Depot News
News and notes about playwrights and readers featured in this series. Congratulations to all on their many successes!
Dates in parentheses indicate a season when a playwright’s work was read at the Depot. See the Past Seasons Page for more information.
Mao headed to Valdez, AK
“Happy Anniversary, Sweetie!” by Helen Mao (2024) has been selected for the Play Lab at the 33rd Annual Valdez Theatre Conference, 7-14 June. The short play, read at the Depot, will receive a staged reading and a moderated talk back.
Tofte Wins $20K LANPP GRant
Amy Tofte (2022, ‘24) has won a Los Angeles New Play Project (LANPP) grant of $20,000 for “Righteous Among Us,” read at the Depot in 2022. The LANPP grants were established by producers Paula Holt and Nathan Birnbaum, who, in collaboration with the UCLA School of Theater, Film, and Television, the UCLA Foundation, and the gift of an anonymous donor, seek to bring new work to small and mid-sized Los Angeles theaters. “Righteous Among Us” was produced at Little Fish Theatre.
Amy thanks the Depot for our assistance in the development of “Righteous Among Us.”
Shen’s YZ Rep wins obie
Sally Shen, Executive Director of Yangtze Repertory Theatre, announces that their production of Jeremy Tiang’s Salesman/之死 has won the Obie Award for Outstanding New Play.
Gold in Rebeck’s Mauritius
Ben Gold plays Phillip in the Walpole Footlighters’ May production of Theresa Rebeck’s Mauritius, directed by Peter McElhinney. The production runs weekends, May 2nd through May 18th. For tickets, visit: https://app.arts-people.com/index.php?actions=4&p=1
Gibson reads in stonington
Past Poet Laureate of Connecticut, Margaret Gibson will perform a dramatic reading of her latest collection, Draw Me without Boundaries, with Anne Flammang at the Stonington Public Library, Sunday, 13 April at 5:00 PM.
Minigan’s Newest in a Reading at CreateTheater
John Minigan’s “(re) Dressing Miss Havisham,” a one-woman show commissioned by Hey Jonté Productions, will receive a Zoom reading on Monday, 7 April, 8:00 PM. The reading is sponsored by Cate Cammarata’s CreateTheater.
The play will receive in an in-person reading on 11 April at the “dollhouse” Vokes Theater, Wayland, MA at 7:30 PM.
Both readings feature Miranda Jonté and are directed by Peter Sampieri.
Contact John for more information and tickets/Zoom link at http://www.johnminigan.com/
We have read a number of John’s plays at the Depot in the 2018, ‘19, ‘21, and ‘22 seasons.
Four Latham plays in april
Donna Latham (2021, ‘22) will see numerous productions in April: “Confessionals” at New Views Theatre in Lexington, VA; “Memento Mori” at Chicago’s Paragon Festival; and “Curs’d Be Macbeth” at Paris College’s Pyro Playfest. “Codecracker” receives a reading at JaYo Theatrics in Washington, DC.
Thelen’s “Man or Mouse” Premiers
Larry Thelen’s political satire “Man or Mouse” received its premier at Theatre off the Square in Weatherford, TX. The play will next be produced by Lakewood Theater in Maine as part of their 125th anniversary season. The play will run from 11 to 20 September.
Butters in One-woman show
Julie Butters will present her one-woman show “Ahead of Their Time” at the Billerica Public Library in Billerica, MA on Tuesday, 25 March at 7:00 PM. Julie developed the show to highlight “some of history’s and classic literature’s favorite leading ladies who spoke brilliantly in defense of their gender. For more information, visit https://billericalibrary.org/
Wiess plays in lexington
In March, Debbie Wiess’s series of three short plays, “Alarmed in Lexington” premiered at the Hancock-Clarke House, part of the Lexington History Museums. The plays reenact the events in the Clarke family home on the night of 19 April 1775, as citizens prepare for an impending British attack and Paul Revere makes his famous ride. Due to popular demand, the plays will be remounted next fall.
Scranton and Mclindon at Playzoomers
PlayZoomers presents two evenings of short works, Mixed Bag, on Friday, 21 March and Saturday, 22 March. Among the short plays to be presented are Ben Scranton’s (2021) “The End of Society,” directed by Greg Hatfield and James McLindon’s (2019) “Safe Harbor” directed by Chrissy Sheehan. For more information and tickets, visit https://www.playzoomers.org/upcoming
zemanek directs Hadestown
Ryan Zemanek directs a new production of Hadestown at Westerly High School. The performance runs 14-16 March in Babcock Hall (23 Highland Street, Westerly, RI). Use the Vose Street entrance. Tickets are $10 at the door and available here: https://www.onthestage.tickets/show/westerly-high-school/678d1f192e4be60f77c50b06.
Dias in other Desert Cities
Angela Dias appears in the Dionysus Theatre Company’s production of Jon Robin Baitz’s Other Desert Cities, weekends, March 7-23. For tickets, visit: https://www.dionysustheatrecompany.org/tickets
Flock Brings Hedda to Shaw
Flock Theatre presents a new production of Henrik Ibsen’s Hedda Gabler in New London’s Shaw Mansion, weekends, March 6-16. Directed by Derron Wood, the cast features Madeleine Dauer, Hayden Burger, Cat McDonald, Victor Chiburis, Kip Hashagen, Liz Binger, and Anne Flammang. Stage Manager is Kristen Rowe. For tickets, visit https://www.flocktheatre.org/hedda
butters in ada, crane estate
Julie Butters will appear in Ada and the Engine by Lauren Gunderson (read at the Depot, 2017) in a Castle Hill Productions show to be performed at the Crane Estate in Ipswich, MA. The production is directed by Kristina Grundmann Brendal and will run 7-23 March. For tickets, https://thetrustees.org/program/cranetheatre/
POE RETurns to LaGrua with Frost Warnings
Gary Poe directs a new version of Eric Peterson’s Frost Warnings for the LaGrua Center, featuring Christie Williams as He/Robert and Anne Flammang as She/Elinor. The performance runs on Friday, 21 February at 6 PM. For tickets, visit https://lagruacenter.org/
Wells-Oakes Play at 29th St. PWC
Michael Wells-Oakes’ (2024) “Winter Wheat” has been selected for a staged reading at the 29th Street Playwrights Collective on Monday, 19 May at the Attic Studio of The Tank. For more information, visit: http://www.29thstreetplaywrightscollective.org/
WIESS play at OLd south church
Debra Wiess’s new play about the historic meeting between poet Phyllis Wheatley and founder/ambassador/inventor Benjamin Franklin, “A Revolutionary Encounter in London” will play in the Gordon Chapel of Boston’s Old South Church on Sunday, 9 February, 2:30 PM. The ensemble Castle of Our Skins will play before and after the performance. Free admission with Q & A and light refreshments. To register, visit: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/uplifting-every-story-words-music-of-liberation-play-live-music-tickets-1141451786019?aff=oddtdtcreator
Flock’s Jane Eyre among best
The Day of New London has named Flock Theatre’s production of Jane Eyre as one of the best live theater productions in the past year for its superb performances and direction. Julie Butters wrote the adaptation specifically for a production in New London’s Shaw Mansion, and she played Jane across from Eric Michaelian’s Rochester. Victor Chiburis directed.
Minigan at CREATE Theater
Breaking the Shakespeare Code, by John Minigan (2018, ‘19, ‘21, ‘22), will receive a Zoom reading at New York City’s Create Theater on Monday, 13 January at 7 PM.
To watch live: https://www.youtube.com/live/HqjluID3yFU
TIMEOUT Miami HAILS Mabey play
TimeOut Miami lists John Mabey’s (2022, ‘24) full-length comedy The New Newer Normal as one of the top ten theater offerings in the city this winter. Main Street Players premiers the play in February and March. For more information: https://www.mainstreetplayers.com/season
Scranton one-Pager at Tiny
Tiny Theater will feature a new one-page play “Ties that Bind” by Ben Scranton (2021) on Thursday, 12 December at 9 PM (EST). For more information, visit Ben’s Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/ben.scranton.3
cooney makes best of list
Amy Goldschlager, for Oprah Daily, has selected Claire Cooney’s Saint Death’s Daughter for her top 20 most transporting fantasy novels. Goldschlager notes the novel’s “morbid comedy, intricate wordplay,” and “sweetness and charm,” and she ranks Saint Death’s Daughter 11th on the list.
hoffman’s three mothers advances
“Three Mothers” by Lynn Hoffman (2021) is one of 50 plays, from 1,500 submitted, to advance to the second stage of consideration for Centre Stage’s 22nd Annual New Play Festival.
Depot featured on local radio
The Depot was featured on the Wayne Norman Show, WILI AM. Audio of Wayne’s 20-minute conversation with Anne is available here: https://media.transistor.fm/3bb41a75/a3f45216.mp3
Playzoomers produces Rushton
PlayZoomers offers an evening of short plays, In the Limelight, on 18 and 19 October, including Jack Rushton’s “It Ain’t Pinter” (2022). For more information and tickets, visit: https://www.playzoomers.org/upcoming
wiess One-Act in cambridge
On Saturday, October 19th at 4 PM, Debra Wiess’s one-act play “A Revolutionary Encounter in London,” about Phillis Wheatley and Ben Franklin's meeting in London Summer 1773, will be staged at the historic Christ Church Cambridge, just outside of Harvard Square.
The event is free and open to all; no reservations necessary. Donations will be accepted to support the church’s racial justice efforts. Visit https://www.cccambridge.org/ for more information.
Michaelian in Venus in Fur
Eric Michaelian stars with Chloe Parrington in David Ives’ two-hander Venus in Fur, directed by Patrick Barry at Drama Works Theatre Company. The production opens October 25 and runs through November 3. For tickets: https://dramaworkstheatre.org/purchase-tickets
Minigan’s Sleepy Hollow staged
Two theater companies mount John Minigan’s (2018,’19, ‘21, ‘22) adaptation of Washington Irving’s classic Halloween tale The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. Mile Square Theatre in New Jersey mounts a three-week Equity run 3-20 October. For tickets: https://milesquaretheatre.my.salesforce-sites.com/ticket/#/events/a0SR7000001OtyrMAC
And by popular demand, Funky Little Theater Company in Colorado remounts an earlier production of the play, 11-26 October. For tickets https://www.onthestage.tickets/show/funky-little-theater-company/65b74984c5afcc0e476d5fcb
Shames, Minigan with Dean PROD
Plays by John Minigan (2018, ‘19, ‘21, ‘22) and Germaine Shames (2021) have been selected for Dean Productions Theatre Company’s 2024 Premiere the Play Audio season. John’s Covenant is available to stream now, and Germaine’s “Beautiful Findings” will be available to stream on 10 September.
Dean Productions offers listeners a chance to vote on their favorite plays, and the play with the most votes will be produced in next year’s Hollywood Fringe Festival.
More information may be found here: https://deanproductionstheatre.com/ptp-season-4/
Powers named Poet Laureate
The Board of Trustees of Scotland Public Library has named Susan Powers the town’s first Poet Laureate. To encourage poetry writing and appreciation, Susan has taught classes at Parish Hill High School and leads a monthly poetry workshop at the Scotland Public Library, as well as organizing poetry readings at the library and elsewhere. For more information, visit the Connecticut Council of Poets Laureate website: https://ctpoetlaureates.com/
For Susan’s poem about Scotland, CT visit https://ctpoetlaureates.com/poems-about-towns/scotland/
Mcgoldrick makes a CarToon
Michael McGoldrick (2021) has begun a new venture in writing and producing cartoons. Check out his first show, “Trick Me!” a humorous Halloween story, available on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wYjoV-YWyyE
PUtt wins best screenplay award
Barry M. Putt, Jr. (2018) has won the Best Screenplay Award for Omeed’s Tapestries, based on an earlier play read at the Depot, “Equal.” The award was presented by the Santa Barbara International Screenplay Awards in the Diverse Writers Outreach category. For more information: https://www.santabarbarascreenplayawards.com/diverse_-writers_contest_results.html
Blak selected for Arts residency
Liberation Theatre Company, based in Harlem, has selected Cris Eli Blak (2021) for its 2024-2025 class for its Writing Residency Program. Now in its seventh year, the four playwrights in the program will receive dramaturgical and career support over a ten-month period that will culminate in a full-length new play and the possibility of a developmental reading.
Houlker admitted to Yale MFa
Surrey Houlker (2023) has been admitted to the David Geffen School of Drama at Yale as one of the three MFA candidates in the Class of 2027 in playwriting. Surrey will begin her studies in the fall.
Blak wins Getchell Award
Cris Eli Blak (2021) has won the 2024 Charles M. Getchell New Play Contest, sponsored by the Southeastern Theater Conference, for Between Dog and Wolf.
Latham audio play online now
Eclectic Full Contact Theatre presents a new short play by Donna Latham (2021, 2022), “Memento Mori,” a love story set in a nineteenth-century post-mortem photographer’s studio. The audio play and interview with Donna are available here: tinyurl.com/EFCTHHAH
Ringel nominated for IGA Prize
Faye Ringel is one of fourteen scholars who have made the longlist for the 2024 Allan Lloyd Smith Prize for Best Monograph for her 2022 publication, The Gothic Literature and History of New England: Secrets of the Restless Dead (Anthem). The prize is sponsored by the International Gothic Association, and the prize will be presented in Nova Scotia, Canada in July.
Brodie wins for “Leviathan”
Kevin Brodie (2021) has won top honors for his new one-act “Leviathan” at the Tennessee Williams New Orleans Literary Festival. The award included a staged reading of the play.
Meagher’s “Cat’s PJ’s” Streams
In October, Teatro Paraguas produced “Cat’s Pajamas,” a new play by Vicki Meagher (2021). A recorded version of that production is now available to stream through Xerb TV for $5.00. To watch, visit https://xerb.tv/channel/teatro-paraguas/virtual-events/3552. The production will be available to stream through August 3, 2024.
Latham monologue published
Smith and Kraus have published Grumio’s monologue from the short play “Best Beware My Sting” by Donna Latham (2021, 2022). The monologue appears in the 2024 edition of The Best Men’s Stage Monologues, edited by Debbie Lamedman.
Shames wins guild fellowship
Germain Shames (2021) has been selected for a 2024-2025 Dramatists Guild Foundation National Fellowship. Germaine joins a class of eleven playwrights. Through the program, Germaine will be able to attend workshops and receive mentorship in developing her work for productions.
Anne is Podcast guest
Anne appears on Rachel Feeny-Williams’ Theatrical Shenanigans podcast, season 2, episode 6. The podcast features an audio performance of Ryan Kaminski’s “The Deal” with Vivian Howard and Arthur Nelligan. Afterwards, Rachel and Anne discuss the play. To listen to this episode and other episodes of Rachel’s podcast: https://theatricalshenanigans.podbean.com/e/s02-e06-episode-6-the-deal-anne-flammang/
Anne also appears as a guest on George Sapio’s Onstage/Offstage Podcast, Episode #171. You can find the podcast here: https://onstageoffstage.podbean.com/
Both podcasts are fantastic and quite distinct in format, so check out other episodes and support theater podcasters!
Sapio Named Macdowell fellow
George Sapio (2022) was named a 2023 MacDowell Fellow. George was resident at the Peterborough, NH campus in March: “I could wax prolific about my time there, but suffice to say it was a watershed….”
BOSTON PODCAST Players
Season Three of Boston Podcast Players features interviews with playwrights who reflect on the impact of the pandemic. Highly recommended listening. Find the podcast on iTunes and on the BPP website.
