Kickstarter

We are EBE Ensemble (the "Eleven Benevolent Elephants"), an award-winning group of young theater artists, producing our fifth annual festival of new one-act plays. By helping us, you'll be a part of the development of some really exciting writers, actors, and directors.

Every year, we accept submissions (at no fee) from around the world -- this year we read hundreds of plays to choose the 6 to include in the festival. 

In 2009’s Festival, "The Interview" by Nico Vreeland won Best New Short Script in the 2009 New York Innovative Theater Awards. The 2011 festival ran at the 4th Street Theater in the East Village.  Di Jayawickrema of NYTheatre.com said that the 2011 festival “succeeds on all levels and stands as a radiant testament to why independent theater is always worth watching for.”  The review goes on to say that this is an “impeccable production” with “deft performances” and “luminous scripts."

Elephants on Parade 2012 will feature 2 world premieres and 4 New York premieres in which hilarity and heartbreak ensue as people strive to connect to one another amidst the chaos of everyday life. In Jeff Carter’s “Human Resources” we tag along as Karl Clark endures the job interview from hell. Patrick Gabridge’s “Curse the Darkness” throws a scene change into turmoil when a battle ensues over the right placement of the furniture, and the stupid candle just won’t light. In Barbara Lindsay’s “Fighting Mr. Right” a couple returns from a great first date and becomes embroiled in a fight to stay together. Jen Silverman’s “Notes on Drowning” tells the story of Adam, who falls for the drowned girl that lives in his bathtub. He thinks he’s found love, or at least a muse; his sister, however, has a few concerns. In Sonya Sobieski’s “True Enough” Bo’s world gets turned upside-down when he meets his younger brother’s new girlfriend and her puppets. Finally, John Weagly’s “Purple Hearts and Missing Femurs” recounts the story of two soldiers in a never-ending war as they discover a new way to become a hero.

The cast features ensemble members Eric Alba, Courtney Fitzgerald, Genevieve Hudson-Price, Joe Mullen, Nick Reinhardt, Elizabeth Spano, Ryan Willard, and new guest artist Joshua Everett Johnson.

This year’s production team includes Cory Rodriguez (scenic design), Casey Malone (costume design), Tracy Lynn Wertheimer (lighting design), Joshua B. Jenks (sound design), and Lauren Genutis (props design). 

The plays will be directed by Eric Alba, Laura Braza, Katherine M. Carter, Caleb Eigsti, Barbara Harrison, and Phillip Ruvelas.

Performances begin on May 3 and end on May 12 at the 4th Street Theatre (83 E 4th Street, between 2nd Ave and Bowery). For more info and to purchase tickets visit www.brownpapertickets.com/event/237897. 

In addition to EOP, this year the Literary Department is presenting two evenings of readings on the dark nights of the Festival. The first night, Monday, May 7th, our inaugural POP (Playwrights on Parade), will feature 5 original one-acts written especially for EBE's ensemble and designed to showcase some of the wonderful playwrights who have worked with us in the past. This reading will encourage audiences to respond to new work in a talk-back, discussion setting.  

The full-length reading will feature James Johnson's "Choking the Butterfly" on Tuesday, May 8th.  

Thank you for your time! We hope you will get behind our work and help us bring exciting and unique theater to new and diverse audiences.