De Niro announces Tribeca Theater Festival

NEW YORK, Sept. 15 (UPI) -- New York will get a new downtown cultural event, the Tribeca Theater Festival, producers of the Tribeca Film Festival announced Wednesday.

Robert De Niro, Jane Rosenthal and Craig Hatkoff -- who co-founded the film festival to help lower Manhattan recover from the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks -- said the theater festival would be presented in association with the Tribeca-based off-Broadway theater company, Drama Dept. The Film Festival will be held annually, with the first scheduled Oct. 19-31.

Organizers said the festival would present new voices and new work, while at the same time promoting economic and cultural revitalization in the area.

"Like the Tribeca Film Festival, we hope that the Theater Festival will help draw crowds back downtown," said De Niro.

American Express, a sponsor of the Tribeca Film Festival, will also sponsor the theater festival -- which will feature a short play series, panel discussions and play readings. It will also feature "Stage On Screen" programs.