A parade of plays at New Works

A lot of new faces at this year's New Works Festival, the two-weekend play series focusing on new works by local and regional playwrights, but also a  lot of familiar faces, too. Like James McLindon, the Northampton-based scribbler who has taken home top honors in three of the last four years. This year, however, he’s playing a supporting role instead of his more familiar position as the festival’s top playwriting dog, landing a spot on the lineup with “Japanese Schoolgirl Night,” a short that sounds like a show you might find on one of those pay-per-view channels, but, the author assures us, is most definitely not a porno — despite the proximity of Jell-O shots, schoolgirls and a prestigious all-girls college. And the Girard-Faria machine continues to roll, with the Newbury playwrights — and New Works regulars — Steve Faria and Deirdre Girard taking two spots at the two-week festival. Other locals on the playbill include Bruce Menin, who’s back at the Firehouse festival after a five-year absence with a dark comedy about infidelity, murder and forgiveness, and Exit Dance Theater founder Fontaine Dubus, who contributes a short about two techies who sort out a bit of personal business in between cue calls at a dance recital. 

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