10th Annual 'Title Wave: 2024 New Works Festival' at Bay Street Theater

Bay Street Theater has announced the selections and schedule of works for the upcoming 10th annual “Title Wave: 2024 New Works Festival.” The festival will take place at Bay Street from Friday, May 17, through Sunday, May 19. Four bold, new readings — three plays and a musical — will be introduced on the Bay Street stage over the course of the weekend.

The festival is a unique showcase of new works currently in development and cutting-edge theater, complete with staged readings, talkbacks, and critical discussion. It provides a rare opportunity for directors and actors to work on their creations in person.

From 300 submissions, the selected creations are “The Ordeal of Water” by Stephanie Alison Walker, “Polar Bears, Black Boys & Prairie Fringed Orchids” by Vincent Terrell Durham, “Dutch Master: A Musical,” with music and lyrics by Jeffrey Stock, book by Marc Acito, and “House of India” by Deepak Kumar.

“It’s an honor to be at Bay Street for another ‘New Works Festival’ and for the 10th anniversary of this important event,” said Hope Villanueva, Bay Street’s literary manager. “In these tumultuous times, it’s our responsibility to support artists creating new works and speaking to the issues and concerns we are presently experiencing. We have an exciting slate of work this year that lifts all different stories with takes on women’s empowerment, historical events, family dynamics and expectations, and the melting pot of America. We hope you will share these stories with us.”

The Schedule:

Friday, May 17, at 8 p.m. — In “The Ordeal of Water,” set in 1978, the first two female longshoremen at the Port of Los Angeles are trapped by their male co-workers in the cargo hold of a container ship just as it is heading to Shanghai. As they struggle to survive, they are visited by witches, who both help them and test them.

Saturday, May 18, at 2 p.m. — In “Polar Bears, Black Boys & Prairie Fringed Orchids,” a liberal white couple throws open the doors of their renovated Harlem brownstone and hosts a cocktail party for their African American neighbors. The guests are a Black Lives Matter activist, his plus-one, a Black bookstore owner, and the mother of a slain 12-year-old boy. A well-intentioned night of community devolves into intense debates, pointed accusations, and a shocking revelation of implicit bias.

Saturday, May 18, at 8 p.m. — “Dutch Master: A Musical” is the true story of an art forger with the soul of a fine artist and the morals of a con artist who pulls off one of the most audacious frauds of the 20th century. But when one of his fake Vermeers is bought by the Nazis, he finds himself on trial for treason, painting for his life.

Sunday, May 19, at 3 p.m. — In “House of India,” when a traditional Indian restaurant stuck in a depressing strip mall in the Midwest is vandalized, Ananya and her family must decide: Do they give up on tradition and convert the restaurant into an “Indian Chipotle,” or do they give up on their “American Dream” and close up shop? A play about South Indian food, familial expectations and figuring out what really makes a “House” a home.

In addition to the schedule of staged readings, the presentation of the winners of the 2024 Writing the Wave Creative Writing Competition, a playwriting competition for Suffolk County teens, will be held on Friday, May 17, from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m.

Admission to each reading is $15. Visit baystreet.org or call 631-725-9500 for details. Bay Street Theater is on Long Wharf in Sag Harbor.