Speakeysie News Desk

(FEB 17, 2021—GAINESVILLE, GA) Gainesville Theatre Alliance will present the GTA New Works Festival at UNG Gainesville’s Ed Cabell Theatre February 24-27. Featuring a different show each night, the festival introduces GTA  audiences to the next generation of stories for the American theatre. This year’s festival includes staged readings of two  brand new plays and a new musical from professional playwrights, along with an evening of student plays. 

• The Just Us League by Nakia Oglesby 

February 24, 7:30 pm 

The world needs superheroes, now more than ever. We see them in our movies, music, TV, art, everywhere but  in our day to day life. Or do we? Rumor has it that the superheroes of our stories are all based on real people  who held real world changing power. But if that’s true, where did they go, and who has it now? And what would  happen if the people showed up to take it back. Nakia Oglesby’s The Just Us League asks where did the power of  America come from, and who does it belong to today? 

• The Poorhouse Project by Katya Stanislavskaya 

February 25, 7:30 pm 

The Poorhouse Project examines the origins of America’s relationship with poverty vis-a-vis morality. Set in 19th  Century New York State, the musical tracks the journeys of two female protagonists. One is Josephine “Effie”  Lowell, a wealthy and privileged Civil War widow, who wants to be a “useful citizen.” The other is Rebekah  Brower, a working-class single mother. As Effie dedicates her life to charity reforms, she has to claw her way up  in a male-dominated world. In the course of the musical, Effie and Rebekah have three meetings that change the  course of their lives. A moralist and a Social Darwinist at the start, Effie grows to alter her points of view, after  seeing what her beliefs had done to Rebekah and her family. 

• GTA Shorts written and directed by GTA students 

February 26, 7:30 pm 

GTA Shorts is a night of short plays featuring the work of GTA students. 

o Transmission by Joshua Daugherty, directed by Tyus Martin 

o The Dead of Night by Dellan Short, directed by Katelyn Zeller 

o First Draft by Ethan Baez, directed by Otis McDaniel 

o Detective Tobi and William in: Murderous Affair by Jordan Ray, directed by Joshua Daugherty o Truth or Dare by Halli Rider, directed by Dellan Short 

o Stuck by Suzanne Durand, directed by Ariel Lesperance 

o Mi Familia by Jeilianne Vazquez, directed by Otis McDaniel 

• Entertaining Lesbians by Topher Payne 

February 27, 2:30 pm 

All Rowena Tuttle wants is a place in polite society. But as a cisgender heterosexual white woman, no one finds her interesting anymore. If she wants to gain admission for her daughter into the uber-exclusive School for  Young People, she’s going to require a more compelling personal narrative and a more diverse group of friends.  Aided with significant hesitation by her husband and her personal assistant, Rowena sets her sights on Atlanta’s most powerful lesbian couple, determined to forge a friendship. But just before the lesbians arrive, Rowena’s past catches up with her: Her long-presumed-dead mother arrives on her doorstep with a mutant farm animal and a passel of inconvenient truths. Then they find the ransom note. Rowena’s daughter has been kidnapped.  But Rowena Tuttle will not be deterred. There are still lesbians to entertain.

The GTA New Works Festival is free to the public. General admission seating is limited for all shows and is available on a  first-come, first-served basis. The GTA Box Office will open one hour before the posted showtime. Patrons should check-in at the box office upon arrival. For more information, visit GainesvilleTheatreAlliance.org. 

ABOUT GAINESVILLE THEATRE ALLIANCE: 

Gainesville Theatre Alliance is a one-of-a-kind, nationally-recognized collaboration between the University of North  Georgia and Brenau University. Utilizing hands-on, individualized training while emphasizing ensemble and collaboration between programs, GTA boasts a production program rivaling the largest theatre schools in the country. For more information, visit GainesvilleTheatreAlliance.org.