Everyman Theatre is introducing “Script Tease,” a series of pay-what-you-choose readings of new works by regional playwrights, starting in November.
The 2024/2025 season of “Script Tease” features two playwrights from Baltimore, a D.C.-based playwright, and a Baltimore-based associate artistic director and playwright. Audiences have the unique opportunity to have an early look at new plays while peeking behind the curtain into the creative process of playwriting while providing local creatives with the chance to bring their stories to life.
The four plays in this year’s series include “Glitter in the Glass” by R. Eric Thomas (playwright of Everyman’s 2022 production of “Crying on Television”), “Trouble (At the Vista View Mobile Home Estates)” by Audrey Cefaly, “The Sandwich Ministry” by Miranda Rose Hall, and “Dawn” by Tuyết Thị Phạm (playwright of Everyman’s 2022 production of “Dinner and Cake”).
The readings will take place in Everyman’s second-floor performance space on select Monday evenings. Each play will be performed as informal readings, giving the audiences the chance to experience them in an intimate, unpolished setting. The stories explore themes including love, loss, challenges of belief, and finding one’s identity amidst struggles.
“These four fantastic plays ask proactive questions about a wide range of human experiences,” said Noah Himmelstein, Everyman Associate artistic director. “In collaborating with the artistic team on the curation of this series, we were drawn to these bold voices, whose work is all very different in style and feel, to create a joyful and eclectic series celebrating new works by writers in our region.”
Fulfilling Everyman Theatre’s commitment to accessibility, tickets for “Script Tease” will be offered on a Pay-What-You-Choose basis. This sliding scale allows people to attend a reading for as little as $5, ensuring price is not a barrier to this unplugged theater experience.
There are also ticket packages available for the full series with tickets to all four staged
readings in one simplified purchase. Following a similar Pay-What-You-Choose model, these packaged offerings will be priced at a three-tiered rate of $50, $75, and $100, with a special bonus-experience package offered at the suggested price of $200.
“We’re excited to present this additional programming not only as a complement to our main stage productions, but as additional access points for those looking to engage deeper into the world of theatre,” said Marissa LaRose, managing director at Everyman Theatre. “New plays readings offer a fabulous opportunity to hear stories in their infancy, and a chance for audiences to be in the room first. At Everyman, it is important to us to provide pay-what-you-choose access for our programming and choosing to have all tickets for this series as pay-what-you-choose felt like the best way to provide equitable access to this unique opportunity.”
“Script Tease” is not the first time Everyman Theatre has showcased new works with a reading series. They previously hosted the Salon Series, which showcased plays written by women for three consecutive seasons from 2016-2019, which had many sold-out performances.
The 2024/2025 “Script Tease” Reading Series Lineup is as follows:
Glitter in the Glass
By R. Eric Thomas
Monday, November 4, 2024 – 7PM
The story of Chelle, a Black mid-career artist who is running out of steam as she attempts to replace a Confederate monument in Baltimore with her artwork. Complications involve family, friends, and reconnecting with her childhood home.
Trouble (At the Vista View Mobile Home Estates)
by Audrey Cefaly
Directed by Paige Hernandez
Monday, December 16, 2024 – 7PM
Set in a fictional mill town in Alabama, this story depicts the strained relationship
between a former mill worker, Euba, and her mother, Bernie. The narrative unfolds during
Euba’s reluctantly celebrated birthday party, involving her pregnant friend Lila, best friend Fin, and security officer YoYo. The play addresses the struggle of working class women, and deals with mental health, addiction, and motherhood. It’s the 4th installment in Cefaly’s Alabama Cycle. (The Gulf, Alabaster, Maytag Virgin).
The Sandwich Ministry
by Miranda Rose Hall
Directed by Tuyết Thị Phạm
Monday, Feb 17, 2025- 7PM
A small town. A once in a century storm. Three women gather to make sandwiches for
neighbors who have been displaced from their homes by floods. As they contend with the
damage of the storm, they learn what brings them together and threatens to tear them apart. Is their friendship strong enough to make it through the night?
Dawn
by Tuyết Thị Phạm
Directed by Raymond Caldwell
Monday, Apr 7, 2025- 7PM
Mary, a first-generation Cambodian American, struggles with guilt, anger, and grief of
generational trauma as she tries to unpack her parents’ experiences as survivors of the
Cambodian genocide under the Khmer Rouge and Pol Pot, having lost their first child in a bomb raid. Mary’s parents, one Catholic and one Buddhist coped differently with their grief, and Mary must find a way to reconcile her own beliefs and with theirs to find a path to healing.
For more information and tickets, please click this link.
