Play Reading Week is Coordinated by Nathaniel Hanula-James
Play Reading Week - 2023
Join us for Play Reading Week!
Showcasing new work from partner artists and playwrights in residence
All events are free admission!
Check out the full schedule below:
Definition
by Luke Reece
reading: Tuesday, May 30, 7PM
Definition is a play that challenges its characters to question how they define themselves in relation to their parents and careers. The story is led by language, transitioning from the early makings of a separated family in 1999 to a Spelling Bee in 2013. Martin and his daughter Emerson struggle to situate themselves within the context of their family and peers while Ali, Emerson’s mother, chooses a path she can no longer push aside.
Quid Pro Quo
by Breton Lalama
reading: Wed, May 31, 7PM
Y is the CEO of J’AQOV, a multi-million dollar corporation that capitalizes on selling to “real men”, until a transphobic slip of the tongue on breakfast TV unravels his entire world.
To pick up the pieces, he hires X, a young queer freelancer looking to increase his income.
What transpires is a coming out story. Or maybe an expose. Or maybe something a whole lot more complicated. That’s up to the audience to determine. Through live-voting, the audience decides how this story plays out. No matter which choices are made, QUID PRO QUO remains an audience participatory multi-medium exploration of queerness, truth, and choice.
The Scream
by Caroyln Fe
reading: Sat, June 3, 2PM
A white “Boomer” couple raised their children with the 1950s values they grew up in; blissful aproned stay-at-home Mom raised the kids while model-provider Dad brought home the bacon, kept a roof over everyone’s head, food on the table, clothes on their backs with a side dish of private schools and expensive extra-curricular activities.
Life was perfect and in order until the son brings home the love of
his life, an older Filipina. Welcome to the decline of their family’s construct. Inspired by Edvard Munch’s painting, The Scream is a painful later-in-life awakening to white fragility.
YELLOW
by Kalale Dalton
reading: Sat, June 3, 7PM
A young couple lives in a nearly perfect apartment.
One writes the other works too, they even have a dog.
When One starts to unpack her desire for the perfect home, it asks her to look at everything in her life, forcing her to analyze her own perfect relationship.
Young Playwrights Unit - National Cohort Showcase
The National Young Playwrights Unit will offer excerpts of the work developed through the program with an in-person performance at Tarragon.
The National YPU showcase will also be available for viewing online. Sign-up to receive a digital link below.
Children of Tomorrow
Written by James B. Elloso
Directed by Eva Barrie
Directed by Eva Barrie
reading: Thurs, June 1, 7PM
After a mysterious encounter near their home, Gaya leads their group of children out and away. They reach a greenhouse just before a storm starts brewing. There they discover relics of the past and find out how they got to the present that is the future.
Astrid Atherly – GAYA
Liz Der – MARCH and JUNE
Sof Rodriguez – APRIL
Katarina Fiallos – MAY
Sarah Miller – Assistant dramaturg and stage directions
And So The Siren Sings
Written by Kelsi James
Directed by Alexa MacDougall
Directed by Alexa MacDougall
reading: Thurs, June 1, 7PM
And So The Siren Sings is an interrogation of asexuality, of mermaid mythology, and of why we hypersexualize the siren to the point of vilification. We dive through lore, we sing and move together, we unlearn our understandings and assumptions of sirens, and we share six different perspectives on Siren Songs — which, in truth, are six different queer perspectives on compulsory sexuality. Through metaphor, and in community, we come together to challenge our understandings of sex and sexuality, and move towards joyous community celebration of queerness and all of our (a)sexualities.
Cast:
Alison Beckwith
Emma Burke-Kleinman
Melissa Mackenzie
Ben Page
Sarah Miller – Assistant dramaturg and stage directions
Water Lilies
Written by Elizabeth Rodenberg
Directed by Aaron Jan
Directed by Aaron Jan
reading: Thurs, June 1, 7PM
Two art thieves – one a veteran and one completely new to the game – who coincidentally decide to rob the same art gallery on the same day. Emelia is hoping to reconnect with an old lover, while Birdie is trying to make sense of who she is and what she wants. Although they are both very different people with very different motives they’ve ended up here tonight because of a strong need to belong – to connect with others, to have a community, to understand who they are. Set in the late 80s at the height of the AIDS crisis, the play explores themes of identity, alienation, and the capacity everyone has for love and connection.
Featuring:
Ravyn Wngz – Emelia
Maddie Bautista – Birdie
Soo Garay – Colossus
Durae McFarlane – Francis
Sarah Miller – Assistant dramaturg and stage directions
Young Playwrights Unit - Local Cohort Showcase
The Local Young Playwrights Unit will offer excerpts of the work developed through the program.
White Crimes
Written by Donovan Hayden
Directed by Tanisha Taitt
reading: Fri, June 2, 7PM
White Crimes is the story of four young Black men who use Whiteface to get away with petty schemes to support themselves. While trying to make ends meet they must contend with their own relationships, power dynamics, and relationships to Whiteness.
Featuring:
Isaac Cunningham – TREY
Savion Roach – DAFONTE
Paul Smith – ANTWON
Talijah Levene – EYES
Sarah Miller – Assistant dramaturg and stage directions
In Search Of…
Written by Oprah Lemorin
Directed by Coko Galore
reading: Fri, June 2, 7PM
In Search Of…tells the story of a young black woman’s journey through sexuality, romance, and human connection in a world where she is often marginalized and overlooked. While the play centers around the protagonist’s encounters with men, it also delves into themes of self-love, masturbation, independence, and discomfort. Ultimately, the play showcases the character’s journey from submission to empowerment, highlighting the importance of self-discovery, self-love, and self-acceptance.
Featuring:
Jasmine Case – Black Girl
Steven Hao – The Boys/Chorus
Nabil Traboulsi – The Boys/Chorus
Sarah Miller – Assistant dramaturg and stage directions
EEK! or ‘The Mice Turned Me Trans’ Play
Written by Jonnie Lombard
Directed by Cole Alvis
reading: Fri, June 2, 7PM
J has just rented a rundown student home and is super excited to experience living alone for the first time….until *global events* make a one-bedroom extra lonely. In lockdown, they discover they are sharing this rundown house with two mice, and this shock makes them realize they are trans…and it’s all the mice’s fault. J gets to work, setting traps, making noise, driving out these pests of mice and transness so they can return to the cishet way things used to be. A sort of horror, sort of satire, sort of cabaret on one person’s experience of coming out as trans.
J has just rented a rundown student home and is super excited to experience living alone for the first time….until *global events* make a one-bedroom extra lonely. In lockdown, they discover they are sharing this rundown house with two mice, and this shock makes them realize they are trans…and it’s all the mice’s fault. J gets to work, setting traps, making noise, driving out these pests of mice and transness so they can return to the cishet way things used to be. A sort of horror, sort of satire, sort of cabaret on one person’s experience of coming out as trans.
Featuring:
Willow Martin – J
Ty Sloane – Muss 1
Neta Rose – Muss 2
Sarah Miller – Assistant dramaturg and stage directions
Ty Sloane – Muss 1
Neta Rose – Muss 2
Sarah Miller – Assistant dramaturg and stage directions
Meet Our Sponsors
Tarragon Theatre and our community partners believe in amplifying new voices, and fostering a creative community that reflects and includes artists of all ages and backgrounds.
Thank you to TD Canada Trust for supporting Tarragon’s Education Pillar.
Thank you the Metcalf Foundation for their support of our National Young Playwrights Unit.
