Jose Rivera at the Red Bull Theatre

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Red Bull Theater today announced that submissions will begin for their 11th annual festival of 10-minute plays of heightened language and classic themes. Six brand new plays, inspired by this year's theme: "Restoration," will be selected through an open submission process to premiere alongside commissions from C. A. Johnson (All the Natalie Portmans) and José Rivera (Marisol, The Motorcycle Diaries).

"'Restoration' is a jumping-off point for creative thematic juices. We want writers to be in dialogue with classical theater in a multitude of surprising ways. Brainstorm by reviewing our Mission and take a look through our history of Readings and Productions. Entrants might riff on a classical character, borrow a classical milieu, or create a brand new style of dramatic verse. Finding inspiration from classics beyond the traditional Western canon is encouraged. This year's selected plays will be performed online in a Zoom-style format - write with that in mind!," explains Artistic Director Jesse Berger. The deadline is 12 Noon on Monday April 5th.

Red Bull Theater's annual Short New Play Festival has generated over 3,000 new short plays of classic themes and heightened language, presenting 80 of them in a one-night only Festival performance with some of New York's finest actors and directors. In its first ten years, the commissioned playwrights have included Marcus Gardley, John Guare, Jeremy O. Harris, David Ives, Ellen McLaughlin, Dael Orlandersmith, Theresa Rebeck, Anne Washburn, Doug Wright and winning entries by writers such as Anchuli Felicia King, Patricia Ione Lloyd, Lynn Rosen, and Jen Silverman. Stage Rights has published a 4-volume collection of the plays from the first 8 years of Red Bull Theater's annual Short New Play Festival as Red Bull Shorts.

The Eleventh Annual Short New Play Festival will be presented on Monday, July 12th online. Directors and casting will be announced at a later date. This year's Festival is made possible with the continued leadership support of The Noël Coward Foundation.

José Rivera is a recipient of Obie Awards for Marisol and References to Salvador Dali Make Me Hot, both produced by The Public Theatre, NY, and seen regionally and internationally. Other plays include Cloud Tectonics (Playwrights Horizons, Humana Festival, La Jolla Playhouse), Boleros for the Disenchanted (Yale Rep, Huntington Playhouse), Sueño (Hartford Stage, Manhattan Class Company), Sonnets for an Old Century (Barrow Group), School of the Americas (Public Theatre), Massacre (Sing to Your Children) (Goodman Theatre, Rattlestick), Brainpeople (ACT/San Francisco), Adoration of the Old Woman (Sundance Theatre Lab, INTAR, La Jolla Playhouse), The House of Ramon Iglesia (Ensemble Studio Theatre), Another Word for Beauty (Goodman, New York Stage and Film), The Maids (INTAR), The Kiss of the Spiderwoman (Menier Chocolate Factory, London), Each Day Dies with Sleep (Circle Rep, Berkeley Rep). His screenplay for The Motorcycle Diaries was nominated for 2005 Best Adapted ScreenplayAcademy Award - making him the first Puerto Rican writer ever nominated for an Oscar. His screenplay was also nominated for a BAFTA and Writers Guild Award, and received top screenwriting awards in Argentina and Spain. On the Road premiered at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival. Trade was the first film to premiere at the United Nations. Rivera co-created and produced "Eerie, Indiana," (NBC) and was a consultant and writer on "Penny Dreadful: City of Angels" (Showtime, 2019). He will be head writer for the Netflix series based on One Hundred Years of Solitude. Rivera's short film "The Fall of a Sparrow" has been seen at the Big Apple Film Festival, the Official Latino Film Festival, The Chain Film Festival and many others. In 2020 he directed the world premiere workshop of his play Lovesong (Imperfect) at the 14th Street Y, produced by Planet Connections, as well as the short film "The Civet." He has served on the boards of Theatre Communication Group and The Sundance Institute and mentored at Sundance Screenwriting Labs in Utah, Jordan, and India. His most recent play Your Name Means Dream was part of the Rattlestick Playwrights Jam, 2020, and read at the Sundance Theatre Lab.