2021-2022
Program of Readings
Previous readings from this season | Browse past seasons
Walking Shadow Readers Theatre presents livestreamed readings on the last Friday* of every month at 8:15pm EST throughout our season. Tickets are required to attend a livestreamed reading and receive one week of exclusive access to that month’s reading before it is presented to the public.
Click here to purchase tickets to any of our upcoming readings.
*In the event the last Friday of the month is a national holiday, our readings will occur a week earlier. Specific dates will be posted on our homepage.
DECEMBER 17, 2021
SERVICE INDUSTRY by Ezra Brain & J. Andrew Norris
How do you know when to quit? “Service Industry” follows Lily, an aspiring stand up comedian, as she starts a new job at a sports bar in NYC. She must balance her personal, artistic, and professional life as she navigates the endlessly complicated world of the service industry and ponders what to make of her career.
JANUARY 28, 2022
JR. by Jordan Noble
Gracia is a Latina entrepreneur using her chemistry undergrad degree to run a small cleaning business specializing in rare animal messes. Her fiancé is Jason, a young politician who’s gearing up for a run at the state senate, trying to stay independent.
In the world of Jr., birth is a genetic roll of the dice. A couple can have poisonous snakes for children. You might have an orangutan brother, or an uncle who’s a cockatiel. And they’re just that – animals. They don’t break into Disney songs or even talk, they just make a mess. Most people hope for Juniors – human children. Newly pregnant, trying to grow her business and feeling the pressure of uncertainty surrounding her impending motherhood, Gracia discovers that her family history isn’t what she was told, and the identity she’s always grown up with is false.
FEBRUARY 25, 2022
Halfway to the Middle by Bridget Grace Sheaff
Jessie and Logan are in a long distance relationship. Over the first year of their relationship, we see them struggle with the distance, their insecurities, and the outside world from inside a little motel room halfway between their two cities
MARCH 25, 2022
Of All the Places in the World by Daphny Maman
After finding disturbing pictures on her son Adam’s computer, Margo and her new playboy lover Vince arrive at his home in Cambodia to confront him. Adam, who strongly maintains his innocence, is a long-time victim of Margo’s toxic motherhood; she was, and still is, controlling and manipulating. Soon enough, Adam realizes that if Margo senses he might be dangerous in any way she will take his newborn away from him, to protect them both. Will Adam be able to convince her he is innocent?
APRIL 29, 2022
The Taste of Emeralds by Amy Dellagiarino
Sisters Margot and Caitlin meet up at their mother’s small, decrepit apartment to go through her possessions after her recent death. As the day slowly turns into night, they begin to unpack the secrets of their past until the haunting influence of their mother throughout their years begins to look a lot like an actual haunting…
MAY 27, 2022
An Imperfect Storm by John Scavone
Cliff Hale is preparing to leave the hospital, waiting for his wife, Joan, to come pick him up. Only Cliff doesn’t quite remember why he’s in the hospital, how he got there, or how long he’s been there. Dr. Reyes must guide him along a torturous path through changing memories, his fears and prejudices, to the horrifying truth of what really happened one dark and stormy night.
PREVIOUSLY IN THE SEASON
SEPTEMBER 2021
Resurrection
by Jordan Elizabeth Henry
Riley, who is living with PTSD, navigates the loss of her grandfather/father-figure, Dougie, while her older sister, Shae, imagines a new life for herself outside of her marriage. Dougie left a surprise for them in his will: a huge sum of money that they can only access if Riley chooses to live in his house for at least a year. Shae is desperate for the money, but Riley has serious reservations — all of which can be explained by a mysterious envelope that Riley urges Shae to open. But Shae is reluctant to be pulled into another of Riley’s “dramatic stunts.” As they clear out their childhood home, the sisters try to navigate each other’s needs and how to mend their fractured relationship.
Content Warning: Adult language, drug use, self harm, sexual violence, mental illness
CAST & CREW
Jordan Elizabeth Henry is a playwright and novelist currently living and writing in Cincinnati, Ohio with her hugely creative husband and her hugely boisterous cattle dog. Her plays have been developed by the William Inge New Play Incubator, Wordsmyth Theatre, Elephant Room Productions, The Bechdel Group, and New Normal Rep. You can read her work on the New Play Exchange and find out more about her current projects at www.JordanElizabethHenry.com
OCTOBER 2021
Modern Blood
by Ryan Stevens
A re-imagining of Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu’s Carmilla. Laura Potter is a college drop-out, living on her father Clint’s farm, unsure about the future, and struggling with her depression and dissociative episodes. When Laura and Clint go to a local bar and meet the mysterious new bartender Carmilla, Laura makes a deep connection with her. As Laura and Carmilla’s relationship develops, Laura discovers Cami has killed a man, and later discovers Cami is in fact a centuries-old vampire, who has had to kill men who harass her to stay alive.
Watch Modern Blood on our YouTube Channel!
Content Warning: Adult language, substance use, sexual violence
CAST & CREW
Ryan Stevens (He/They) is a playwright/director currently based in Chicago. They received an MA in Theatre from USC and an MFA in Playwriting from UCLA Stevens has worked with Silver Spring Stage, MeetCute LA, Inkwell Theatre, St. Croix Falls Festival Theatre, Retrograde Reading Series, New American Theatre, Whiskey Radio Hour, Theatre Viscera, Festival D’Avignon, Broken Slate Productions, The Plagiarists Chicago, Philadelphia Dramatists Center, T. Schreiber Studio, Seoul Players, and an upcoming commission with Theatre Above The Law. They have also had their script Player King published through Stagescripts, Ltd., and participated in the 2019 Great Plains Theatre Conference. They co-host the cartoon book club podcast and run the tabletop rpg anthology podcast Blank City, Nowhere.
Find out more about Ryan’s work at www.ryangstevens.com
NOVEMBER 2021
Sapo’s War
by Bill Costanza
Sapo’s War follows the life of Army Special Operations medic Vincent “Vinny” Sapo as he tries to rebuild the relationship with his teenage son while fighting off the demons of war accumulated during his 20-year career. Devotion to duty. Devotion to family. Where is the balance? What price does a “professional warrior” pay in service to his country? Is it worth it? For the individual? For society? Is a normal family life more of a dream than a reality for this special breed of warrior? These are some of the questions that form the backdrop in a story that is still in its bare essence a story about a father trying to reconnect with his son.
Watch Sapo’s War on our YouTube Channel!
Content Warning: Adult language, Suicide
CAST & CREW
Bill Costanza is a playwright whose plays have appeared in Chicago, New York City, San Diego, Washington, D.C., Detroit, Texas, and Maryland. His play Lily’s Gift won the Backdoor Theatre National Award and was a semi-finalist for the Panowski Award. He has also written four screenplays and a TV pilot. He is currently working on a novel. He is a Chicago native who now lives in Leesburg, Virginia.
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