News
April 9, 2021Capital Repertory Theatre’s April Reading Series April 14-19
The second half of April is bursting with a quartet of Capital Repertory Theatre virtual play readings featuring the return of several actors known to theREP audiences as well as works by young playwrights.
The series includes the dramatic short play, “Third Grade” by Dominique Morisseau airing April 14-17; the classic “Alice in Wonderland” in an adaptation co-created by theREP’s Producing Artistic Director Maggie Mancinelli-Cahill and Associate Artistic Director Margaret E. Hall; airing April 21-24; a sneak peek of a new play, “American Fast” by 2020 Next Act’s winning playwright Kareem Fahmy on April 28; and readings of theREP’s Young Playwrights Contest top 10 finalists’ short plays on April 29.
Each event will be livestreamed on the Collaborative Studios’ YouTube channel and through the Collaborative Studios app on Roku, Amazon Fire and Apple TV. And two – “Third Grade” and “Alice in Wonderland” – will be available on demand at openstagemedia.org/video-on-demand for several days after the premiere.
The readings are free, but there is a suggested donation of $15 to benefit the theatre’s new play development work.
Programming details:
THIRD GRADE. (Premieres 7 p.m. April 14 and is available on demand through April 17.) Dominique Morisseau’s terse drama about a young father who confronts his 8-year-old son’s third-grade teacher when she punishes his son for refusing to take his hat off inside her classroom. Both sides learn there’s always more to a story than meets the eye in this one-act play with a twist. The reading features REP Associate Artist Barbara Howard, who stars in theREP’s virtual program for elementary school children, “Story Hour”, and was in the theatre’s production of “The Trip to Bountiful.” Also starring is Jonathan Luis Dent, last seen in theREP’s productions of “Lobby Hero” and “The Royale”. The reading is directed by theREP Associate Artist and Black Theatre Troupe of Upstate NY Founder/Artistic Director Jean-Remy Monnay, who is a member of theREP’s community engagement program Neighbors for Neighbors.
ALICE IN WONDERLAND. (Premieres 7 p.m. April 21 and is available on demand through April 24.) Lewis Carroll’s immortal classic is co-adapted by Mancinelli-Cahill and Hall, who will direct. In the topsy-turvy world at the bottom of the rabbit hole, a contemporary Alice learns the way home from the mad inhabitants of Wonderland with Kevin McGuire as the maddest of them all, the Mad Hatter, Monnay as the mercurial Cheshire Cat, Yvonne Perry as the Red Queen, Freddy Ramirez as the Dormouse, Joshua Redfield as the rapping Caterpillar, Josh D. Smith as the White Rabbit and in her debut at theREP, Angelique Powell as the curious Alice. This 55-minute version is part of theREP’s On-The-Go! touring productions for young people. On-The-Go! – featuring stories from history and literature – has reached up to 13,000 students annually since 1995.
AMERICAN FAST. (7 p.m. April 28.) Created by Fahmy and directed by Reginald Douglas, the recently appointed associate artistic director of Studio Theatre in Washington D.C. This is a rare chance for audience members to get a first look at how plays are developed; this work, still in development, is going through a series of readings on its way to becoming a finished play. Khady, a gifted college basketball star is caught between her religion, family, ambition and confusion about her identity. Things come to a boil when she must decide whether to fast for Ramadan or lie to her family in order to give her all to the NCAA college basketball championship. A post-play discussion features playwright Fahmy and theREP’s Mancinelli-Cahill and Hall. Fahmy’s “A Distinct Society” was winner of theREP’s 2020 Next Act New Play Summit.
2021 YOUNG PLAYWRIGHTS CONTEST READING. (7 p.m. April 29.) A cast of veteran actors mix with talented young performers to bring to life the 10 finalists from this year’s young playwrights competition. Culled from a record 82 short plays submitted this year from Capital Region middle and senior high schools, five finalists will also receive readings in this year’s Next Act New Play Summit in June and their works will be staged with a teen ensemble and guest artists in July at theREP ‘s new theatre.
Appearances by Equity actors in the Spring Reading Series are made possible by an agreement with Theatre Authority.
