Staged Readings for new plays-in-progress at The Magnetic Theatre Company

Press release from The Magnetic Theatre Company:

Asheville’s Magnetic Theatre Company has nearly a decade under its belt of producing new plays for a growing and diverse Western North Carolina Audience. Many of the plays that have had their world premiere on the Magnetic Stage were written by Asheville area playwrights. The productions mounted at The Magnetic Theatre, since opening in 2009, have ranged from the experimental and edgy to the uproarious and funny. Now, The Magnetic Theatre has announced that it is creating a program specifically for area playwrights to develop their ideas in a ‘ writer’s lab’ type environment that will include master classes, workshops, and an ongoing series of public readings of works-in-progress and discussions with working writers, literary agents and managers.

“The goal of this program is to provide opportunity for playwrights in our region to be able to develop thoughtful, meaningful work. We wanted find ways to help emerging and experienced writers get access to opportunities to hear and get insight into their work in a constructive and supportive environment” comments Andrew Gall, the Interim Producing Artistic Director of The Magnetic Theatre.

The program will launch with a series of three staged readings of works in progress that will be open to the public for a $5.00 admission charge.

The Magnetic Theatre is planning classes and workshop opportunities that will begin in the fall of this year.

Staged readings of three new plays-in-progress will take place at the Magnetic Theatre on May 27, July 14, and August 25. The idea behind these readings is to get a sense of how the play looks, sounds, and feels. Each staged reading will include actors (with script in hand) and some simple staging. These readings will followed by a short discussion with the audience, actors and playwright about the work. The Magnetic Theatre has planned the following readings:

• May 27 at 7:00pm, Recycled Nuts by Travis Lowe: Almond farmer Jerry wants to change the negative public perception of his nuts. Alma and Felix are there to report on it. Tressa and Effie want to claim the ranch for themselves, since farm wife Adelaide defaulted on the mortgage. Officers Kemp and Ren are just there to keep the peace. When Alma dies of a nut allergy and returns as a ghost, it sets off a series of comically fatal accidents. As each character expires and the farmhouse slowly fills with spirits, cameraman and reluctant medium Felix must manage the living and the dead, while maintaining both his life and sanity.

• July 14 at 2:00pm What Happens After Manhattan by Honor Moor: Twenty years after living in Manhattan, four dear old girl friends get together at a bachlorette party in in Charleston SC. They packed everything including some “old baggage” from the past and a psychic medium for fun. Needless to things do not go as planned and the weekend brings out the best and worst in everyone.

• August 25 at 2:00pm Rain on Fire by Karen Saari: Marie comes home to plan her oxy-addicted mother Lorraine’s funeral. “Rain” left a surprising final wish for Marie and her cousin Caleb. Marie struggles with her anger and loss in a tense, and often surprisingly funny, play that looks at the aftermath of addiction and the opiate crisis in Michigan’s northwoods.

Tickets for the readings will be available at the door.

For more information please visit The Magnetic Theatre website at www.themagnetictheatre.org or follow The Magnetic Theatre on Facebook.