Laps are presented in collaboration with The Boston Center for the Arts and their resident theatres in Hall A on the second floor of the Calderwood Pavilion. The readings are free and open to the public.

New this year - in collaboration with the Dramatists Guild of America - are the One-Minute Sprints. Ten one-minute plays will be read prior to each of the plays in the Warm-Up Laps. Playwrights were asked to write the shorts using the theme "Time is running out."

Net proceeds from ticket sales to the Boston Theater Marathon will benefit the Theatre Community Benevolent Fund, which provides financial support to theatres and theatre artists in times of need.

The Boston Theater Marathon is supported in part by the Boston University Center for the Humanities.

BOSTON THEATER MARATHON XVI

WHAT: Boston Theater Marathon XVI
presented by Boston Playwrights' Theatre
featuring 53 plays by 55 playwrights by 53 theatre companies

WHERE: ?Stanford Calderwood Pavilion
at the Boston Center for the Arts
527 Tremont Street, Boston

WHEN: ?May 11 from 12 p.m. to 10 p.m.

TICKETS: $25 tickets in advance and $35 tickets at the door. The all-day pass allows patrons to come and go as they please. Purchase by calling 617-933-8600 or visit www.bostonplaywrights.org.

THE WARM-UP LAPS AND ONE-MINUTE SPRINTS

WHAT: The Warm-Up Laps and One-Minute Sprints presented in association with the Boston Center for the Arts and the Dramatists Guild of America

"Romeo Chang" by Barbara Blumenthal-Ehrlich
Supported by SpeakEasy Stage Company
One-Minute Sprints begin at 11:50 a.m.

Reading begins at 12 p.m.

"Judith" by Julian Olf
Supported by Boston Playwrights' Theatre
One-Minute Sprints begin at 1:50 p.m.

Reading begins at 2 p.m.

"One Day Earlier" by Constance Congdon
Supported by Huntington Theatre Company
One-Minute Sprints begin at 3:50 p.m.

Reading begins at 4 p.m.

WHERE: Stanford Calderwood Pavilion at the Boston Center for the Arts
527 Tremont Street, Boston

WHEN: May 10

TICKETS: Free and open to the public; seating is limited and based upon availability.