The Drama League proudly announces details for the third production to be presented as part of DirectorFest 2009, the 26^th annual presentation of one-act plays staged by the Fall Directing Fellows of The Drama League Directors Project (Roger Danforth, Artistic Director).

The third DirectorFest production is Bekah Brunstetter’s comedy Roberta Laughs, directed by David F. Chapman.

In Roberta Laughs, teenaged Roger takes up the accordion – ironically, for girls.  He’s going to name it Roberta, after his grandmother, who has recently taken up with a charming widower named Billy.  But she won’t let him take care of her, except maybe once a month. When her health declines, Billy and Roger must set aside their assumptions and face the person Roberta is becoming, and always was.

David F. Chapman has directed at the Edinburgh, Montreal and NYC Fringes, as well as in London, Chicago, Saigon and Budapest.  His select credits include Do Black Patent Leather Shoes…? (Pelajia), Gaugleprixtown (Studio 42), Yes to Everything! (Ars Nova’s ANT Fest), Next Broadway Sensation (NYMF), Summer and Smoke / Mùa Hè Và Khói (TCÐSKÐA, Vietnam), Limbo Tales (New Leaf) and original adaptations of Mee, C.S. Lewis, and Ferenc Molnár for Northwestern’s Cherubs program, where he is senior faculty.   His assistant directing credits include Saved (Playwrights Horizons), Music in the Air (Encores!), Uncle Vanya (PlayMakers Rep), and four productions at Chicago Shakespeare for Gary Griffin, Mark Lamos, Marti Maraden and Barbara Gaines.  He has worked for TCG, Lookingglass, and the International Theatre Institute in Hungary, NYC and Paris at its UNESCO headquarters.

He is currently assisting on The Addams Family, directed by Phelim McDermott and Julian Crouch.

Roberta Laughs stars Chris Abbott as Roger, Lucy Martin as Roberta and Hal Robinson as Billy.

DirectorFest 2009 runs from Thursday, December 10 through Sunday, December 13, 2009 at the Abingdon Theatre Arts Complex in midtown Manhattan (312 West 36^th Street).  Performances are Thursday, December 10 at 7 p.m.; Friday, December 11 at 8 p.m.; Saturday, December 12 at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m.; and Sunday, December 13 at 3 p.m.

DirectorFest 2009 offers an exciting glimpse into the future of American theatre by presenting four one-act productions helmed by four of the nation’s most talented young directors. The remaining one-act production will be announced soon.

Tickets for DirectorFest 2009 are $18 each and are available by calling SmartTix.com at 212-868-4444. Each performance consists of all four one-acts presented in succession.