Flashback Theater Co. (FbTC) is excited to announce the return of its New Play Development program with a special twist: This year, for the first time ever, Flashback’s New Play Development workshop will culminate in a Festival of New Plays staged reading event on June 13th! One full length play was selected for the workshop, with three selections from full length plays being chosen for a “mini workshop.” One of the “mini workshop” selections will be chosen to receive a full length workshop next year. This year, the full length play chosen for development is Amber Frangos’ Get in the Game, with mini workshop selections including Clara de Lune by Chris Harris, Another Time by Thomas Alvey, and Joshua Pennwrite: Ghostwriter by Michele L. Hinton.
Audiences interested in attending the final reading should mark their calendars for June 13th at 7:30 p.m. The festival will be held at Flashack Theater’s Administrative Offices at 209A East Mt. Vernon St. Admissions is free, but a suggested donation of $5-15 is encouraged. An Assistive Listening Device System for hearing enhancement will be provided for audience members to use as needed, with generous support from South Arts.
This summer marks the first FbTC New Play Development workshop since The American Parade, an adaptation of Moliere’s The Misanthrope by Steve Cleberg, in 2022. The program has helped guide several productions from workshop to production, including Mary: Her Story by Amber Frangos and Maria McNeil-Phelps, Boats Against the Current by Bill McCann, and Rosies: The Women Who Riveted the Nation by Amber Frangos.
Flashback’s Education Coordinator, Bailey Patterson, is delighted to be spearheading the return of this programming pillar. “New play development is one of my favorite things to be a part of because it is the process through which we keep theatre alive! This type of work is especially important to the mission of Flashback. We workshop plays that have a connection to our region or are written by local playwrights. Through this, we are able to give plays that reflect our unique regional experience a chance to shine!”
What is New Play Development?
When a playwright drafts a new play, they don’t work on it alone. Regional theaters across the country have New Play Development initiatives to help writers develop new plays and musicals for audiences to enjoy. In development, playwrights work with a dramaturg as well as a team of actors to hear the play out loud, tweak dialogue, make discoveries, and fine tune the play to fulfill their vision. The team might choose to work through table reading, staging moments from the play, or a mix of the two. The playwright is expected to make revisions throughout this process, taking their play to the next level.
FbTC’s New Play Development arm is specifically focused on developing work that centers Kentucky life and culture. Producing Artistic Director Sommer Schoch founded Flashback Theater in part because while working in regional new work powerhouses like Arena Stage in Washington, DC, she discovered that of all the perspectives being celebrated in the American theater canon, there wasn’t a lot of work that reflected her experience of life in rural Kentucky. In starting a theater company in her hometown of Somerset, she hoped to start a dialogue on who we are, where we’ve been, and where we’re going. From the beginning, this necessitated a New Work Development program, where local playwrights and storytellers would have the opportunity to see their work fully realized by like-minded artists in the community.
What is the New Play Development Workshop?
A New Play Development Workshop is a period of readings, workshops, and revisions during which a play evolves. They can range in length and focus depending on the needs of the play.
This year at FbTC, the New Play Development Workshop is a weeklong workshop from June 9th – 13th. In the mornings, the workshop team will focus on Amber Frangos’ full length script, Get in the Game. In the afternoon, three other playwrights were selected to receive a “mini workshop” of a selection from their play. Of these mini workshops, one work will be chosen for a full length workshop next year.
This year, the New Play Workshop will culminate in a Festival of New Plays which will be held at Flashback Theater Co.’s administrative offices at 209A East Mount Vernon St. at 7:30 p.m. on June 13th. Admission is free, but a suggested donation of $5-15 is encouraged. Assistive Listening Devices, with funding from South Arts, will be available for audience members who need them to enjoy the show.
This Year’s Selections
Joshua Pennwrite: Ghostwriter
By Michele L. Hinton
Justine Hawkins is in the middle of writing a sequel to her novel. While writing a scene, she has a heart attack and dies. However, instead of moving on to the afterlife, she is allowed to continue on as a ghost to try and recruit someone to finish her series of novels. At her memorial, she comes across Joshua Pennwrite, an avid fan who came to pay his respects. She discovers that he is able to hear her, so she haunts him trying to convince him to help her complete her work. But Joshua has some personal issues. He is recovering from a split-personality disorder and believes Justine might be a set back to his recovery. But eventually, he agrees to help her, and needs to convince Justine’s nieces to aid in developing her novels.
Clara de Lune
By Chris Harris
A new play inspired by local ghost stories involving the old Somerset High School football field. It’s about a young woman with a gift for music and a troubled family life who makes an unexpected lifelong connection with a little girl that can’t be explained.
Another Time
By Thomas Alvey
Another Time is a searing Southern drama about Adam, a young gay man haunted by an absent mother, a devout grandmother, and the quiet violence of internalized shame. Set in a decaying home later turned Bed & Breakfast, fractured memories collide as love curdles into betrayal in a world that won’t let him belong.
Get in the Game
by Amber Frangos
In this family story, it is the patriarch, and not the matriarch whose life is threatened with a breast cancer diagnosis. Ultra-macho football coach Leo’s world is turned upside down as he struggles to find strength amongst pink-ribbons and unsympathetic female breast cancer patients. The prognosis is grim, but Leo loves his wife, his son, and his life; this is a game he cannot afford to lose. Amber Frangos’ bold new play dares to ask how outdated ideals of gender bar us from connection, even in our most vulnerable times of need.