@ theREP *

Capital Repertory to host Saturday night CRFT Festival

Local theatre and community to be celebrated with free events

ALBANY—It’s not Broadway or the West End; it’s the Capital Region — up the river from the famous city, and across the pond from the district — where performing arts thrive and flourish. The Capital Region Festival of Theatre (CRFT) is celebrating the diverse community theatre companies, performers, playwrights, designers, technicians, and theatre enthusiasts with the inaugural CRFT Festival June 12-15.

The four-day celebration will take place all over the Capital Region, with events stretching from Fort Salem to Albany. Capital Repertory Theatre will open its doors for “Downtown Saturday Night,” with programming and a pre-show theatre fair from 6-7 p.m. June 14. Numerous theatres will have information about their upcoming seasons, along with a free raffle drawing with prizes that include theatre tickets, restaurant gift cards, and more.

Producing Artistic Director Maggie Mancinelli-Cahill said, “We are really fortunate to work in a region that has such a thriving theatre community with such a wide variety of artists who truly love creating and supporting live theatre. From preschoolers to retirees, there’s theatre for all!”

An evening of diverse performances on MainStage at theREP will follow from 7-10 p.m., with selections from Black Theatre Troupe of Upstate NY, Create a Space NOW, The Vocal Studio of Lisa Franklin, and more.

  • “Faith” written by Christine Hsu and produced and directed by Jean-Remy Monnay of Black Theatre Troupe of Upstate New York.
  • “Did You Ever Go to P.S. 43?” written by Michael Schulman and produced by Douglas Gladstone.
  • “A Cabaret Song That Is Definitely ‘Not Funny’” produced and performed by Meaghan Sheridan Almon.
  • “Tall/ Short” produced and written by Michael A. Lake and directed by Michael Kennedy.
  • “The Embodied: Nina and James” produced, written, and directed by Hettie Barnhill of Create a Space NOW.
  • “From Here to Broadway!” produced by The Vocal Studio of Lisa Franklin.
  • “The Train to Moscow” (film) with a screenplay by Katherine Ambrosio and produced by Ralph Ambrosio.

For more information, patrons are encouraged to visit the CRFT website at crftinc.org, as well as the festival’s social media channels.