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Directors from New York and Los Angeles, playwrights from across the nation, world-class scholars and emerging theatre artists have come together for the inaugural season of the Ground & Field Theatre Festival (GFTF), an exciting partnership formed to create and develop new plays and musicals. Co-produced by the UC Davis Theatre and Dance Department and the Theatre and Dance Ensemble, located in the College of Letters and Science, the endeavor will culminate in performances Oct. 5-7 in the historic Wyatt Pavilion Theatre.

During a month-long intensive, new plays and musicals were developed by the Ensemble nourishing their playwright’s vision and growing dynamic storytelling for our time. The intensive included workshops and invited readings that culminate with the public Festival performances.

GFTF premieres on the campus of one of the finest agricultural research institutions in the world, and in a community committed to a thriving arts community committed to social, economic and environmental sustainability. With roots firmly planted in this community, GFTF welcomes diverse and exciting new voices from across the nation while giving particular consideration to those projects exploring sustainability and agriculture, either through narrative, practice or production.

Co-directing the festival are Broadway veteran, Mindy Cooper, and award-winning director/producers Tom Burmester, Danika Sudik, and Lisa Quoresimo.

“Simply put, we are growing new theater in this perfect research environment,” Cooper said. “We are approaching the month intensive and the Festival as an artistic think tank, and excited to nurture  and curate important stories for our times.”

“Good storytelling is powerful,” says Burmester. “It shapes our identity, our beliefs, and our aspirations. It tells us where we’ve been and where we’re heading. At this time of global crisis – when the problem of sustainability is our resistance to change – we need amazing new stories that model the best of what we hope our world may become.”

Performances run Thursday, Friday, and Saturday at 7p.m. and Saturday at 2pm, Oct. 5-7at the Wyatt Pavilion Theatre at UC Davis. For more information or to make a reservation, visit the festival’s website http://www.groundandfield.com. For free admission, use the promotional code DAVIS when checking out.

The Wyatt Pavilion Theatre, originally built as a livestock exhibition pavilion in 1907, was transformed into a theatre at the quadricentennial celebration of Shakespeare’s birth in 1963.

The UC Davis Department of Theatre and Dance and the Theatre and Dance Ensemble are members of Arts Alliance Davis. Support for this program has been provided by City of Davis Arts, Culture, & Innovation Funding.