Next summer, Wordsmyth Theater will produce workshops and staged readings of three plays that reflect views on race. The three playwrights include Ted Swindley, Abby Koenig and Reginald Edmund — all playwrights with significant ties to Houston. They will have an opportunity to have their plays read on stage, workshopped or both to help them develop their scripts. Themes range from racism in the American South in the 1920’s to present day white privilege.

The format of Wordsmyth’s production will loosely follow that of the successful and well-attended Texas Playwrights Festival, which last summer Wordsmyth produced and Stages Theatre hosted.

We are asking for funding for this project through power2give.  Power2give is a crowd-sourcing website for art.  On Tuesday, December 1 (remember that date!!) the Houston Arts Alliance will match dollar for dollar for all donations of $250 or less made to a Houston project through power2give, until they have given an aggregate of $10,000 for all projects.

We are asking for funds to help pay playwrights, actors, directors, dramaturgs — all the artists who work hard in creating theater!

Val, recently deceased, tells the memory, that’s not quite a memory, of her sister Laney helping their bumbling brother Witt revive his dying video store, in a church that’s no longer a church, while working through their grief.

Monday, Nov 9, 7 PM, Studio 101

ReadFest Houston will be held as part of the grand opening of MATCH! Six theatres are participating, each presenting a reading of a play. ReadFest Houston (http://readfesthouston.org) is presented by Next Iteration Theater Company (http://NextIterationTheater.com) and sponsored in part by the MATCH (http://matchouston.org) and CultureMap (http://houston.culturemap.com)

Although all readings are free, they are encouraging people to reserve seats by going to https://matchouston.secure.force.com/ticket#details_a0S61000000DN3PEAW.

 

ReadFest schedule:

Thursday 10/22 8:00 p.m.: Black Lab Theatre Beth Kills Birds by Jordan Jaffe, directed by Troy Scheid

FRIDAY NIGHT RECEPTION—6:30pm

Friday 10/23 7:00 p.m.: Hune Company Exit Strategy by Ike Holter, directed by Julia Traber

Friday 10/23 8:00 p.m.: Landing Theatre Company

Daughters of the Moon by Reginald Edmunds directed by Timothy Eric

Saturday 10/24 5:00 p.m.: Wordsmyth Theater Company

Dreams/ D-E-F-E-R-R-E-D by Mihály Magz

Directed by Melissa Flower

Saturday 10/24 7:00 p.m.: The Ensemble Theatre

Front Porch Society by Melda Beaty, directed by Eileen Morris

Saturday 10/24 8:00 p.m.: Next Iteration Theater Company

Time is the Mercy of Eternity: A Meditation in Four Acts by Deb Margolin, directed by Dianne K. Webb

 

 

New York City, mid 60’s.  Andy is an illiterate Puerto Rican high school drop-out who is avoiding finishing his education out of his fear of failure; Brenda is a library clerk involved in Vietnam War protests and social justice. Two people caught in the uncertainty of a highly explosive time in American history.

Oct 30, Dracula, Mac Wellman, Mildred’s Umbrella

Nov 21, Silent Sky, Lauren Gunderson, Main Street Theater

Dec 5, Everything Will Be Different: A Brief History of Helen of Troy, Mark Schultz, Catastrophic Theatre

Feb 27, Straight White Men, Young Jean Lee, Stages Repertory Theatre

Mar 5, Love and Information, Caryl Churchill, Main Street Theater

April 16, The Birds, Aristophanes, new adaptation by Philip Hays, Classical Theatre Company

April 23, She Kills Monsters, Qui Nguyen, University of Houston

April 30, Give My Poor Heart Ease, Ashley Melzer, 14 Pews

May 18, The Nether, Jennifer Haley, The Alley

May 21, Dollface, Katherine Sherman, Mildred’s Umbrella

May 28, I and You, Lauren Gunderson, Stages Repertory Theatre

June 4, Plenty of Time, John Shevin Foster, The Ensemble Theatre

Join us directly after the show for drinks and discussions at Bacchus, 2502B Dunlavy St, Houston, TX 77019, whether you have seen the show with us or saw it previously.

Monday, Sept 14, 7 PM

Studio 101, at Spring Street Studios.

What would you do to regain your faith?  What if there was a machine that would calibrate your brain so you would believe? Would you try it?

July 30-Aug 2

3 plays, each given two readings with an audience talkback and a day in between so the playwright may revise. All by Texas Playwrights!

Hosted by Stages Repertory Theatre

Thursday, July 30, 7 pm   – Eskandar, by  Allan Baker

Eskandar is a theatrical reimagining of the opera Carmen. Set in Afghanistan, the play explores war, passion and taboo through epic mythologies.

Friday, July 31, 7:30 pm – Remnants of a Dream, by Ruth Cantrell

Remnants of a Dream is a fusion of facts and otherworldly impressions and fantasies, Remnants of a Dream examines how illegal immigration and the American Dream changes people on either side of the US/Mexico border and on either side of the immigration issue.

Saturday, August 1, 2 pm  – Supremacy, by Rosalyn Rosen

Supremacy is a fascinating but repulsive play examining white supremacists.

Saturday, August 1, 4 PM — Reception, Guest of honor: Ted Swindley*

Saturday, August 1, 7:30 pm – Eskandar, by Allan Baker

Sunday, August 2, 1:30 pm  – Remnants of a Dream, by Ruth Cantrell

Sunday, August 2, 7:00 pm – Supremacy, by Rosalyn Rosen

Tickets are $15

Tickets are purchased through Stages.  You can either purchase them online at stagestheatre.com or you can call them at 713.527.0123.  There are no added fees if you call to purchase them!

*please RSVP to wduell@dramatistsguild.com

Having lived through the Boston marathon bombings, Diana attempts to start over by connecting to her past. While doing so, she re-examines the family legends and finds new twists of violence and new strands of love.

Italian/English Bilingual

Monday, June 1, 7 PM, Studio 101

Free

 

 

Claire, a young novelist, has been hired to ghost the the true story of Rex and Roy Smith. But she has difficulty staying detached as she tries to discover why the two seemingly nice men, as young boys, brutally beat their father to death.

Monday, April 20, 7 PM

Studio 101, Spring Street Studios

1824 Spring St, Houston, TX 77007

 

FREE!

Mildred’s Umbrella Theatre Company and Wordsmyth Theatre proudly present Museum of Dysfunction VII: A SHOWCASE OF SHORTS. The seventh installment of our annual short play festival features pieces by new playwrights from across the nation and produced by the wonderfully talented Mildred’s Umbrella Company and friends. With over 200 submissions this year, we’ve chosen 20 of the best to bring new voices to Houston audiences. As always, we’ve got two lineups with Group 1 running March 26-28, and Group 2 running April 2-4. Come both weekends and get a totally new set of plays the second time! Some adult situations and language is present in these shows, so we recommend that you consider this PG-13.

WHEN: March 26,27,28 (group I) & April 2,3,4 (group II)
All shows are at 8pm

WHERE: Studio 101 at Spring Street Studios
1824 Spring Street , 77007

COST: Pay-As-You-Can!

MORE INFO/RESERVATIONS: www.mildredsumbrella.com, info@mildredsumbrella.com or (832) 463-0409