Essex Theatre Arts Studio to Produce New Plays by Philip Paradis in Cincinnati Fringe Festival

May 10, 2012 - PRLog -- Cincinnati, OH  (May 9, 2012) Bob Allen, co-director of Essex Theatre Arts Studio (ETAS), has announced that ETAS will produce five new short plays by local playwright Philip Paradis at the Cincinnati Fringe Festival, downtown Cincinnati, May 30-June 9, 2012.  

“We’re delighted to present the world premiere of Phil Paradis’s original new work Love Knots (a love-fest of short plays),” said Allen.  “Love Knots is a truly delightful mix of comedy and drama consisting of five short plays dealing with various types of love entanglements.” The five new short plays by Paradis are "Whistle Stop Romance,"  "Happy Family at Lui’s Golden Dragon," "The Next Table," "Holey Swiss Duet," and "Sunny Side Up."  Allen, who teaches at  College-Conservatory of Music's Preparatory Department and at Northern Kentucky University, will direct and cast Love Knots. This is Allen’s first time participating in the ten-day festival of performing and visual arts based in downtown Cincinnati and Over-the-Rhine.

“Each play is ten to fifteen minutes long,” says Allen. “They stand alone and together. All are about the ties that bind.  At ninety minutes, Love Knots is a mini-play festival within a Festival!”  

“I’ve been fortunate working with Bob Allen, Elizabeth Harris on the development of these plays,” said Paradis.  “It’s wonderful working with such top-notch professionals.”  This is the second time Paradis has had his plays appear in the Cincinnati Fringe. His one act “A Bag of Groceries” premiered in 2005 at the Cincinnati Fringe Festival.  

The 2012 Cincinnati Fringe Festival is a Know Theatre Production and runs from May 29-June 9th.  All tickets are $12.  For information or tickets: cincyfringe.com or call 513.300.KNOW (5669).

Paradis was recently named a semi-finalist in the Kentucky Theatre Association’s 2011 New Play Competition for his play Soldiers' Christmas.  Last season his comedy Sunny Side Up was produced at the North Park Playwright Festival, San Diego, CA.  His Footprints of the Polar Bear won the Cincinnati Directors Competition in 2008 and was also produced by Blue Chip Players at Monmouth Theater, Newport, KY in 2008.  Paradis is a Dramatists Guild member and lives with his wife and son in Fort Thomas, KY.

Bob Allen and Elizabeth A. Harris created Essex Theatre Arts Studio in 2010. Since then, ETAS has provided community performances of new and seldom seen works, workshops and opportunities for playwrights, acting classes and training, rehearsal space, and educational outreach.  ETAS chooses its actors from among the best available working actors in Greater Cincinnati. Says Allen, "Our actors'  experience is wide and varied and acting credits include the professional, semi-professional, and community theatres of the tri-state and beyond."

For more information about the Cincinnati Fringe Festival call 513-300-5669 or visit cincyfringe.com.

                                               
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