2017/2018
MEMBERFEST presents
a work in progress Reading of
screenplay by Dylan Thomas
adapted for the stage by Katherine Kahrs & Jonathan Randell Silver*
music & lyrics by Lacy Rose
directed by Dara Malina
No Tickets Required
*Denotes EST Member Artist
MEMBERFEST presents
a work in progress Reading of
written by Ken Mandel*
directed by Jamie Richards*
At a the 50th reunion, Ken and his old high school sweetheart reunite. The spark is still there, and they wonder what might have been and what might happen now.
No Tickets Required
*Denotes EST Member Artist
MEMBERFEST presents
a work in progress Reading of
written by Richard Alleman
directed by Anthony Newfield
featuring Anne Buelteman, Delphi Harrington*, Carole Monferdini, Erin Neufer, Josiah Polhemus, & Amy Prosser.
Inspired by a little-known Edith Wharton novella, this powerful new play looks at the underside of the Gilded Age, following the lives of two spinster sisters running a modest sewing business in 1880s New York City. When an unattached man enters the picture, their complacent existence is turned upside down. Wharton’s Bunner Sisters takes audiences on a dramatic journey to a not so innocent age, with many of the same problems we face today—from income inequality to the precarious status of women in our society.
Rich and warmly rendered. An unforgettable time in the theatre. – Anna Deavere Smith
The very stuff of drama and no less tragic than that of Agamemnon. –Ann Roth
No Tickets Required
*Denotes EST Member Artist
MEMBERFEST presents
a work in progress Reading of
written by Drew Lewis
directed by Eli Gelb*
No Tickets Required
*Denotes EST Member Artist
MEMBERFEST presents
a work in progress Reading of
written by Brigitte Viellieu-Davis*
directed by Jamie Richards*
IN A HOUSE THAT JACK BUILT tells the story of Joan & John, a long married couple who have come back to his Annapolis ancestral home to clear out the remnants of his recently deceased parents. But when Hurricane Norma heads for the coast, family secrets and the forces of tradition threaten to blow the couple apart. They find themselves struggling to survive the storms of middle age, long-told lies, and regret. A new contemporary drama about legacy, forgiveness, and the price we pay for following all the rules.
No Tickets Required
*Denotes EST Member Artist
MEMBERFEST presents
a work in progress Reading of
written by Eric Conger*
directed by Jamie Richards*
featuring Brad Bellamy*, Mikumari Caiyhe, Laura Darrell, Vivia Font, Alessandra LePera, Ronald Alexander Peet*, Joel Rooks*, Gianmarco Soresi, & Taylor Brengle
Project Dolly is the story of a home-raised chimpanzee in the 1970's, her rise to fame and ultimate fate. It received an Alfred P. Sloan grant in 2016.
No Tickets Required
*Denotes EST Member Artist
MEMBERFEST presents
written by Eric Conger*
directed by Jamie Richards*
featuring Brad Bellamy*, Joel Rooks*, Katherine Leask*, Vivia Font, Devin Haqq, Hannah Ponturo, Monique St Cyr
The production team of a Broadway tryout debates whether to cast a black woman in the role of a chimpanzee.
No Tickets Required
*Denotes EST Member Artist
MEMBERFEST presents
written by Mandi Riggi
directed by Abigail Zealey Bess*
featuring Bryan James Hamilton, Brynne Kraynack, Raye Levine, Sawyer Spielberg, & Eric Svendsen
Austin and Jess host a dinner party to celebrate the upcoming nuptials of best friend Robert and his brand new fiance Stacia. But when a secret desire is shared so begins a dangerous journey that unravels with every twist and threatens to shatter each of these people's lives.
No Tickets Required
*Denotes EST Member Artist
MEMBERFEST presents
written by Jeanne Dorsey*
directed by Melissa Crespo
featuring Betsy Aidem, Brittany K. Allen, Jim Anderson, Bryn Carter, Kristin Griffith and Jocelyn Kuritsky
A Little Bit of Forever is about an imaginary epistolary friendship between two remarkable and somewhat dangerous women: Jean Harris, Madeira School headmistress and convicted murderer, and the hard-living American painter, Joan Mitchell. Through Jean’s relationship with her fellow inmate, Tabitha Johnson, and Joan’s relationship with her French assistant, Giséle Barreau, the play is also an exploration of race, class, aging and hard-earned comradeship between women.
No Tickets Required
*Denotes EST Member Artist
MEMBERFEST presents
written by Linda Faigao-Hall*
directed by Billy Bustamante
A Filipino-American ball room dance studio owner in Queens, New York is facing foreclosure; his daughter wants to keep it against all odds. It seems a ball room dance banquet in honor of a 70-year-old Filipino matriarch just might save the day - but what would it cost all of them?
No Tickets Required
MEMBERFEST presents
written by Emily Chadick Weiss*
directed by Margot Bordelon
featuring Steven Boyer*, Curran Connor*, Sasha Diamond*, Darcy Fowler*, & Jason Liebman
Deana Taheri, Stage Directions
In 2051, Zika is all over America. Families are given government subsidies to stay home and single people must live at work. But when two couples choose to live in luxury together to survive, sex, the next generation, or an old flame may mean their end.
Tuesday, December 12th at 7pm
Ensemble Studio Theatre, 6th Floor
No Tickets Required
MEMBERFEST PRESENTS
a work in progress reading of
written by Kate Lohman, directed by Rachel Dart
sponsored by Bob Jaffe*
featuring Kyra Bowie, Lynnette R. Freeman*, Bob Jaffe*, Dominique Johnson, Jason Liebman*, Ylfa Edelstein, Dawn McGee*, James Murtaugh*, & Akyiaa Wilson
Just Four Moms is based on the story of the "Jersey Girls" - four women who lost their husbands in the attacks of September 11th and came together to harness their grief and anger to fight for the creation of the 9/11 Commission - and what happened after that: disillusionment, reflection, adjustment. How does each of us continue to find meaning within our own shifting senses of responsibility, agency, purpose, family, and truth?
November 14 at 7pm
Ensemble Studio Theatre, 2nd Floor
No Tickets Needed
a MEMBERFEST work in progress reading of
written and directed by Morgan Gould*
Six white ladies come together in a home in the suburbs of middle America, where they are going to receive an Avon-lady style pitch from a make-up company representative. When the hostess' black neighbor pays them a surprise visit, we learn about what each woman values and what they don't--as their particular biases and beliefs are exposed. Part living room farce, part study of white apathy, All the Stupid Bitches is a cringe-worthy expose of white women written by a white woman.
November 9 at 4pm
Ensemble Studio Theatre
No Reservation Needed
a work in progress reading of
THE PATRIOT
by Joe Sutton, directed by William Carden*
featuring Brad Bellamy*,Jeff Biehl*, Kelli Lynn Harrison*, Turna Mete, and David Rasche*
An exciting play about the current state of TV news and the ethical and political issues that is raising in our national conversation.
Friday, November 2 at 4pm
Ensemble Studio Theatre, 2nd Floor
No Tickets Required
