Play LA Festival 2023

A TWO-DAY FESTIVAL OF NEW PLAYS AND THEATRE-THEMED SYMPOSIA PRESENTED BY STAGE RAW AND GREENWAY COURT THEATRE, IN ASSOCIATION WITH THE AMMUNITION THEATRE COMPANY, CIRCLE X THEATRE CO., PLAYWRIGHTS’ ARENA, AND THE ROAD THEATRE COMPANY


Festival Schedule:
Please read the event description, then select the corresponding date and time listed below. You are welcome to RSVP for as many events as you like.

Day 1 - Friday, June 30

11 AM: (kickoff!) ROOST by Zharia O'Neal, Reading produced by Playwrights' Arena

• The Roost, a rehabilitation retreat for Black women who have starred in reality television, is on the brink of collapse — and founder and Chief Sage Eliaza has a risky scheme to keep up attendance.

2 PM: ST RAGE by Adam Esquenazi Douglas, Reading produced by Ammunition Theatre Company
            Directed by Nicole Pacent
           Featuring: Christopher Matias Aguila, Clayton Ferris, and Roland Ruiz

• Two people, one storage unit, and all the repressed anger you can eat.

4 PM: ROBOTS AND WRITERS: DO THE HUMANITIES REALLY NEED TO BE HUMAN? 

• Panel discussion on the impact of AI on the creative community moderated by Shem Bitterman featuring: John Lopez - Screenwriter WGA AI Ad-Hoc Committee, Jonathan Gratch - Research Full Professor of Computer Science, Psychology and Media Arts and Practice at the University of Southern California (USC) and Director for Virtual Human Research at USC’s Institute for Creative Technologies, Jen Markewych -  professor of philosophy at Cal State La, and Kurt Eggert - Chapman Law Professor

8 PM: FLUFF by Sigrid Gilmer
          Directed by Kila Kitu
          Featuring: Bruce  Baek, Stephanie Berlanga, Josette Canilao, Liz Fenning, Kila Kitu, Courtney Sauls, Keith Stevenson, Hari Williams

• An absurdist “disaster film” play about the dark carnival of our culture, the hell of other people, and killer pillows.

Day 2 - Saturday, July 1

11 AM: THE PALM OF HER HAND by Weston Gaylord, Reading produced by Circle X Theatre Co.
            Directed by Casey Stangl
           Featuring: Tony Amendola, Jessica Jade Andres, Sharon Freedman, Kat Haan, Jack Dugoni, Bruno Oliver, and Peter James Smith

• When Cass, a talented sleight-of-hand artist, approaches a group of magicians at a restaurant in hopes of becoming apprenticed to one of them, she receives an unexpected invitation that challenges her feelings about her craft. The Palm of Her Hand examines the double-edged sword of personal mentorship and the ethical choices that young sleight-of-hand practitioners face about how to use their skills of deception.

2 PM: RED TAR by Morgan Smalley, Reading produced by The Road Theatre Company 
           Directed by Andre Barron
          Featuring: Allison Blaize, Cherish Monique Duke, Clay Hollander, Gerard Joseph, and Rob Nagle
          Stage Directions: Adam Peltier

• With the help of his God-fearing friend, a hillbilly uses his magical blood to resurrect the dead for profit. Seeking the opportunity for a peel behind the veil, a suicidal woman makes the daunting trip to Appalachian West Virginia to be milled and brought back by these complete strangers. When something goes horribly wrong with these necromantic powers, the three must reckon with the higher power that granted them in the first place.

4 PM: SAVING LA THEATRE - A panel discussion on the Future of LA Theatre

• Moderated by Steven Leigh Morris featuring, Lindsay Allbaugh, CTG Associate Artistic Director, Center Theater Group, Guillermo Cienfuegos - Artistic Director, Rogue Machine, Martha Demson - Artistic Director, Open Fist, Kimberly Glann - Sr. Manager, Cross Sector Initiatives for LA County Department of Arts and Culture, Matt Quinn - Combined Artform- Artistic Director / Theater Asylum- Executive Producer), and Roland Ruiz - long time company member of Ammunition Theatre Company