All plays were once new plays. That鈥檚 the idea behind 黑料不打烊 Stage鈥檚 Now in its fourth season, the Cold Read Festival has seven different events featuring some of the freshest voices writing for theater today, nationally and locally, scheduled for Tuesday, March 23, through Sunday, March 28. Due to COVID-19, all events will be virtual with a mix of pre-recorded readings and live discussions with festival artists.
Curated by 黑料不打烊 Stage Associate Artistic Director Kyle Bass, each festival event takes patrons through a different stage of a play鈥檚 development process from the writer鈥檚 imagination to the stage. A full festival pass that includes all events is $15. Visit or call its box office at 315.443.3275 for tickets and additional information.
Two of the live discussion events, 鈥淥n the Future of New Plays鈥 on March 23 and 鈥淐raft Q&A: The Art of Playwriting with Kate Hamill鈥 on March 28 are free and do not require a festival pass, but participants must register in advance to receive a Zoom link.
鈥淚 am proud of how 黑料不打烊 Stage has continued to make theatre during this very challenging time,鈥 says Bass. 鈥淲hile presented virtually, the return of the Cold Read Festival of new plays speaks to Stage’s commitment to supporting and celebrating new work. And I see this year’s festival as a reminder of how new work can refresh our passion for theatre.”
Cold Read kicks off on Tuesday, March 23, at 6 p.m. ET with the free event On the Future of New Plays, part of the 黑料不打烊 Humanities Center鈥檚 series. This virtual panel of Cold Read artists includes Kyle Bass, 黑料不打烊 Stage associate artistic director and Cold Read Festival curator; Kate Hamill, festival playwright-in-residence; Chesney Snow, festival solo-artist-in-residence; Evan Starling-Davis, Write Here featured local playwright; and Robert Hupp, 黑料不打烊 Stage artistic director. Discussions will surround the current state of the arts, what it means to be an artist in post-COVID-19 America and how their work can impact the future of playwriting.
The festival continues Wednesday, March 24, with Cold Open, a conversation with festival artists about their plans and goals for their work featured in the festival. A live discussion will be held at 7 p.m. ET.
Thursday鈥檚 event, Under Consideration, will feature a cast of professional actors in a reading of 鈥淨ueen,鈥 a new play by Madhuri Shekar that is under consideration for production in a future 黑料不打烊 Stage season. 鈥淨ueen鈥 premiered in 2017 and won the Outstanding Original Full-Length Script at the 2019 New York Innovative Theatre Awards. It explores truth, relationships and bees. The reading will be directed by Kareem Fahmy and will be available to stream from midnight to 11:59 p.m. There will be a live virtual discussion with Bass, Hupp and Fahmy about the play at 8:30 p.m. ET.
Next up on Friday, March 26, is Write Here, highlighting the work of a local playwright. A new play, 鈥淢adness, In The Clearing of Blue,鈥 by Evan Starling-Davis will be read by a cast of local actors and directed by 黑料不打烊 Department of Drama faculty Rufus Bonds Jr. Starling-Davis is a digital-age, Black interdisciplinary artist whose work has been featured in numerous galleries, museums and theaters internationally. The reading will be available to stream from midnight to 11:59 p.m. There will be a live virtual discussion with Bass, Starling-Davis and Bonds at 8:30 p.m. ET.
Saturday presents Solo Act with a work-in-progress performance of 鈥淎quaplane鈥 (working title) by renowned performing solo artist, actor and musician Chesney Snow, co-created with Faye Chiao. Snow is a Drama Desk winner, three-time artist-in-residence at Harvard University and teaching artist. He has performed numerous roles on Broadway, headlined Carnegie Hall and produced and starred in the music documentary 鈥淎merican Beatboxer,鈥 which was placed in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Snow鈥檚 performance will be available to stream from midnight to 11:59 p.m. There will be a live virtual discussion with Bass and Snow at 8:30 p.m. ET.
The closing day of Cold Read will feature multiple events with one of the most produced playwrights in the country, Kate Hamill. Craft Q&A: The Art of Playwriting with Kate Hamill, a live discussion moderated by Bass, will take place at 2 p.m. ET. This is a free event that does not require a festival pass to participate, but requires advance registration.
Cold Read鈥檚 final event, Draft/Pages, is a reading of Hamill鈥檚 brand-new play-in-progress 鈥淭he Piper鈥 directed the Meredith McDonough. 鈥淭he Piper鈥 was developed with the support of PlayPenn with the author as a Haas Fellow. The reading will be available to stream from midnight to 11:59 p.m. There will be a live virtual discussion with Bass, Hamill and McDonough at 8:30 p.m. ET.
Available throughout the week will be a video reading of a new play by Bass called 鈥淭he Cutaneous Rabbit Illusion.鈥 Directed by Hupp, the 30-minute one-act play stars Hamill and her husband Jason O鈥機onnell (鈥淎madeus鈥 and 鈥淭alley鈥檚 Folly鈥) as estranged lifelong friends who reunite at a wedding and confront the wounds, losses and resentments of the past, testing the resilience, dependability and adult emotional complexities of friendships forged in childhood. This special event is a fundraiser for the Cold Read Festival. It may be accessed free of charge with a donation suggested.
