Female Pirates! Politics! Cloning! And much more in Burien Little Theatre’s 2011 Bill & Peggy Hunt Playwrights Festival, which starts this Friday, April 8th, and continues to May 1st.

This annual event will feature brand new works by Washington State playwrights, and it’s just $10 to see two plays – but if you’re a B-Town Blog Reader, it’ll only cost you JUST $9, thanks to this exclusive coupon:

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Your ticket gets you in to see two – count ‘em, two — brand-new, award-winning plays about a 16th-century female pirate, politics, cloning and more in the 2011 Bill & Peggy Hunt Playwrights Festival.

From April 8 to May 1, Burien Little Theatre’s Festival offers 4 weekends of new works as staged performances and staged readings. Each staged performance includes two plays — a one-act followed by a full-length — all for the price of just $10. Each staged reading features a full-length play for free.
After each play is performed, audience members are invited to give their opinions and ask questions of the director, actors and playwright. These talk-backs provide playwrights with fresh ideas, valuable comments, and honest audience response.

• Staged performances are Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. Tickets are just $10 and include 2 shows.
• Staged readings are Saturdays at 2 p.m. and admission is free.
• Shows are recommended for ages 13 and older due to occasional language or mature subject matter. The Festival is sponsored by the City of Burien and Mark Restaurant & Bar.
• For tickets and information, go to www.burienlittletheatre.org or call 206-242-5180.

APRIL 8-17 STAGED PERFORMANCES ($10 FOR 2 SHOWS):

• Two, one-act by Suzanne Bailie AND Super Tuesday, full-length by Jesse Putnam. Two is a futuristic tale that asks: what if you could get a “do-over”? Jet Alvarez, a third-generation clone, confronts the callous government-regulated reality his intellect assisted in creating. Goodness, Jet discovers, has little value in mankind’s world of scientific advancement. Directed by Rochelle Flynn and featuring the acting talents of Adam Hegg (Jet Alvarez the 3rd/Jet Alvarez the 4th), Grace Reamer (Avery/Two) and Serena Spaulding (One).
• Super Tuesday is a drama about race, capital punishment and political ethics. An African-American governor, formerly a Democrat and now a Republican, is running for president against an ultra-conservative opponent. He is confronted with an impossible choice between saving a man on death row and his bid for the presidency. Directed by Kent Johnson and featuring the acting talents of RaeAnne Carlson (Donna Zula), Kevin Finney (Chuck Bartell), Rochelle Flynn (Moderator), Steven Gomez (Juan Testo), Robert Harkins (Perry Franklin), Maria Knox (Rochelle Powers), Maggie Larrick (Angela Powers), Fernando Luna (Sandy Sanchez), Adrian Moynihan (Jason Platt), Joey Reed (Secret Service Agent/Guard) and Michael Terrence (Jim Powers).

APRIL 8-17 STAGED READINGS (FREE):

• Action! Commercials! Subtext!, full-length by Sean Walbeck. Action! Commercials! Subtext! is a comedy about historic preservation and a vision quest. Jana Goodwill’s mundane existence as an architectural historian is shattered when her neighbor, and possibly more, Port Commissioner Severt Longboardson bribes Jana’s dog Snarky into stealing Jana’ secret report. As Jana climbs the ladder of government policy to preserve historic waterfront buildings and protect herself from Severt’s nefarious (but handsome) clutches, she is plagued by a duplicitous city drone, dead bodies, spotty research, a clingy box and the angry ghost of her revenge-hungry dog. That is, until a training montage and vision quest from Obama make her the hero historian she needs to be, searching for La Cuidad de Oro in Bellingham Bay. Directed by Alice Williams and featuring the acting talents of Sarah Bixler (Snarky the dog, S-Previa, S-Defensia, S-Barbara “Flash” Redburn), RaeAnne Carlson (Jana Goodwill), Wendy Cohen (Previa Felicity, Roadie P, Henchy), Kate Moyer (Defensia Libertini, Roadie D) and Adrian Moynihan (Severt Longboardson, Roadie SL, Juan de Fuca, Mayor).

APRIL 22-MAY 1 STAGED PERFORMANCES ($10 FOR 2 SHOWS):

• Bold Grace: The Voyages of the Pirate O’Malley, one-act by Ashley Schalow AND Unfound Fossils, full-length by Christopher Bailey. Bold Grace: The Voyages of the Pirate O’Malley explores the life and times of a real 16th-century Irish female pirate — Grace O’Malley. Beginning with her first voyage with her father at the age of nine, Grace relives key points in her life until her death in 1603. Grace lived a full life, including pirating up and down the Irish coast, an army of 200 loyal fighting men, her own fleet of ships, two marriages, four children (one born while Grace was at sea), and even a documented face-to-face meeting with Queen Elizabeth I. Directed by Steve Cooper and featuring the acting talent of Anna Richardson as Grace.
• Unfound Fossils is a psychological drama about the Zodiac killer. October 11, 2009, marked the 40th anniversary of an infamous San Francisco shooting death, which put the exclamation point on the tumultuous summer of 1969. On that foggy October night in the ’60s, two men in their underpants, post-coital, lounge in the bedroom of a Presidio Heights mansion, not far from the scene of the freshly committed murder. As the police search the nearby Presidio, one of these men will come to realize the other is a killer. In Act II, an elderly man named Bill shows up in the fall of 2005 at the Seattle office of a 40-something psychologist and former FBI profiler, Dr. Maureen Campbell. When Bill’s revelations about the 1969 San Francisco shooting death threatens the “facts” in her soon-to-be released crime book, Dr. Campbell does her best to discredit Bill, leaving him no choice but to threaten her in other ways. Directed by Zachariah Robinson and featuring the acting talents of Don Crawley (Colin/Bill), Nathaniel Jones (Lee/Brian) and Alexandra Novotny (Dr. Campbell/Dispatcher).

APRIL 22-MAY 1 STAGED READINGS (FREE):

• The Fishbowl, full-length by Katherine Luck. The Fishbowl is a dark comedy about the formerly famous in a hostage situation. Under the watchful eye of the media, a criminal stunt at a fast-food joint by a group of has-beens goes violently awry. Directed by Kate Moyer and featuring the acting talents of Sarah Bixler (Nikki), Robert Hinds (Sebastian), Cody Hunemuller (Duke), Russ Kay (Mac) and Lynne Randall (Sunni).

ABOUT THE BILL AND PEGGY HUNT PLAYWRIGHTS FESTIVAL
The mission of the Bill and Peggy Hunt Playwrights Festival is to encourage Washington State playwrights to pursue their craft and to showcase previously unproduced plays written by Washington state residents. Playwrights are invited to submit their scripts, which are evaluated by a panel of judges who select the winners. Burien Little Theatre produces the winning plays in the festival. Top winners in the one-act and full-length script categories are produced as fully staged performances on Burien Little Theatre’s main stage. Honorable mention scripts are produced as staged readings.

The Festival was named to honor Bill and Peggy Hunt’s dedicated service to community-based theater and their devotion to and involvement with Burien Little Theatre. Peggy Hunt joined Burien’s theater organization in 1960 with a leading role in the play Harvey. Over the next 35 years both Bill and Peggy appeared in and directed plays, designed and built sets, served on the Board of Directors, and were involved in some aspect of every theater project.

Burien Little Theatre officially launched the Bill and Peggy Hunt Playwrights Festival in 1999. This year, Burien Little Theatre chose six playwrights to be honored with awards.

ABOUT BURIEN LITTLE THEATRE
Exciting live theater has been a tradition in Burien since 1955. Incorporated in 1980, Burien Little Theatre has been a leading producer of quality live theater serving residents of the Seattle and south Puget Sound areas.

Burien Little Theatre is committed to being an entertainment leader by producing intriguing professional shows. The company’s mission is to treat audiences to productions of the highest artistic integrity that excite, engage and involve both the local and expanding theatrical communities in the Puget Sound region.

BLT is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) entity and operates on revenue from ticket sales, donations, grants, sponsorships and volunteers.

SCHEDULE FOR “2011 BILL AND PEGGY HUNT PLAYWRIGHTS FESTIVAL” – STAGED PERFORMANCES

• April 8 at 7:30 p.m. – Friday: Two, one-act by Suzanne Bailie AND Super Tuesday, full-length by Jesse Putnam
• April 9 at 7:30 p.m. – Saturday: Two, one-act by Suzanne Bailie AND Super Tuesday, full-length by Jesse Putnam
• April 10 at 2 p.m. – Sunday: Two, one-act by Suzanne Bailie AND Super Tuesday, full-length by Jesse Putnam
• April 15 at 7:30 p.m. – Friday: Two, one-act by Suzanne Bailie AND Super Tuesday, full-length by Jesse Putnam
• April 16 at 7:30 p.m. – Saturday: Two, one-act by Suzanne Bailie AND Super Tuesday, full-length by Jesse Putnam
• April 17 at 2 p.m. – Sunday: Two, one-act by Suzanne Bailie AND Super Tuesday, full-length by Jesse Putnam
• April 22 at 7:30 p.m. – Friday: Bold Grace: The Voyages of the Pirate O’Malley, one-act by Ashley Schalow AND Unfound Fossils, full-length by Christopher Bailey
• April 23 at 7:30 p.m. – Saturday: Bold Grace: The Voyages of the Pirate O’Malley, one-act by Ashley Schalow AND Unfound Fossils, full-length by Christopher Bailey
• April 24 at 2 p.m. – Sunday: Bold Grace: The Voyages of the Pirate O’Malley, one-act by Ashley Schalow AND Unfound Fossils, full-length by Christopher Bailey
• April 29 at 7:30 p.m. – Friday: Bold Grace: The Voyages of the Pirate O’Malley, one-act by Ashley Schalow AND Unfound Fossils, full-length by Christopher Bailey
• April 30 at 7:30 p.m. – Saturday: Bold Grace: The Voyages of the Pirate O’Malley, one-act by Ashley Schalow AND Unfound Fossils, full-length by Christopher Bailey
• May 1 at 2 p.m. – Sunday: Bold Grace: The Voyages of the Pirate O’Malley, one-act by Ashley Schalow AND Unfound Fossils, full-length by Christopher Bailey

SCHEDULE FOR “2011 BILL AND PEGGY HUNT PLAYWRIGHTS FESTIVAL” – STAGED READINGS

• April 9 at 2 p.m. – Saturday: Action! Commercials! Subtext!, full-length by Sean Walbeck
• April 16 at 2 p.m. – Saturday: Action! Commercials! Subtext!, full-length by Sean Walbeck
• April 23 at 2 p.m. – Saturday: The Fishbowl, full-length by Katherine Luck
• April 30 at 2 p.m. – Saturday: The Fishbowl, full-length by Katherine Luck

THEATER LOCATION
The Theater at the Burien Community Center Annex, located at 425 SW 144th Street in Burien, 98166-1545; (206) 242-5180. The Annex to the Burien Community Center is located at the northwest corner of the intersection of Fourth Avenue Southwest and Southwest 146th Street in Burien, with the parking lot entrance on Fourth. (Directions available under “Find Us” at www.burienlittletheatre.org).

TICKET PRICES AND PACKAGES

• Staged Performances (Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m., Sundays at 2 p.m.): All tickets just $10 for performance of 2 plays.
• Staged Play Readings (Saturdays at 2 p.m.): Free, although donations are appreciated.
• Dinner and a Show Package: This package includes a two-course meal at Mark Restaurant & Bar plus a ticket to the show; cost is $25 per person. Contact the Mark at 206-241-6275.
• Parents Night Out (Friday, April 15): Childcare with games and movies is available at Jungle Gym in Burien during the performance for $25 per child. Call Jungle Gym at 206-248-3547.

To Purchase Tickets: Show tickets may be purchased online at www.burienlittletheatre.org or call 206-242-5180. Oh, and be sure to “Like” them on Facebook here as well.