Readings

  • Under Construction 6: SLAMFEST

    The UC6 NEW PLAY SLAMFEST are plays still “under construction”. This is the result of the playwrights’ one-year commitment to our workshop. These readings are the next stage in their development and we hope you can join us!
    • January 27th, 7:30

      The Center

      Written by JT Baldassarre
      Directed by Richard Gershman

      Featuring: Laura Gardner, Clay Hollander, Lauren Schaffel, Marcelo Tubert and Sullivan Braun

      “A teen, a widow, and a heartbroken young woman undergo experimental exposure therapy for Prolonged Grief Disorder. The treatment—which uses AI to artificially “resurrect” their dead loved ones—quickly unravels into a messy, absurd examination of what it means to move on, and whether it’s a myth altogether.”

    • February 2nd, 7:30

      Piñata

      Written by Casey J. Adler
      Directed by Bernardo Cubria

      Featuring: Roland Ruiz, Andre Stojka, Casey Adler

      “Your best friend is seeing demons. Do you take him to a shrink or a strip club? Piñata is the story of three criminally immature dudes working through mental health issues.”

    • February 17th, 7:30

      THE LAND OF ENCHANTMENT

      Written by Talisa Friedman
      Directed by Carlyle King

      Featuring: Taylor Nichols, Erika Nadir, Clay Hollander, Ryan Ashton, Gabi Faulkner and Charleston Harvey

      “Roland Rykard, a moderately successful painter, has died. When his family gathers in Albuquerque to mourn, they are forced to confront the childhood tragedy they’ve been outrunning for decades. Both magical and devastating, The Land of Enchantment explores what we owe our family, our art, and ourselves.”

    • February 24th, 7:30

      Just Beyond the Curtain

      Written by Ashlyn Frank
      Directed by Liz Herron
      The Fox Sisters commune with the dead, at least that’s what they tell their audience. The trio from Troy have taken the world by storm with their spiritualist act and are now well into their sold-out run in New York City. However, their fortune turns when Margaretta’s beau begins to question their abilities, and eventually the act begins to fall apart. At odds with both her sisters and her belief in her own power, it is only when Margaretta faces the ghosts of her past that she is able to discern what lies beyond the curtain.
    • March 3rd, 7:30

      The Empty Ocean

      Written by A.J.Ditty
      Directed by Jake Berkhard

      Featuring:  Noelle Mercer, Suraj Partha, Christian Prentice, Stephanie Michels and Julian Armaya

      Hey, what’s up subscribers??? Crazy what’s been going on with V’s channel, right? Like, his best friend and long-time collaborator David just left YouTube for good without, like, ANY warning. Something’s off there, fam, I know it. And now they’ve brought on this new girl, Dalia something???, who I hear used to write for The Experiment, yeah, that HBO show about the clones or the aliens or whatever. But now they’re talking about “a new era for the channel” where they’re gonna start making “art”? or something? and I’m just like: whatever happened to the glory days of V and David just, like, blowing up cars with bazookas? Why is David vague-posting about some shady stuff V got up to in the early days of the channel? Why do I feel this emptiness inside of me, this roiling, echoing churn of impossible loneliness that threatens to consume my every waking thought? haHA Don’t forget to smash that like button. Please. Please like me. Please somebody like me. Anybody please please please please pl01se pl10ase p0101ase p01101000 01100101 01101100 01110000 00100000 01101101 01100101.

    • March 10th 7:30

      Ana and Isi

      Written by Gabrielle Poisson
      Directed by
      Featuring:
      It’s been 546 days since Ana and Isi’s brother Paul died in a tragic accident. After a series of lengthy legal battles, the sisters are left packing up their generational family home which is being seized by the bank — Isi is desperate to leave, but Ana thinks she might just stay. Ana and Isi is a dark, modern (and truly loose) adaptation of Sophocles’ Antigone exploring grief, inherited trauma, what we owe the dead, and what the dead owe us back.
    • May 18th, 7:30

      Double Walkers

      Written by Emily Yuko Walborn
      Directed by Jordan Wold
      Allison Wilson is running for mayor of her hometown. The only problem – she hasn’t been home in over ten years. Someone who looks and sounds exactly like her has taken over her life, campaigned for mayor, and treated everyone in town horribly, ruining her reputation. Can she confront her doppelganger and set things right? Or are there two sides to the story?

  • The Word

    As part of our mission to foster the development of new plays, The Road hosts readings on Mondays at 7:30pm that are open to the public and tickets are pay what you can. Readings are followed by a talkback with the playwright (if available). Check back often for new additions to the lineup and make sure to follow us for updates and reminders.

    • January 26th, 7:30

      Bedtime Stories

      Written by William Leavengood
      Directed by Ron Orbach
      FEATURING: Judith Scarpone, Jon Sprik, Liz Fenning and Jacquelyn Ferguson
      In this dark, Albee-esque comedy/drama (Imagine if George & Martha were a mother and son), set in Florida in the 1990’s, a successful children’s book writer returns to his childhood home after receiving a letter from his estranged mother who claims to be dying. Despite his efforts to resist his mother’s influence, he finds himself being drawn back into their psychological warfare and his troubled past as his inner demons are reawakened. But, both he and his mother, have a few surprises left for each other.
    • February 23rd, 7.30

      OF LIFE AND TIMES - A Love Story

      Written by Janet Chamberlain
      Directed by Dana Schwartz
      FEATURING:
       
      Joy reluctantly returns to her ancestral home to care for her estranged mother, who has had a stroke.  Things don’t go as planned, and mother and daughter are forced to confront their lifetime of differences, with a little help from their ancestors.  This is the story of two generations of mothers and daughters, past and present, and how their lives intertwine.  Is there anything to be learned from what came before us?  Can we change the course of our lives, and those that come after us?  A play of spirit, forgiveness and letting go.
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