2022-2023
SEPTEMBER 30, 2022
Carl Flunt Would Protect You From Trucks
by Scott Mullen
Beth is stunned when multiple versions of herself from the future show up, trying to give her advice on what to do with her life.
Content Warning: Adult language
Scott Mullen is a playwright and occasional screenwriter, based in Burbank, California, whose short plays have been produced over 600 times around the world, including at the South Pole. He co-wrote the recent Lifetime movie LINE SISTERS, while his thrillers STALKER, THE SUMMONING, IN BROAD DAYLIGHT and BLOOD ON HER BADGE aired on TV One. An evening of his comic plays, A NIGHT OF S.M., had a two-week run in Hollywood. CARL FLUNT WOULD PROTECT YOU FROM TRUCKS is his first full-length play.
Twitter @mullen_scott
CAST & CREW
OCTOBER 28, 2022
Two Brown Porters
by Naren Weiss
A dark comedy about two average individuals who get swept up into the world of bloodshed surrounding history’s most infamously looted item – the Kohinoor diamond.
Content Warning: Adult Language, Violence
Naren Weiss is an award-winning writer whose work has been published and/or performed on four continents, including at the prestigious Metroplus Theatre Festival (India), the National Arts Festival (South Africa), the Alliance Francaise (Singapore) and numerous Short+Sweet Festivals around the world. He has published five books of plays, poems, and short stories – three of which have gone on to become Amazon bestsellers. He has taught Playwriting and Script Analysis at the undergraduate level.
CAST & CREW
NOVEMBER 18, 2022
Closing Costs on 6101 Nyanza Park Drive APT D6 Flushing, NY 11351
by Brysen Boyd
Jared and Allen attempt to say goodbye to the apartment and life they shared for a decade.
Content Warning: Adult Language, Additional*
Brysen Boyd is playwright, TV writer, and essayist originally from Tacoma, WA. He served on the writing staff for season 3 of HBO’s SUCCESSION as a Writing Fellow (a position created for him), is the inaugural Playwright-in-Residence at Reverie Theater Company and is proud member of Youngblood/Ensemble Studio Theater and Liberation Theater Company’s Residency Program. His plays include FAMILY SIDESHOW (O’neill Conference Semi-finalist, 2022 Juilliard Finalist, Winner of KC-Melting Pot National New Play Competition), CLOSING COSTS on 6101 NYANZA (Blue Ink Award Semi-finalist, Kennedy Center Short Play Semi-finalist) and others. His work has received support from Tin House, The Kennedy Center, Sewanee Writers Conference, Columbia University, Napa Valley Writers Conference, Kansas City Melting Pot, Seattle Playwrights’ Saloon and others. His nonfiction has most recently appeared in the Florida Review. Having come to playwriting and creative nonfiction in undergrad by way of his first love, TV, his goal in life is to write stories that make others feel as excited as 9-year-old him felt when watching David and Keith on SIX FEET UNDER. Writing means everything to him—second only to his miniature wiener dogs, Simon and Alvin.B.A., Boston College MFA., Columbia University
Instagram @Brysenboyd
CAST & CREW
DECEMBER 16, 2022
Proceed to Highlighted Route
by Erica Mann
Annabelle Powell has always dreaded Christmas with her parents. Luckily, this year, she has the perfect buffer — her good-natured fiancé, Jack. But her defenses are no match for what she finds when she arrives at her family home: the unveiling of a conversational A.I. of her brother, Milo, who was killed in an accident six months earlier. PROCEED TO HIGHLIGHTED ROUTE is an absurd tragedy that explores grief in the modern age.
Content Warning: Adult Language
Erica Mann is a Queens-based playwright and screenwriter. Her work has been seen and developed with Pipeline Theatre Company, Gingold Theatricals, Round the Bend Theatre Mobile Company (Hudson, NY), Artists Repertory Theatre’s Mercury Lab (Portland, OR) and Acadiana Repertory Theater (Lafayette, LA). Her plays have received numerous honors, including semi-finalist for Juilliard’s Lila Acheson Wallace Playwriting Fellowship and special consideration for The Relentless Award.
Find more from Erica on New Play Exchange
CAST & CREW
JANUARY 27, 2023
Truth Be Told
by William Cameron
Kathleen Abedon is the mother of Julian Abedon who, one year earlier, allegedly carried out a mass shooting at a food warehouse that claimed the lives of 14 people, including Kathleen’s husband and Julian’s stepfather, Harlan Kenney. The shooting spree ended with Julian’s apparent suicide. When true-crime writer Jo Hunter comes to town to interview Kathleen for a book on the shooting, Kathleen seeks to convince the skeptical journalist that her son was framed for the shooting. At a time in our history when the truth is under daily attack, Truth Be Told explores the nature of objective truth and the ways in which we manipulate and distort it to serve our own ends.
Content Warning: Adult Language, Gun Violence, Abuse, Suicide
William Cameron is a playwright, director, actor, and educator. His plays have been performed around the country, including off-off Broadway at the Harold Clurman Theatre, the Source Theatre in Washington, DC, the Pittsburgh New Works Festival, and numerous community and academic theatres. Bill is the author of Violet Sharp, winner of the Julie Harris Playwriting Prize. A drama of the Lindbergh kidnapping, Violet Sharp received its world premiere at Theatre 40 in Los Angeles and has been published by Samuel French. Bill’s drama Truth Be Told won the Stanley Drama Award and the W. Keith Hedrick Playwriting Contest and was featured in the 2021 Dayton Playhouse FutureFest and the 2020 Ashland New Plays Festival. His most recent play, Every Livin’ Soul, was named best play at the 2022 Dayton Playhouse FutureFest. Professor emeritus of Theatre and Communication Arts at Washington & Jefferson College in Pennsylvania, Bill wrote plays tailored specifically to his students, including Intersect, a drama about racial tensions at a small college, and Cease to Exist, a chronicle of the Manson murders. In his thirty-one-year tenure at W&J, Bill founded the College’s first academic theatre program and directed over 40 student productions. As an actor, he has appeared in numerous films, including Hoffa, Lorenzo’s Oil, and the 1990 remake of Night of the Living Dead.
Bill lives in Washington, Pennsylvania with his wife, artist and actress Susan Martinelli.
CAST & CREW
FEBRUARY 24, 2023
Is This All This Is
by Dave Osmundsen
Jamie, a non-binary Autistic lesbian, shows up at their aunt Theresa’s apartment one night after a contentious fight with their mother Barb. Over the next few days, these three, along with Theresa’s Autistic boyfriend Tyson, confront where they’ve been, where they are, and where they’re going.
Dave Osmundsen (He/Him/His) is an Autistic playwright and dramaturg whose work has been seen and developed at KCACTF Region 8, the Kennedy Center/NNPN MFA Playwrights Workshop, Purple Crayon Players, B Street Theatre, the William Inge Theatre Festival, the Midwest Dramatists Conference, Phoenix Theatre Company, Clamour Theatre Company, Premiere Stages, the Valdez Theatre Conference, and more. He was one of two recipients of the Blank Theatre and Ucross Foundation’s inaugural Future of Playwriting Prize. His play Light Switch received its world premiere with Spectrum Theatre Ensemble in April 2022. Light Switch was also the 2021 Distinguished Achievement recipient of the Jean Kennedy Smith Playwriting Award, an Honorable Mention finalist for BAPF 2021, longlisted for the Theatre503 International Playwriting Award, a finalist for the 2020 Carlo Annoni Playwriting Prize, and a semi-finalist for the 2020 National Playwrights Conference. His one-act, A Firework Unexploded, was a semi-finalist for the NYC Audio Theatre Writing Contest and was produced by Pint-Sized in London. His plays have been published by The Dionysian, Canyon Voices, Exposition Review and Broadway Play Publishing. MFA: Arizona State University.
Instagram @osmundsend
CAST & CREW
MARCH 31, 2023
Spittles
by Maximillian Gill
Tracy has one dream: Make it big playing country music. She is all set for an important audition at Spittles, her local country and western bar in southern Maine. Unfortunately, the venue has been remade into a heavy metal bar overnight. Now Tracy has a potential disaster on her hands as her brand of acoustic string music will not go over well with an audience expecting head-banging metal. The venue’s manager Lloyd, her musical partner Marv, and her former partner Bella are little help with making the show go smoothly. Tracy must look beyond her own ego to mend the situation and bring everyone together for a show that will (hopefully) not be a total catastrophe.
Maximillian Gill received his master’s in creative writing in California. He is currently based in New York. His work has been staged by a number of companies and festivals including the Liverpool Arab Arts Festival in Liverpool, the Hollywood Fringe Festival in Los Angeles, the Source Festival in Washington, DC, the Collective 10 in New York City, Theatre West in Los Angeles, the New York Fringe Festival, and the New York City Children’s Theater. He is a proud member of the New Ambassadors Theatre Company in New York City. Much of his work can be read on New Play Exchange.
Instagram @maxgill15
CAST & CREW
APRIL 28, 2023
Covenant
by John Minigan
How do we become entrenched in the beliefs we hold, and what – if anything – can get us to walk away when those beliefs lead to chaos and destruction? Jordan’s mission to infiltrate and report on an apocalyptic religious community has ended in disaster. Questions from an unseen interrogator trigger and inform Jordan’s memories of her time undercover, force her to confront the series of choices she’s made, and decide whether the beliefs that guided her mission are any less dangerous than the beliefs of those in the group.
Content Warning: Adult Language, Violence
John Minigan’s play Queen of Sad Mischance named winner of the 2022 Judith Royer Award for Excellence in Playwriting from ATHE/The Kennedy Center.
Additional works by John include:
Family Planning, Open rehearsal from Back Porch Theater via FB Live, July 26, 2022
Queen of Sad Mischance (reading), ATHE Conference, July 29, 2022
Closing Doors, Greenhouse Ensemble, NYC, July 30-August 7, 2022
Covenant (reading), Literary and Discourse Society, Devon, England, August 7, 2022
A Dateless Bargain with Engrossing Death, 4th Street Theater, IN, August 19-28, 2022
Covenant (reading), The Depot, CT, Sept 18, 2022
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, Greater Boston Stage Company, Oct 21-Nov 6, 2022
Danforth Street, January 6, AIRPlay (via FB Live), Fall 2022
Ongoing streaming and audio:
Mother’s Day, one of The Walking Plays, Lyric Stage Company of Boston
Closing Doors, Gather by the Ghostlight podcast, May 2022
CAST & CREW
2021-2022
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.
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 William 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
William 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.
DECEMBER 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.
Watch Service Industry on our YouTube Channel!
Content Warning: Adult language, Sexual Innuendo
CAST & CREW
Ezra Brain (they/them) is a trans multi-disciplinary artist activist, and teacher based in NYC. As a theatre artist, their writing has been performed at the Tank, Literacy Theatre, Stop Pretending Theatre Project, Passaic Preparatory Academy, the New Masculinities Festival, the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, the Studio Theatre at Tierra Del Sol, the Art Garage, Dixon Place, and Stay True Theatre. Their play Something’s Coming (co-written with J. Andrew Norris) was a 2020 Finalist for the Jewish Playwriting Contest from the Jewish Plays Project. Ezra’s essays and articles have been published in 10 countries and 6 languages. As a filmmaker, Ezra’s work has been accepted into multiple festivals around the world. They are an award-winning teaching artist, a proud member of Ring of Keys, the Dramatists Guild, and the Editorial Board of Left Voice.
www.EzraBrain.com
J. Andrew Norris (he/him) is a writer, director and actor. He is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, where he received his BA in Drama, with a minor in Musical Theatre. Since his graduation, he has worked with theatres such as Florida Studio Theatre, Triad Stage, NC Summer Rep, Literacy Theatre, and The Studio Theatre at Tierra del Sol. He was recently part of Florida Studio Theatre’s Apprentice Program, serving as the Artistic and Directing Fellow. In his free time, he enjoys cooking, reading biographies, and looking at pictures of dogs on the internet.
@drewlockholmes
JANUARY 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.
Watch Jr. on our YouTube Channel!
Content Warning: Adult language
CAST & CREW
Jordan Noble was born and raised in the Hampton Roads area of Virginia, where he studied English and Theatre at Old Dominion University, and where his first play, The Shivers, was produced. After performing in local theatre and working as a technician and writer for an illusionist for several years, he moved to northern Virginia to teach theatre in secondary schools. While teaching, he led workshops at the Virginia Theatre Association’s annual conferences, and traveled to London to study contemporary and Shakespearean acting at The Guildhall School. His passion in teaching has always been guiding students through the process of theatre from idea, through scripting, and into production. It was his students’ own passion that inspired him to return to writing, and his play Taste was produced during lockdown by JaYo Theatre in Washington DC. He now lives in Tuscany, Italy with his wonderful wife of thirteen years.
Instagram and Twitter: @Elbonadroj
FEBRUARY 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.
Watch Of All the Places in the World on our YouTube Channel!
CAST & CREW
Bridget Grace Sheaff is the Director of Audience Services and Community Engagement at Maples Repertory Theatre. She is a member of the Lincoln Center Directors Lab 2019. BA 2014 summa cum laude, The Catholic University of America.
www.bridgetgracesheaff.com/
MARCH 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?
Watch Of All the Places in the World on our YouTube Channel!
Content Warning: Adult language, Sexual situations, Implied harm to children
CAST & CREW
Daphny Maman is a screenwriter, playwright, lyricist, and pizza orderer, living in Brooklyn, NY along with her two noisy boys, a tired husband, and a shedding dog. She holds an MFA from the Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program at NYU, and a BFA in Film from Tel Aviv University. Daphny has more than 15 years of experience as a screenwriter and lyricist for television and film in Israel. Together with her collaborator Sujin Kim-Ramsey, she wrote a full-length musical comedy titled Wait!. Their short pieces A Good Morning for Coffee, Congratulations and Little Italy have been produced in New York. She currently works on Sugar Rush – a family musical comedy, in collaboration with Sujin Kim-Ramsey and Aden Kent Ramsey, and was a resident of the 92Y Musical Theater Development Lab for this piece. Her work has been performed at 54Below, the Laurie Beechman Theatre, HERE Theatre, The Playroom Theatre, Berklee College of Music, and more.
www.daphnymaman.com
APRIL 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…
Watch The Taste of Emeralds on our YouTube Channel!
Content Warning: Adult language, Sexual Abuse, Suicide
CAST & CREW
Amy Dellagiarino is an award-winning playwright and screenwriter whose work has been produced across the country. Her play “From the Perspective of a Canoe” won the Playwriting Script Competition at the 2021 Austin Film Festival. Her play “The Value of Moscow” was nominated for a 2019 Stage Raw Award for Best Playwriting and was published through Stage Rights. Her comedy feature film “Freelancers Anonymous” won the 2018 NCGLFF Audience Award for Best Women’s Feature, was a recipient of the Frameline Completion Fund Award, and earned the Reframe Stamp for gender balanced media along with such films as “The Favourite”, “Can You Ever Forgive Me”, and “Crazy Rich Asians”. Her short plays have garnered the Best Comedy award in various festivals. She has participated in developmental readings of several of her plays with noted LA theatre companies such as Sacred Fools, Theatre of Note, Rogue Machine, and The Blank Theatre Company, and was a 2020 participant of Moving Arts Theatre’s MADLab Play Development Series. She was a participant of the 2021 Kennedy Center Summer Playwrights Intensive as well as the resident playwright with Dark Horse Theatre Company in Virginia and a founding member of Walking Shadow Readers Theatre which focuses on new playwrights and new play development. She earned her BFA from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts.
www.amydell.com
MAY 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.
Watch An Imperfect Storm on our YouTube Channel!
Content Warning: Adult language
CAST & CREW
John Scavone was born in New York, grew up in New Jersey and came of age in Chicago’s Off-Loop theaters. Following a thirty year career as a stage manager, technical director, prop master and carpenter, he is now living and writing in Wisconsin. John is a member of the Dramatists Guild. Find more of his work on The New Play Exchange.
2020-2021
AUGUST 28, 2020
Abraham and God Play Ping Pong
by Erin Gruodis-Gimbel
In the wake of the biggest betrayal of his life, Abraham’s faith in God is shaken forever. In the wake of a delicious snack, God’s faith in himself may not be what it seems. In an exploration of faith, the stages of grief, and the rules of cards, the story of Abraham and his infallible God takes a left turn from the Torah and veers into territory that no one ever thought to chart.
Watch the Reading on YouTube
Content Warning: Adult Language
PRESS:Drew Student’s Play to Get a Virtual Staged Reading
CAST & CREW
Erin Gruodis-Gimbel is a playwright, actor, and dramaturg currently pursuing her BA in Theatre Arts at Drew University. She has recently worked with GlimmerGlobe Theatre, Commonwealth Shakespeare Company (where she just finished her tenure as an acting apprentice), Alliance Theatre, Everyman Theatre, and the Virtual Theatre Collaboration. She would like to offer her most sincere thanks to WSRT for this amazing opportunity!
Play Updates:
God and Abraham Play Ping Pong (Name changed) premiered at the Pittsburgh Virtual Fringe Festival in May 2021.
SEPTEMBER 25, 2020
Closing Argument
by John Scavone
The Woodwards’ adopted daughter, Elizabeth, is missing; Paula has hidden her away. The girl’s original family wants her back, and a court hearing has been ordered to decide the issue, but Paula isn’t taking the slightest chance that she could lose the case, and thus, her daughter. As an attorney for the State, Alan is deeply devoted to his job and the letter of the law, but now finds he must choose between that devotion and his family. Legal arguments and procedure mesh with a domestic battle, in which morality, the law and their marriage are put on trial.
Watch the Reading on YouTube
Content Warning: Adult Language
CAST & CREW
John Scavone was born in New York, grew up in New Jersey and came of age in Chicago’s Off-Loop theaters. Following a thirty year career as a stage manager, technical director, prop master and carpenter, he is now living and writing in Wisconsin. Other plays include Unto Dust, Nor Iron Bars a Cage, An Imperfect Storm, The Weed Garden, Fortune’s Fools. They can be found at The New Play Exchange.
OCTOBER 30, 2020
The Girl Who Lived
by David Meyers
Anna Larsen is a 25-year old ballet dancer who refuses to give up on her dreams of career, love, and a fairy-tale ending. But when she becomes paralyzed in a car accident, Anna is forced to consider whether those dreams are still possible – or if they were ever possible to begin with.
As she learns how to adjust to the physical realities of her new life, Anna is also forced to re-examine the relationships with those closest to her – and herself. A play about independence, resilience, and Harry Potter.
Watch the Reading on YouTube
Content Warning: Adult Language, Sexual Content
CAST & CREW
David Meyers’ plays have been produced regionally across the country, and his pilots have been pitched at Netflix and Paramount. As an actor, he’s worked with FOX, BET, Lifetime, Danny DeVito, and more.
www.Bloomywood.com
NOVEMBER 20, 2020
Deer Island
by Brian David Walker
Six lives converge over the future of a stretch of highway that may have a unique and highly intelligent deer population living within its borders. A dark play about friendships, identity and the encroachment of the little bit of land that our wildlife have left.
Watch the Reading on YouTube
Content Warning: Adult Language, Sexual Content, Infant Loss
CAST & CREW
Brian David Walker’s plays include Deer Island, American Coot (2018 O’Neil
semi-finalist, 2018 Roots of the Bluegrass New Play Award), High Tide (2017 O’Neil semi-finalist, Orlando Shakespeare’s PlayFest semi-finalist and PlayPenn finalist), POST, dirty sexy derby play, Great American Sex Play, Shot Me Down and The Kings. Brian’s plays have been seen in theatres across America and Australia. His play DOG was the winner of the 2013 Roots of the Bluegrass New Play Award and his play CPR on the Lost Continent was the winner of the 2015 award. His ten minute play Hero Worship was a finalist for the 2014 Heideman Award at Actors Theatre of Louisville, his play Gamers4Life was a finalist for the 2015 prize. Brian was a member of Nashville Repertory Theatre’s 2012-2013 Ingram New Works Lab residency with mentor Theresa Rebeck and his full length play The Friend Factory was part of their New Works Festival in May 2013. He has also had plays developed at Cincinnati Lab Theatre (2020), Actors Workshop Louisville (2016), Theatre [502] (2014/2015), UP Theatre Company (2014), Capital Stage’s Playwrights Revolution (2014), Last Frontier Theatre Festival (2012) and Great Plains Playwrights Conference (2009). He was awarded the Al Smith Individual Artist Fellowship Emerging Artist Award for playwriting by the Kentucky Arts Council in July 2010. He is a member of The Dramatists Guild and is the founder and co-director of Derby City Playwrights, a new play development lab for Louisville playwrights. He currently serves as the Kentucky Regional Rep for the Dramatists Guild.
www.derbycityplaywrights.org
Play Updates:
2021 Bay Area Playwrights Festival Semifinalist
DECEMBER 18, 2020
Die, Mr. Darcy, Die!
by John Morogiello
A young woman gives up on men because they can never live up to the hero of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, particularly his embodiment by Colin Firth.
CAST & CREW
John Morogiello is the artistic director of Best Medicine Rep in Gaithersburg, Maryland. His plays include Engaging Shaw (Old Globe, American Players, Vienna’s English Theatre, Abingdon Theatre Company off-Broadway, et al), Blame It On Beckett (Abingdon, Colony Theatre in Burbank, et al), Men and Parts (Actors Theatre of Louisville, et al), Play Date (Oldcastle Theatre Company, Best Medicine Rep), and The Consul, The Tramp, and America’s Sweetheart (Oldcastle, Theatre 40 in Beverly Hills, Jerusalem Khan Theatre, et al).
www.johnmorogiello.com
Play Updates: Die, Mr. Darcy, Die! is being staged by Best Medicine Rep during their 2022 season! Additional information can be found on their website.
JANUARY 29, 2021
Atlas, the Lonely Gibbon
by Deborah Yarchun
A dark comedic thriller set in the future. Irene, a former journalist, struggles to find autonomy in a now mindless job editing AI-generated articles, an increasingly challenging marriage, and in an apartment potentially being targeted by hacker.
CAST & CREW
Deborah Yarchun‘s plays have been developed with the Civilians, Ensemble Studio Theatre, The New Harmony Project, Jewish Plays Project’s OPEN Festival, The Great Plains Theater Conference, Jewish Ensemble Theater, Martha’s Vineyard Playhouse, The Playwrights’ Center, Rattlestick Playwrights Theatre, TheatreSquared’s Arkansas New Play Festival, the William Inge Center for the Arts, WordBRIDGE, and Workhouse Theater Company, and produced at places including Amphibian Stage Productions, Fusion Theatre, Theater Master’s National MFA Playwrights Festival, EstroGenius Festival, the Minnesota Fringe, the Philadelphia Fringe, The Samuel French Off Off Broadway Festival, Playwrights Horizons’ Peter Jay Sharp Theater by Young Playwrights Inc., and Williams Street Repertory Theatre. Deborah’s honors include two Jerome Fellowships at The Playwrights’ Center, a Dramatists Guild Foundation Fellowship, an EST/Sloan Commission, Dartmouth’s 2020 Neukom Literary Arts Award for Playwriting, The Kennedy Center’s Jean Kennedy Smith Playwriting Award, the Kernodle New Play Award, the Richard Maibaum Playwriting Award, and Women in the Arts & Media Coalition’s 2019 Collaboration Award. Her play GREAT WHITE was an Honorable Mention for the Relentless Award. She was recently a playwright-in-residence at the William Inge Center for the Arts and a member of the Civilians’ R&D Group. Deborah earned her M.F.A. from the University of Iowa where she was an Iowa Arts Fellow. You can learn more about her work at DeborahYarchun.com.
Play Updates:
2022 World premiere at Spreckels Performing Arts Center
2021 Eugene O’Neill National Playwrights Conference Finalist
2021 Seven Devils Playwrights Conference Finalist
FEBRUARY 26, 2021
Dorm #5
by Amy Dellagiarino
A nihilistic look at college life, Dorm #5 follows the misadventures of a group of college students after the sudden death of one of their own. Did one of them do it? Or, more importantly… does anyone even care? A dark comedy about grief, loss, and ghosts.
Watch the Reading on YouTube!
Content Warning: Adult language
CAST & CREW
Amy Dellagiarino is an award winning playwright and screenwriter whose work has been produced in LA, New York, Chicago, and her home state of Virginia. Her play The Value of Moscow was nominated for a 2019 Stage Raw Award for Best Playwriting and was published through Steele Spring Stage Rights. Her comedy feature film Freelancers Anonymous won the 2018 NCGLFF Audience Award for Best Women’s Feature, was a recipient of the Frameline Completion Fund Award, and earned the Reframe Stamp for gender balanced media along with such films as The Favourite, Can You Ever Forgive Me, and Crazy Rich Asians. Her short play The Misfit Mantra won Best Comedy at 2Cents Theatre’s 2018 INK Fest. She has participated in developmental readings of several of her plays with noted LA theatre companies such as Sacred Fools, Theatre of Note, Rogue Machine, and The Blank Theatre Company, and has currently developed her seventh full-length play, Hello, My Name Is… with Moving Arts Theatre as part of their MADLab Play Development Series. She is the resident playwright with Dark Horse Theatre Company in Virginia. She earned her BFA from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts.
Visit www.amydell.com for more information.
MARCH 26, 2021
Finding the Girls
by Cris Eli Blak
Nia and Sierra are sisters. Sierra is a celebrity and Nia is her assistant. creating a clear rift between the two. When a family tragedy strikes, the two learn more about where they come from and more about each other. Meanwhile, in the past, their father must reckon with his decisions and the way in which he chose to live. This is a story about people having to decide whether they are good, and if it is too late to change. It is a story about family, about pain, about regret, about shame, about the people we are and the people we try to be. It is a story about then, and it is a story about now. It is a story about finding ourselves and what happens when we are lost..
Watch the Reading on YouTube!
Content Warning: Adult language, drug use, self harm, sexual violence, mental illness
CAST & CREW
Cris Eli Blak is an award winning and internationally produced writer for the page, stage and screen. His work has garnered him a Bronze Remi from the Worldfest Houston International Film and Video Festival, the Christopher Hewitt Award in Fiction, a Pushcart Prize nomination and honors from Vectis Radio, Negro Ensemble Company, Clocktower Players and A is For. His work has been produced, performed and/or published around the world, from Off-Broadway (Urban Stages), Regional (Cleveland Public Theatre), Collegiate (Columbia University, Academy of Arts University and Wellesley College), London (The Quean’s Theatre), Australia (Melting Pot Theatre), and Ireland (Eva’s Echo). He continues to strive to create work that reflects the world that we live in, with all of its different and diverse colors, creeds and cultures.
Follow Cris on Instagram: @criseliblak
APRIL 30, 2021
Touch the Moon
by Arianna Rose
Spring Break, 1994, on an island far from teenage Miranda’s home. Her mysterious disappearance lays bare a mess of secrets and lies. Her mother Becca frantically searches for Miranda and the truth of what happened that night from the only people who might know – Miranda’s best friend Emily, and Stefan, a young man who is the last person to have seen her. Through an ever-widening circle of past, present and future vignettes, a fuller picture of Miranda emerges, showing a young girl on the cusp of womanhood, healing from a broken family dynamic and exploring the boundaries of her sexuality. Stefan’s father Dirk wearily protects his son, and a guilt-ridden Emily is haunted by the thought it may be her fault. A play about the need to know, and of motherly love and determination in the face of the unthinkable.
Watch the Reading on YouTube!
Content Warning: Adult language, sexual violence
CAST & CREW
Arianna Rose is the recipient of the MAC Song of the Year Award, the York Theatre NEO Award, and various best play/playwright awards from Theatre Odyssey, Tree City Playhouse, Mixing It Up Productions, the Know Theatre, Studio 1 Theatre, South Baldwin Theatre and Clocktower Theatre Company. Her plays and musicals have been presented to date in twenty-three states and seven countries. She is a four-time winner of Theatre Lab at FAU’s New Works Festival competition, a two-time winner of Theatre Three’s One- Act Play Festival, a 2020 finalist for the Edward Kleban Lyric Writing Award and one of three finalists for the 2020 Kenneth Branagh Award for New Drama Writing in the UK.
Arianna is an Adjunct Theatre Professor at Broward College. M.F.A., NYU’s Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program; B.A. in Theatre from Bucknell University; BMI-Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Writing Workshop. A proud member of ASCAP, Musicians Local 802, SEIU, New Play Exchange, The South Florida Theatre League, and the Dramatists Guild of America, where she serves as a Regional Ambassador. She is the founder and moderator of the Plays on Purpose/Miami New Musicals weekly writers group.
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