Play readings and workshops offer a chance to see exciting new work at various stages of development. Want to see the next big thing while it’s still being crafted? Get in on the ground level and see the creative process in action. Featuring new plays and musicals by local and national artists, here are the upcoming play readings and workshops in the DMV.
MAY
African American Collective Theater (ACT) marks its 32nd anniversary with its 2024 DC Black Pride Weekend Showcase, Sunday, May 26 at the Undercroft Theatre, 900 Massachusetts Ave NW, Washington, DC. Over 25 talented local “ACT’ers” present readings of new LGBTQ+ themed short plays by ACT founder Alan Sharpe, with a matinee at 4:30 PM and a different show at 7:30 PM. Audiences can attend either or both shows! Tickets range from $20-$30 and are available on Eventbrite here.
In conjunction with its world premiere of Julia May Jonas‘ dark comedy Problems Between Sisters, Studio Theatre presents a one-night-only public staged reading of Sam Shepard‘s True West, the text that the show reimagines, Tuesday, May 14 at 7:30 PM. Tickets are $5 and available here.
UMBC Theatre presents Green Theatre Revolution, a festival of new plays and devised works about climate justice, Friday, May 3 through Sunday, May 5. Student-created work will be performed alongside excerpts from Lady Macbeth and Lady Macduff Tick Tock While Saraswati Saves the World by Susan McCully and Lost Waters by Nayantara Nayar. A special performance of student works will take place at the Institute of Marine and Environmental Technology (IMET) in downtown Baltimore. For full schedule and tickets ($15 general admission, $10 students and seniors) visit the event website here. Part of Plays for Our Planet.
Monumental Theatre Company presents a cabaret-style performance by the cast of its upcoming production of American Psycho, Thursday, May 2 at 7:30 PM in a casual piano-bar setting at Busboys & Poets Brookland, 625 Monroe St NE, Washington, DC. Meet the cast and enjoy their renditions of favorite ’80s pop songs! Advance tickets are $15 ($10 for students with code STUDENT) and available here. Food and drink will be available for purchase at the event.
APRIL
Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company will present a live benefit reading of Sarah Ruhl’s Dear Elizabeth: A Play in Letters from Elizabeth Bishop to Robert Lowell and Back Again. The reading is directed by Holly Twyford, recently seen in Woolly Mammoth’s My Mama and the Full-Scale Invasion, and perfo
The Theatre Lab School of the Dramatic Arts invites actors and non-actors alike to perform in staged readings of world premiere short plays alongside professional actors in the 13th annual Dramathon, a free event open to the public, on Monday, April 29 at 7:30 PM at the Theatre Lab, 900 Massachusetts Ave NW, Washington, DC. Similar to a walkathon, the Dramathon brings together some of DC’s best-known actors, directors, playwrights, and theater enthusiasts for a one-night-only live show of short plays written specifically for this event. Participant pledges will support The Theatre Lab’s Send a Kid to Theatre Camp Campaign that aims to raise $150,000 in scholarships to send over 135 kids to summer drama camp in 2024. For more information, visit the event website here.
Anne Arundel Community College’s Department of Theatre presents Auditioning for Musical Theatre, a workshop with three-time Tony-nominated actor Kevin Chamberlin, Monday, April 29 at 7:00 PM. The workshop will be held in AACC’s Humanities Building, Room 112. Tickets are pay-what-you-can and available on Eventbrite here.
Spooky Action Theater presents a staged reading of Eisenstein by Mikhail Durnenkov, translated by Fedin Andrei and directed by Yuri Kordonsky, Sunday, April 28 at 7:00 PM at Universalist National Memorial Church, 1810 16th St NW, Washington, DC. Commissioned by the National Theater of Estonia in 2023, Eisenstein will be performed in English translation for the first time at Spooky Action. Admission is free; reservations can be made online here.
Story District presents Which Way Is Mecca? Saturday, April 27 at 7:30 PM at Penn Social, 801 E St NW, Washington, DC. Hosted by storytellers and comedians Yasmin Elhady and Yahya Abou-Ghazala, this show highlights inspiring, hilarious, and moving stories by eight Muslim storytellers. True tales about friendship, family, food, music, and more celebrate the DMV’s diverse Muslim population. Tickets are $28 (including $3 processing fee) and are available online here.
Round House Theatre presents the third annual National Capital New Play Festival. This year’s festival includes four developmental play readings: Arab Spring by Denmo Ibrahim, directed by Lila Rachel Becker (April 18 & 20); Agape, or The Church Play by Agyeiwaa Asante, directed by April Monu (April 19 & 21); The Prime by Dani Stoller, directed by Ryan Rilette (April 25 & 27); and The Sorcerer’s Apprentice by Nate Dendy and Aaron Posner, directed by Posner and with magic performed by Dendy (April 26 & 28). Tickets for these developmental play readings are free, but reservations are required and can be made here.
The Keegan Theatre and The Women’s Storytelling Salon present Curtain Up: South Asian Women’s Stories of Resilience and Perseverance in Film & Theater on Wednesday, April 24 at 6:00 PM. The Salon will feature two internationally acclaimed actors – Priyanka Shetty and Sangeeta Agrawal – who not only act in, but also write, direct and create films based on their own lived experience as South Asian women. The conversation will be curated by Nandini Oomman, founder of The Women’s Storytelling Salon. Tickets are $35 ($15 for students) and available through April 19 here.
The Council of The Little Theatre of Alexandria presents Shakespeare and All That Jazz on Tuesday, April 23 at 6:30 PM – the Bard’s 460th birthday. Enjoy cake, prosecco and punch in LTA’s Shakespeare Garden, then enjoy The Bob Gibson Big Band as they present a selection of charts from Such Sweet Thunder – Duke Ellington and co-writer Billy Stayhorn’s 1957 tribute to the Bard. Tickets are free and can be reserved here.
Guillotine Theatre presents a staged reading of Willful, a new play by Peter Guttmacher, Sunday, April 21 at 2:00 PM in the 5th Floor Cabaret Theatre at Artomatic, 2100 M St NW, Washington, DC. Willful asks the question, “What if Shakespeare’s characters figured out that the author’s unseen hand was interfering in their lives?” This event is free and open to the public, no reservations required.
Atlas Performing Arts Center presents its 15th annual Atlas Intersections Festival, February 3-April 27 at 1333 H St NE, Washington, DC. The festival will explore critical issues of our time through 34 performances encompassing story (theater), movement (dance), and sound (music). For the full festival lineup and to purchase tickets ($27-$32), visit Atlas’ website here.
