Short Play Festival

Stray Dog Theatre is currently between seasons, but the company's New Works Laboratory is just getting started. As part of Stray Dog's outreach mission, the company solicits and presents new plays every year for its Short Play Festival. The plays are performed for free in front of a live audience, which is then asked to respond honestly to what they've seen. Their feedback is crucial for the playwrights; if something doesn't work, or needs further development, this is how they learn about it. And if the play is pretty much ready to go as is, the writers will be happy to know that, too. This year's Short Play Festival takes place at 8 p.m. Thursday through Saturday (August 30 to September 1) at the Tower Grove Abbey (2336 Tennessee Avenue; www.straydogtheatre.org). Karen Saari's "Joyland" and Alyssa Ward's "Life Ever After" are the first act, and "Lights in the Sky" by Courtney Taylor and "MARGE" by Lawrence E. Mooney comprise the second. All four plays will be performed each night. Admission is free, but reservations are recommended.