WOMEN PLAYWRIGHTS INITIATIVE READINGS AT IVORYTON PLAYHOUSE
The Ivoryton Playhouse is holding its Third Annual Women Playwrights Initiative — Passion, Power and Prose 2019, with performances March 1 and 2.
The Initiative includes the Ellie Award and a $500 stipend for each of the four women playwrights chosen and aims to provide a safe, nurturing environment for the development of new, one-act plays by and about women and the issues that shape their lives, including a week of intensive rehearsal with the playwrights, directors, and actors.
The weeklong workshop culminates in two evenings of staged readings that will take place on March 1 and 2 at the Ivoryton Playhouse, 103 Main Street, Ivoryton, followed by discussions with playwrights, actors and directors. Two works will be featured both nights, starting at 7 p.m.
March 1: In the wickedly comic play “How to Be A Widow” by Tori Keenan-Zelt and directed by Susan Einhorm, two young women grapple with the freedom and power of their new widowhood. In the bittersweet drama “Water Without Berries” by Waltrudis Buck and directed by Todd Underwood, two brothers — a school teacher and a Shakespearean actor — return to Harlem to persuade their infirm grandma to leave the tenement where they grew up.
March 2: “Partner of —” is by Rachael Carnes and directed by Leslie Snow and focuses on what her grandmother and mother can teach young Sally about agency, expectation, and the roles society permit women. “The Robertassey” is by Kathleen Cahill and directed by Hannah Simms. Roberta’s trip to Ireland becomes a surreal odyssey when the airlines lose her suitcase containing her father’s ashes. Tickets for each night are $20 adults, $15 seniors, $10 students. For both nights, tickets are $30 adults, $25 seniors, $10 students. Call (860) 767-7318 or visit www. ivorytonplayhouse.org.