New Works Play Festival 2023
Reading of New full-length plays developed in our Writers Workshop;
all as different as different can be.
Free Shows Every Tuesday.
Starting January 10th - May 9th 2023
*COVID Policy:
Masks are optional in the theatre.
Written by:
Charlie Mount ● Mark Wilding ● Dina Morrone ● Nalsey Tinberg ● Barbara Beery ● David Lee Lindsey ● Marc Littman
Tom Walla ● Michael Van Duzer ● Amy Simon ● Elayne Heilveil ● Garry Kluger ● Arden Teresa Lewis
Steve Nevil ● Benjamin Scuglia ● Daniel Keough
January 10 | January 17 | January 24 | January 31 | February 07 | February 14 | February 21 | February 28
March 07 | March 14 | March 21 | March 28 | April 18 | April 25 | May 2 | May 9
Tuesday, January 10th at 7:30pm
Trumpets and Table Tipping
The great magician Harry Houdini battles a Clairvoyant at a country home in Sleepy Hollow.
Written by Charlie Mount
with:
David Baer ● Liv Denevi ● Samantha Layton Gregory ● Cecil Jennings ● Nick McDow Musleh
Benjamin Scuglia ● Mary Elizabeth Somers ● Amelia Vargas
During a day in Sleepy Hollow, New York, in 1913, Harry Houdini visits his friend Kathleen D’Arcy, who is suffering from tuberculosis and must not be upset. Kathleen has engaged a clairvoyant to contact her dead husband and Houdini must decide whether to challenge the veracity of the clairvoyant or expose him as a fraud, which would put Kathleen’s fragile emotional health, and therefore her life, at risk.
And there is the question of whether or not Houdini possesses strange and outré powers of his own, as Kathleen’s daughter Eliza believes, and the skeptical Dr. Jasper Perry does not. Houdini’s wily wife, Bess, proving to be a master magician herself, skillfully navigates matters towards a satisfying conclusion.
Tuesday, January 17 at 7:30pm
The Feel Good Story America Needs Right Now
Written by Mark Wilding
With:
Samantha Layton Gregory ● Ashley Taylor ● Liv Denevi ● Anne Leyden ● George Tovar Nick McDow ● Steve Nevil
Mary Elizabeth Somers ● Bill Sehres ● Benjamin Scuglia
Six Americans -- everyday folks -- are set to appear on a "60 Minutes" type news magazine on the one year anniversary of their extraordinary escape from the clutches of the most notorious terrorist group on the planet. As far as America is concerned, they are heroes on the scale of Sully Sullenberger.
But does the hype match the reality?
Tuesday, January 24 at 7:30pm
My Uterus
Written by Dina Morrone
Dina digs deep into her pelvic cavity to explore what the Uterus really is, what it means to own one, and to probe and examine how it continues to get screwed over again and again, by those who have no business being in there.
Tuesday, January 31 at 7:30pm
Muscle Memory
Pain and Loss. History and Memory. Can friendships survive?
Written by Nalsey Tinberg
Directed by Don Moore
With:
Meg Lin ● Amelia Vargas ● Tammy Taylor ● Scottie Nevil ● Christopher Landis
Tuesday, February 07 at 7:30pm
How High the Moon
Written by Barbara Beery
Directed by Asaad Kelada
With:
Jeanine Anderson ● Saratoga Ballantine ● Jim Beaver ● Samantha Layton Gregory ● Cecil Jennings
Konwalia Kotlinski ● Hogan Mason ● Andrew Parks
On July 4th, 1952, neighboring families fight over love, land and the changing times in the San Fernando Valley.
Tuesday, February 14 at 7:30pm
My Journey; Your Journey; Our Journey
From the end of enslavement to Donald Trump; the African-American experience in 4 one-acts.
Written by David Lee Lindsey
Act 1:
150 Years of Walking
Directed by Veronica Thompson
With:
Joe Nassi ● Daphne Jones ● Jarrol Taylor ● Aneisha Hughes ● Aron Cobbs
Act 2:
A View From The Inside
Directed by Veronica Thompson
With:
Daphne Jones ● Aneisha Hughes ● Megan Smith ● John Crocker
Act 3:
I Dream Of Emmitt Till
Directed by Brandon Foxworth
With:
Aron Cobbs ● Megan Smith ● John Crocker
Act 4:
Suicidal Rabbit
Directed by Brandon Foxworth
with
Jarrol Taylor ● Charles Smith
Tuesday, February 21 at 7:30pm
Missing but Who's Looking
Written by Marc Littman
with:
Meg Lin ● Oscar Nava ● Ernest McDaniel ● Mario Rocha
Stage Directions: Michael Van Duzer
Native Alaskan women face greater danger than wild animals. Across the state women go missing and are never found while their spouses and relatives are rarely prosecuted when violence is evident. Missing but Who’s Looking? is a timely play that spotlights one such tragedy in the Arctic, but it’s repeated all over the United States for thousands of women, especially those of color who too often are treated as both disposable and invisible.
Tuesday, February 28 at 7:30pm
Carpool
Written by Tom Walla
Directed by Arden Teresa Lewis
with:
David Mingrino ● Tammy Taylor ● Amelia Vargas ● Charles Smith ● George Tovar ● Cecil Jennings
An ordinary day at work for four ride sharing employees becomes anything but, as sudden company cutbacks ratchet up tensions that force them to re-examine their life choices.
Life Lies are the things people tell themselves to prove they’re happy.
- Henrik Ibsen
Tuesday, March 07 at 7:30pm
The extraordinary tale of the illustrious Mr. Kristoff’s last and most eccentric production featuring the William Desmond Taylor Players, a hostage audience, and his singular interpretation of theatrical history replete with digressions both ribald and remarkable.
Written by Michael Van Duzer
with:
Paul Cady ● Liv Denevi ● Cecil Jennings ● Christopher Landis ● Anne Leyden ● Bill Sehres ● Amelia Vargas ● Ari Wojciech ● Michael Van Duzer
Tuesday, March 14 at 7:30pm
SHE Is History
"Why Do We Know More About Kim Kardashian Than Abigail Adams?"
Written by Amy Simon
With:
Jeanine Anderson ● Heidi Appe ● Karen Bankhead ● Suzanne Collins ● Liv Denevi ● Bonnie Kalisher Dukes
Samantha Gregory ● Maria Kress ● Clara Rodriguez ● Amy Simon ● Megan Smith ● Dianne Travis
Alarmed when her daughter plans to do her women’s history report on pop stars Cher or Janet Jackson, a modern mother finds herself on a mission to enlighten her daughters. As she struggles in an unjust and challenging world, she becomes obsessed with and gets inspiration and strength from the unknown, unheralded and forgotten women in history who overcome obstacles and fight for equality, inclusion and justice. Going back and forth from the past to the present, mom poignantly finds the funny. Weaving stories in and out of what turns out to be parallel universes spanning three centuries, she finds empowerment along the way in this funny, enlightening, politically and socially relevant, heartbreaking and emotionally charged slices of modern and herstorical life.
Inspired by and loosely based on her solo play SHE’S History! The Most Dangerous Women In America Then And Now, LA’s longest running solo play.
Tuesday, March 21 at 7:30pm
Cary Grant—Tonight’s the Night!
A Memorable Evening With The Most Famous Movie Star In The History Of Movies
Written by Steve Nevil
With:
Web Williams as Cary Grant
Tuesday, March 28 at 7:30pm
Death & Cold Cuts
They say, “Love is a many splendored thing.” Wanna bet?
Written by Garry Kluger
Directed by Arden Teresa Lewis
with:
Mary Elizabeth Somers ● Amelia Vargas ● Tammy Taylor ● Anne Leyden ● Ashley Taylor
Sardia Robinson ● David Mingrino ● Liv Denevi
Tuesday, April 18 at 7:30pm
Cassatt
Written by Arden Teresa Lewis
With:
Samantha Gregory ● Mary Somers ● David Mingrino ● Cecil Jennings ● Amelia Vargas ● Elise Walters
Olivia Bates ● Deanna Gandy ● Brandon Foxworth ● Scottie Nevil ● Maria Kress
Mary Cassatt, the aging Impressionist, stands in her country estate and sets fire to most of her early paintings which are never to be seen by the art world again. What led this genius of printmaking and paint to destroy a piece of her legacy?
Tuesday, April 25 at 7:30pm
Nighty Night
What young girl's secrets are buried in the swamp?
Written & Directed by Elayne Heilveil
Tuesday May 2 at 7:30pm on ZOOM
Esther, the Great Enabler
Written by Benjamin Scuglia
With:
Sheila Shaw ● Anne Leyden
Esther, age 70, has been her mother's caretaker for decades; when her mother passes at age 99, Esther sets off on a quixotic quest to remake her life and finally explore her untapped potential.
Theatre West is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Time: May 2, 2023 07:30 PM Pacific Time (US and Canada)
Meeting ID: 829 2375 8392 | Passcode: 859134
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Tuesday, May 9 at 7:30pm
Heart Among the Ruins
Written by Daniel Keough
with:
Samantha Layton ● GregoryGeorge Cantero
A young prostitute hiding from the police has a brief encounter and a personality clash with an old homeless veteran when she invades his back alley encampment.