June 18-20, 2010

The New Works Festival, now in its 13th year, brings performing arts professionals together in the Rocky Mountains to develop new pieces of drama, musical theater and dance, and to mentor new talent in each medium. Presented under the artistic direction of Andrew Leynse, (Artistic Director of Primary Stages, NYC) and with sponsorship from The Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust, the New Works Festival continues Perry-Mansfield's founding principle of nurturing new talent with new work. The Festival is co-chaired by James Steinberg and Karolynn Lestrud.



2010 Artistic Partnerships

• Primary Stages, Artistic Director Andrew Leynse
• Denver Center Theatre Company, Artistic Director Kent Thompson
• Actor's Theatre of Louisville, Artistic Director Marc Masterson
• Atlantic Theater Company of New York City, Artistic Director Neil Pepe
• This year's guest choreographer, Nicholas Villenueve

2010 Schedule
TBA - Please check back soon!

Single tickets for each presentation are $15 for performances June 18-20 and will be available for purchase after June 1. A special Festival Weekend Ticket Package is available for $50 and includes all staged play readings, dance presentation and festival reception.

For tickets and information, please call 800-430-2787 or 970-879-7125 or download a ticket order form here . You can also send us an email at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . Please include your full name, mailing address, phone number, the dates you will be at Perry-Mansfield for the New Works Festival, the readings/presentations you wish to attend, and the number of tickets for each. We will contact you for your credit card information and to confirm your ticket purchase.

For lodging and area information, please visit the Steamboat Springs Chamber Resort online.

History of New Works Festival

The New Works program was founded in 1997 to provide a collaborative forum for voices of the arts. Each season, artists are afforded the rare opportunity of professional-grade workshops being lead and performed by our nation's leading artisans in composition, writing and dance.

Our 2002, 2003 and 2004 guest-artist-of-honor was Academy and Grammy Award-winning composer Mr. Stephen Schwartz, whose generous dedication to new talent is unparalleled.

During the final stages of New Works, students attend workshops, readings and master classes lead by the finest people in the business. Select students are afforded the opportunity to participate, gaining first-hand knowledge of the professional process.

Past festival works include "The Receptionist" by Adam Bock (received critical acclaim at Manhattan Theater Club) "Lydia" by Octavio Solis (Denver Center Theater Company), "The Blue Flower" by Jim Bauer & Ruth Bauer (Prospect Theatre at the West End Theater), "Plainsong" by Eric Schmiedl (Denver Center Theater Company), "A Sleeping Country" by Melanie Marnich (Cincinatti Playhouse in the Park), and "The Unauthorized Autobiography of Samantha Brown" with books & lyrics by Kait Kerrigan and music by Brian Lowdermilk, among others.

Read a special feature story about the 2005 New Works Festival at Playbill online.
At Fabled Perry-Mansfield Arts Camp, New Works Find a Home
By Kenneth Jones, June 9, 2005

In 2007, guest artists included playwright Dan O'Brien with "The Cherry Sisters Revisted, " which was presented in collaboration with Primary Stages and directed by Andrew Leynse; playwright Octavio Solis with "Lydia," directed by Juliette Carillo; playwright Melanie Marnich with "A Sleeping Country," directed by Marc Masterson and presented in collaboration with Actors Theatre of Louisville; Kait Kerrigan (book & lyrics) and Brian Lowdermilk (music) with "The Unauthorized Autobiography of Samantha Brown," directed by Michael Cassara; Eric Schmiedel with "Plainsong," adapted from the novel by Kent Haruf, directed by Kent Thompson and presented in collaboration with the Denver Center Theatre Company; and the choreography of Darrell grand Moultrie.

For 2006, Adam Bock developed a new play specifically for the New Works Festival — "The Receptionist," a dark comedy about office politics, narcissism, and the torture of being a really good receptionist. The play was directed by Andrew Leynse. Kristopher Weinstein Storey was our guest choreographer, accompanied by Composer/Vocalist/Percussionist Paula Jeanine, and performers Lynn Barre, Brian McGinnis, and Antonio Brown, with Perry-Mansfield faculty and students. The musical was "Fools for Broadway," by Joe Patrick Ward and Kenny Finkle, directed by Peter Flynn.

For 2005, special guests included Jeanine Tesori and Peter Schneider. Our guest choreographer was Jessica Lang. Guest playwright Rinne Groff presented "Danish Vodka," directed by Andrew Leynse. The musical theater piece was "River's End" by composer Chuck Larkin and lyricist Cheri Coons, directed by Lee Sankowich.

For 2004, our dramatic theater piece was Purple Hearts by Burgess Clark, directed by Peter Flynn, who also joined us as Artistic Director. The musical theater workshop featured "The Hudsucker Proxy" by composer Stephen Weiner and lyricist Glenn Slater. And our guest choreographer was Takehiro Ueyama.

For 2003, we were proud to introduce our latest phases of the ever-expanding New Works Festival-a new dance piece by world-renowned choreographer Robert Battle and a 10-day workshop, New Noises Studio, for writing students to explore the experience of being a "new noise" themselves. The 2003 Festival featured the play "A Place at Forest Lawn" by Luke Yankee and James Bontempo, based on the award-winning one act play ("Save Me a Place at Forest Lawn") by Lorees Yerby. The musical theater piece was "The Blue Flower," a non-traditional music theater piece by Jim Bauer and Ruth Bauer.

In 2002, New Works Festival featured a workshop of "Midwives" by Dana Yeaton (based on the bestselling novel by Chris Bohjalian) and the musical "Rodeo," by Sean Grennan, Kathy Santen, Cheryl Coons, and Michael Duff. Such noted professionals as Peter Flynn, Harry Murphy, Patty Mariano, Brooks Ashmankas, Ellen McClain and Michael Kerker all helped toward facilitating New Noises' greatest success yet.

Charlotte Perry and Portia Mansfield founded Perry-Mansfield generations ago as a visionary training intensive for performing artists. Though there have been many changes through the years, the core inspiration behind the school remains the same: a place to grow new talent.

Perry-Mansfield has been trailblazing for performance artists since its' founding in 1913. New Works Festival continues to foster new pioneers for and of the next generation.