The curtain will rise next month on the inaugural International New Plays Festival of the Lowcountry, (INPFL) which will bring three evenings of original plays to the stage at USCB’s Center for the Arts in Beaufort.

The festival is scheduled Friday, June 17 and Saturday, June 18 at 8 p.m. A matinee is planned for Sunday, June 19 at 3 p.m. Admission is $10 or $25 for all three shows. Students are admitted for $7 or $18 for all three shows. Audience members can reserve seats by calling (843) 521-4145 or pay at the door.

Local playwrights Ethard Van Stee, Becky Mitchell, Nicholas Nicholas, Dennis Adams and Dan Daniels have contributed their works for a series of staged readings and original monologues scheduled Friday night, June 17.

On Saturday night, June 18, audiences will see plays selected from entries submitted by playwrights from Australia, Europe, New York and California, who entered their work for consideration.

Talks With Stars, by Hilton Head playwright Brent Savidge will be read Saturday evening. Savidge’s play is about a young man who talks with the ghost of Humphrey Bogart. The ghost offers his insights with the frank, masculine wisdom and truthful strength only Bogey could convey.

A Tragic Comedy of Shakespeare Shakeups by 14-year-old Jonathan Boulon of Beaufort will be read during Sunday’s matinee.

Pieces throughout the festival include both comedic and dramatic readings performed and directed by local thespians. For a full schedule of performances, visit lowcountrynewplays.com.