Whimsy to Dystopia, Women’s Playwright Series Returns for 29th Season

CSC's Women's Playwrights Series reading of Havana Orthodoxy (2018). Photo provided.

The Women Playwright Series returns for its 29th season at the Centenary Stage Company with four brand-new plays presented in-person and via live stream.

In-person readings require a minimum $5 donation; live stream access is free to participate with donations appreciated.  WPS live streams will be made available for viewing at centenarystageco.org. 

The 2020/21 Women Playwrights Series selections include the following new plays:

Atlas the Lonely Gibbon, by Deborah Yarchun, is a darkly comedic thriller set in the future. Irene, a 28-year-old journalist, has recently had her job downgraded to editing Artificial Intelligence-generated articles. Her husband, David, is a cybercrime journalist who introduces more than enough technologies into their home, with unnerving consequences. Atlas and the Lonely Gibbon will be presented on Wednesday, April 14,at 7:30 pm.

The Persuadables, by Hallie Palladino, follows a group of election consultants who are engaged by a conservative billionaire to mount a massive public influence campaign. Using a combination of cutting-edge data mining and old-fashioned disinformation, they set about redefining the first amendment. The Persuadables will be presented on Wednesday, April 21, at 7:30 pm.

Cotton’s Tale, by Pauline David-Sax, is not your grandmother’s Beatrix Potter.  The play is a laugh-out-loud tale pitting whimsy against the persistence of one resolute rabbit in her quest to tell her real story of what really happened in the carrot patch that day. Cotton’s Tale will be presented on Wednesday, April 28, at 7:30 pm.

Loretta the Yodeling Cowgirl, by Vita Patrick Morales, is inspired by a true story.  Loretta and her wiry friend, Em, live in a home for the aged in Mount Jewett, Pennsylvania. Their days are the same and their banter circuitous.  But, when Loretta learns that her daughters are about to sell the family home, she travels back in time to the days of her Yodeling Cowgirl fame, and the choices she made for happiness. Loretta the Yodeling Cowgirl will be presented on Wednesday, May 5, at 7:30 p.m.

Centenary Stage Company’s Women Playwrights Series has featured the work of more than 80 emerging playwrights. The program has also taken 18 plays to full production from the series. 

Led by program director Catherine Rust, the Women Playwrights Series offers playwrights the opportunity to work with professional actors and directors in a workshop rehearsal process, and to hear their work in front of a live audience – a critical part of the development process.  Lively talk-backs with the playwright and cast follow each presentation, and one play is selected each year as the winner of the Susan Glaspell Award and receives a full production in the following main-stage season with CSC.

For more information on performances, COVID regulations, or to reserve tickets, visit centenarystageco.org or call the Centenary Stage Company box office at (908) 979-0900.

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