As people power plays and plays power progress, Boston Court Pasadena has announced its free virtual readings of new works-in-progress.
By Events Manager
In keeping with their mission to bring the local communities risky and adventurous plays that won’t be found anywhere else in Southern California, Boston Court Pasadena readings will be performed live and will not be available after the performance
Festival line-up
Sat, Nov. 7
- 10:00 am: Vol 1. – A Post Racial America by Vincent Terrell Durham, directed by Rondrell McCormick.
Synopsis:
A theatrical manifestation of a broken promise. Hattie McDaniel wins an Academy Award in the midst of a stream of vignettes set over a partial arc of American history: young women dare to use a “Whites Only” bathroom; a couple bring their newborn home in the back of an Uber; two parents separated by time mourn the loss of a son, one in the past, one imagined in the future. A reminder that the emergency brake on the Post Racial America train has been pulled, lurching a train full of hopeful Black Americans back to a time when 46.09% of voters thought America was great, asking the audience to bear witness as we disembark the stalled train and drag her back from 1619 to 2020. - 4:00 pm: Iceland/Greenland by Nicolas Billon, directed by Hannah Wolf.
Synopsis:
This incisive play, in two discrete acts, explores the intersection of capitalism and climate change on a human scale. Iceland is set against the backdrop of the 2008 banking crisis, as an Estonian Master’s student-turned-escort, a capital-C Capitalist real estate agent, and a recently evicted devout Christian collide in an unexpected and tragic encounter. In Greenland, receding ice levels off the coast have revealed that an area thought to be part of the mainland is actually a separate island. This discovery mirrors a growing rift between the island’s discoverer and his increasingly distant family, set adrift after a catastrophic loss. The intertwined stories of each act echo one another, reflecting the unavoidable connections between ambition, need, belief, and survival.
Sat, Nov. 14:
- 10:00 am:
Kingdom of Wonder by Shayan Lotfi, directed by Jennifer Chang.
Synopsis:
Strangers from around the world encounter each other over the course of a weekend at a guesthouse in Siem Reap, Cambodia. The lives of guests and hosts intersect, as they struggle with loss and loneliness, leading each of them to a deeper understanding of who they are in this place, at this moment. - 4:00 pm:
Superstitions by Emily Zemba, directed by Jenna Worsham.
Synopsis:
Grieg, a visitor from a foreign country, finds a penny on the ground. When he tries to offer it to a stranger sitting near him—it sparks an absurd and frightening conversation about “bad luck.” Superstitions is an unconventional dark comedy about navigating our personal and national terrors and what happens when we believe in the unknown.
Registration
The New Play Reading Festival is free and registration is required.
New Play Reading Festival Date/Time 11/07 & 11/14 10:00 am & 4:00 pm Location Virtual Event
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