‘Out On a Limb’ new-play fest returns for its eighth year, with a half-dozen new works

Now under way at Scripps Ranch Theatre: The eighth annual edition of Out on a Limb, the new-play festival whose writers are from both here and around the country, but whose dramatic focus is on San Diego.

The fest, running now through July 21, not only showcases both established and emerging stage talent but allows theatergoers to vote for their favorites; the top three playwrights receive cash prizes.

Performers in this year’s festival include Sibongile Ngako, Emily Candia, Gina Maria Cioffi, Edgar Diaz-Gutierrez, Aaron Lugo, Natalia Maggio, Allison McDonald, Sophia Oberg, Wilfred Paloma, Andrew Dean Pearson, Ruth Carlson Russell, Tara Sampson, Anna Sandor and Marc Sylwestrzak.

“Out On A Limb: New Plays From America’s Finest City” (produced by Charles Peters) runs Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m., at SRT on the campus of Alliant University. Individual tickets are $20; call (858) 578-7728 or go to scrippsranchtheatre.org.

Here’s a look at the lineup (quoted material is provided by SRT):

ROCKPAPERWORLD by Jaisey Bates

“A spoken-word play in two scenes. The first scene, TODAY, focuses on school shootings and gun violence in America, and the second, TOMORROW, looks down at a dying planet from the perspective of the three star sisters of the Pleiades star cluster.”

Directed by Colette Victoria Hamilton.

THE HUNT(s) by Tori King Rice

“A young, successful lawyer returns home to rural Indiana, hoping to address concerns for her mothers mental health, and finds that the problem is of much bigger, more mythic than she could have imagined. This beautifully simple, two-woman play is written by San Diego’s very own Tori King Rice.”

Directed by Leigh Akin.

A SEMICOLON IS A DOUBLE by Larry Rinkel

“A play about two seemingly different high school boys who bond over grammar and each share the secret they’ve been hiding.

Directed by Kristen Fogle.

SQUIRRELS IN A KNOTHOLE by Peter J. Stavros

“An existential scamper examining the vapid minutiae of Corporate America seen through the nutty perspective of some disgruntled squirrels that aren’t too dissimilar from the humans they scrutinize.”

Directed by Adam Parker.

SEVERANCE by Phil Darg

“When job security is more important than self respect.”

Directed by James P. Darvas.

STAIN by Oded Gross

“Dave is trying to prepare for his Ku Klux Klan meeting. He is up for a promotion in the ranks and wants to make a good impression. Unfortunately, after his wife has a laundry mishap, his future in the Klan may be on the line. Stain is a funny look at some ridiculous points of view being proliferated in our country today.”

Directed by Hannah Logan.