The Reading Theater Project has announced the 2023 Play Reading Series in partnership with GoggleWorks Center for the Arts. Play readings are scheduled for Thursday evenings at 7pm, April 13, May 11, and June 15, at GoggleWorks Center for the Arts’ Albert and Eunice Boscov Theatre.
All of the plays connect to the theme “Shadows from the Past,” which has also been the theme for all of the Reading Theater Project’s work this year. Each of the plays in the series connects to the theme in a unique way – reckoning with history, facing one’s past, and revealing surprising truths. The play readings feature new plays by local writers.
April 13, 7pm – Essential Reading for This Moment In History by Lancaster playwright Bruce Walsh is not only written by a local playwright but is set locally, in a fictional Central Pennsylvania college town. In the words of the playwright, it “presents complicated people discovering both brokenness and courage in Central PA.” Lydia Brubaker is directing, and the cast includes Emma Ackerman, Lady Strongman, Chet Williamson, and Amy Young, with Sean Sassaman reading the stage directions.
May 11, 7pm – Welcome to Leisureville by Sinking Spring playwright Kimberly Patterson, is a dark comedy that deals with the messy process of grieving, the complicated definitions of family, and the challenges of reconciling the past with the present—all in the hope of finding some kind of peace in the future. Jody Reppert will direct.
June 15, 7pm – The Seanchai by Douglassville playwright Andrea Hart is a solo performance detailing the life and loves of “Whistlin’ Jack McConnell,” a 1920s gang member in Philadelphia who was revealed to be a woman after 16 years of living as a man. K. O’Rourke will direct Mel Krodman in the main role.
As with other recent productions, all tickets are “pay what you will,” meaning the audience member can set the price at purchase. This approach allows anyone to attend the production without ticket price as a barrier to entry. For those looking for guidance, the recommended price is $10 per person. A “pay it forward” price of $20 is also listed, for those who would like to cover the ticket price of another.
The Reading Theater Project is a locally-focused, professional theater company, based in Greater Reading/Berks County that values collaboration and creative challenges and believe theater is an inclusive experience that can reveal our shared human condition.
GoggleWorks transforms lives through unique interactions with art. The nonprofit art center, which operates in the former Willson Goggle Factory, is composed of 145,000 square feet, making it one of the largest art centers in the country.
The venue, GoggleWorks Center for the Arts, offers free parking for all including wheelchair accessible parking and a fully accessible building, theater seating, and rest rooms. Located at 201 Washington Street, Reading, PA 19601.
For more information and to purchase tickets, visit readingtheaterproject.org/play-reading-series/
