Spark Festival

Wed.-Sun., July 16-20, $10-$25, Plays and Players Theatre, 1714 Delancey Place, 215-413-7150, theatrealliance.org.

by Steve Cohen

theater

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Philadelphia Theatre Alliance does most of its work behind the scenes, providing services for its member organizations and promoting theater through workshops, festivals and its annual Barrymore Awards. But once a year, the organization takes a step out from behind the curtain, so to speak, for the Spark Festival, this year running July 16 to 20 and called "Going Against the Flow."

Karen DiLossi has administered the festival since its start in 2005. "It's a chance to put some of our smaller companies in the spotlight," she says. "We free them from administrative and marketing duties and provide a creative team — lighting, sound, music, stage management and advertising."

Participants this year are Black Star Collective, EgoPo, Flashpoint, Madhouse, Secret Room, Simpatico, Philadelphia Dramatists Center and the Temple University Theater Department. Each presents a short play, from five to 25 minutes in length. Performers and directors who have been in earlier Sparks say they love sharing space and ideas. Lane Savadove, artistic director of EgoPo, says he met two women from other companies who now also work with his group: "We're all family now, a collegial small community within the theater community."

Wed.-Sun., July 16-20, $10-$25, Plays and Players Theatre, 1714 Delancey Place, 215-413-7150, theatrealliance.org.