New Plays Take the Stage in May!

May seems to have turned into play reading month at Actors' Theatre. From the very beginning, Actors' Theater has championed the presentation of new works, and we are excited to continue that tradition, with new full-length and short plays coming as staged readings to the theater this month and beyond.

On May 13 and 14, playwright Ian McRae presents Painted Ponies, featuring Kristin Brownstone as a woman reading a final letter to her son who was abducted 24 years ago. The story explores life's bigger questions of chance, choice, fate, guilt, blame, good, evil, and what may await us in the afterlife. Performances are at 7 pm on Saturday and 2 pm on Sunday. The Sunday reading will be followed by a Q&A session with the playwright, where audience members can ask questions and share their impressions. Admission is free.

Then, on May 19, 20 & 21, it's the Best of the Rest, staged readings of the runners-up from the 2023 8 Tens @ 8 Festival. Rebecca Haley Clark and Cathy Warner direct an ensemble cast to present some of the other worthy contenders from last year's international short play contest, featuring works by John Howie Patterson, Gail Borkowski, Lindsey Brown, Judy Klass, D. Lee Miller, Donald Loftus, and F. J. Hartland. Best of the Rest stars favorite actors from past 8 Tens @ 8 as well as talent new to the Actors' Theatre stage, including Karen Blagmon, Ali Eppy, Dawn Grube, Laura Grimaldi, Lyndsey Marks, Halin Moss, Jonathan Carter Schall and Avondina Wills. Best of the Rest plays Friday and Saturday, May 19 & 20, at 8 pm, and Sunday, May 21, at 2 pm. Admission is $15 for all seats. Read more and get tickets for the Best of the Rest HERE.

Premiering the following Monday, May 22, we are excited to present the first of a series of full-length play readings in partnership with the local playwrights' group 36North. 36 North is a collective of playwrights dedicated to the writing of theatrical works, and proud of their geographical home in Santa Cruz, California. Meeting weekly on Monday nights, the playwrights gather to share ideas, critique and improve each others’ work, and prepare for upcoming readings. Readings are followed by a Q&A session where audience members can share their reactions and ask questions of the playwright, director and cast.

The first 36North reading will be The Gertrude Variations by Wilma Chandler, presented at 7pm, Monday May 22. Admission is free, with donations again gratefully accepted at the door. Read more and see the schedule of upcoming 36North play readings HERE.

Come join the excitement of experiencing these new works as they are presented to an audience for the first time!