Little Fish Theatre’s 2020 Season starts with Pick of the Vine, nine short plays highlighting what happens when options are weighed in the face of Big Decisions. The “tastiest picks were plucked from over 670 submissions proffered from around the world.” This annual favorite of audiences and critics January 16, featuring a mix of new and familiar LFT artists. This year’s harvest includes:

• Choices by James McLindon, directed by James Rice
• Closing Doors by John Minigan, directed by Holly Baker-Kreiswirth
• Date With Death by Steven Hayet, directed by Carly Pandza
• Dating Through the Decades by Ken Levine, directed by Holly Baker-Kreiswirth
• Eleanor Descending a Staircase by Ian August, directed by Holly Baker-Kreiswirth
• Infesting the Mob by Joe Starzyck, directed by James Rice
• Love’s Disenlightenment by Jeff Dunne, directed by Sam Sintef
• Must Love Pit Bulls by Jenny Mead, directed by Carly Pandza
• Ophiuchus by Irene L. Pynn, directed by San Sintef

   The 17-member reading committee spent part of their summer making its way through the sizeable stacks of short plays, choosing which scripts would then advance to the semi-final round where they were read aloud by LFT company members and scored. The top-scoring scripts chosen for production all include Big Decisions such as: a new and potentially dangerous way to pay off crushing college debt, choices being made inside today’s classrooms, and whether to stay in a relationship when presented with new astrological consequences.

   Last year’s Pick of the Vine was awarded two “Scenies” from StageScene LA: Outstanding Ensemble in a Production of One-Acts and Outstanding Performance in a Production of One-Acts (Intimate Theatre).

LFT Company Members make up the cast: Melissa Booey (Bloody Poetry), Brad Light (Bus Stop), and Branda Lock (Dead Accounts) make their debuts in Pick of the Vine with returning actors Ryan Knight (Embridge), Mary-Margaret Lewis (The Cemetery Club), Susie McCarthy (The Cemetery Club), Olivia Schlueter-Corey (Bloody Poetry), and Perry Shields (Pick of the Vine 2019).

Pick of the Vine will run at 8 p.m. on Thursdays January 16 and 23, and February 6. Friday and Saturday nights at 8 p.m. from January 17 through February 8. There will be four 2 p.m. matinees: Sunday January 26, Sunday February 2, Saturday February 8, and Sunday February 9. An early evening show at 7 p.m. has been added to the schedule on Sunday, February 2. The January 26 and February 8 matinees feature a special talkback session where audience members can interact with the cast and creative team.

   Tickets can be purchased online at www.LittleFishTheatre.org, by phone at 310-512-6030 or by text 424-203-4707. Popular subscription packages of Anytime Tickets are available now and can be used at any of Little Fish Theatre’s regular season productions, at any time.

   Founded in 2002 as an artists' ensemble, Little Fish Theatre presents classic and contemporary plays in an intimate setting in the Arts District of Downtown San Pedro.

Little Fish Theatre, 777 Centre Street, Downtown San Pedro. 310-512-6030, 424-203-4707 (purchase tickets by tex), LittleFishTheatre.org