Playwrights' Center announces line-up of new play festival

The Playwrights' Center has announced the line-up of its 31st annual PlayLabs festival, which runs Oct. 20-26 at its facility in Minneapolis.

The series, in which plays get staged readings and other developmental work, kicks off with Sarah Gubbins' "Cocked," about conflicts and gun ownership. "Cocked" is directed by Playwrights' Center head Jeremy Cohen.

The PlayLabs roster also includes Ken Urban's "The Absence of Weather," which limns defense secretary James Forrestal's fall from the pinnacle of power during World War II to being hospitalized for mental issues a few years later. Lee Sunday Evans directs.

PlayLabs includes Philip Dawkins' "Le Switch," about issues that swirl in the life of a commitment-averse gay man in the age of marriage equality.

The festival concludes with a showcase of works by winners of fellowships from the Jerome and McKnight foundations.

The center also has announced five plays in its Ruth Easton new play series. For the first time, each work will have two readings.

The Ruth Easton line-up kicks off with "Forget Me Not When Far Away," by Kira Obolensky (pictured). The play revolves around a presumed-dead veteran who returns to his hometown after a decade away. He is stuck in his Don Juan ways even as folks in the town have moved on (Dec. 8-9).

George Brant's "Marie and Rosetta" revolves around Sister Rosetta Tharpe, a pioneering guitarist and gospel music songwriter who influenced many notable music stars, including Ray Charles, Johnny Cash and Elvis Presley (Feb. 2-3, 2015).

The Ruth Easton series also includes Idris Goodwin's "The REALNESS: the second break beat play," which tackles issues of authenticity in love and art. It revolves around a suburban young man who has come to the inner city to immerse himself in hip hop (March 2-3, 2015).

Kathryn Walat's "Romeo & Naomi Ramirez," which concludes the series, orbits a rookie cop and an honors English student in Florida (Aprl 6-7, 2015).