The Wordshop

A month-long workshop and celebration of new scripts! Get a look at brand new plays!

During the month of November, four new works will be given a development process with The Plagiarists that will culminate in a weeklong workshop and public staged readings at Jarvis Square Theatre. The goal is to offer playwrights some of the most precious things in storefront theatre: space, time, collaborators, and an audience. Each week, new projects will take the stage, offering audiences a season’s worth of new shows in the space of a few weeks and playwrights a chance to have their work seen and heard. After a few years of online interaction, we believe that time spent in the room together - with both collaborators and audiences - is invaluable.

 All tickets are Pay What You Can! ($10 suggested)

***All Performances are BYOB, so feel free to bring a beverage to enjoy during the reading!***
 

For any ticketing information, please call 773-963-7721.

Schedule of events:
 

WEEK ONE
Elephant by Leah Roth Barsanti
directed by Claire Bauman

In 1927, an open air train station, in Spain, Phillip gives Jig a choice: have an abortion and continue to travel the world with him as his wife and muse, or keep the baby at the expense of the relationship.

This feminist adaptation of Ernest Hemingway's "Hills Like White Elephants," explores the two futures associated with Jig's two options. One leads to a future as a wife in America, the other as a mother in Italy. However, both options leave her unfulfilled. Ultimately, this play is about the choices women have, the way we are represented in literature, and our ultimate search for happiness and autonomy.

Friday, November 3 - 8 pm
Saturday, November 4 - 8 pm
Sunday, November 5 - 2 pm

Featuring:
Christy Cutts
Shane Rhoades
Madison Hill
Kelsey McGrath

Click on the CAST and CREATIVES buttons above to read about the artists! 

WEEK TWO
Shadows of Truth by Jillian Leff
directed by Lexi Saunders

Katie and Evey are best friends that run a small, religious, charter school in Sugarland, TX. After getting in trouble one day, Mary, a problem student who is also a major donor's daughter, accuses Katie and Evey of being in a secret lesbian relationship. The fallout leaves Katie and Evey with no one left but each other, and wondering whether there might be hidden truths about their friendship that they've never considered. Drawing inspiration from Lillian Hellman's "The Children's Hour," the play explores how far LGBTQ+ liberation has come, while at the same time still feeling like we are still trapped in the 1930s.

Friday, November 10 - 8 pm
Saturday, November 11 - 8 pm
Sunday, November 12 - 2 pm
 

Featuring:
Reagan James
Alice Wu
Sarah Wisterman
Liz Sharpe
Justine Serino
Stephen McClure
Andi Muriel
Dani Martinez
Theresa Liebhart

Click on the CAST and CREATIVES buttons above to read about the artists! 


WEEK THREE
Work in Progress by Alexander Utz
directed by Christina Casano

Judy, an illustrator, arrives at an artist residency in the middle of a beautiful state park. It's her first residency and she's hoping to work on her art, to make connections with the people she meets, to feel like she's actually an artist. But something's holding her back - whether that be the podcast about hustle-culture creativity she's constantly listening to, the strangely aloof park director, or a simmering tragedy she's avoiding back at home. A play about artistry, imposter syndrome, and healing that explores how we can be better to ourselves and each other.

Friday, November 17 - 8 pm
Saturday, November 18 - 8 pm
Sunday, November 19 - 2 pm

Featuring:
Reagan James
Jordan Gleaves
Ky Anderson
Grant Brown
Clara Byczkowski
Stephen McClure
Julia Stemper 

Click on the CAST and CREATIVES buttons above to read about the artists! 


WEEK FOUR
Akiko and The Unknown by Devon Hayakawa
directed by Grace Dolezal-Ng

With nods to the whimsy and wonder that Studio Ghibli films encapsulate, and classic stories of fantastical worlds such as Peter Pan or Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Akiko and the Unknown is the adventurous tale of three siblings who fall up into the sky one stormy night, and find themselves instantly wrapped up in a foreboding prophecy concerning the vast darkness consuming a kingdom in the clouds.

Friday, December 1 - 8 pm
Saturday, December 2 - 8 pm
Sunday, December 3 - 2 pm

Featuring:
Stephanie Fonheiser
Carina Lastimosa
Reilly Oh
Madison Hill
RJ Silva
Sam Linda
Clara Byczkowski
Aja Singletary
Christopher Thomas Pow
Christina Casano

Click on the CAST and CREATIVES buttons above to read about the artists! 

THANK YOU to everyone who purchased raffle tickets! And congrats to all of the winners!

Prizes include:
Stage sides seats to Drunk Shakespeare

2 tickets to any Steppenwolf Theatre production in the 2023-24 Season

$100 gift card from Revolution Brewing and a swag bag, 
which includes two glasses, two koozies, a hat, and a tote bag
 
$25 gift certificate to Carina's Cupcakery

Prize pack from Eris Brewery and Cider House, including a $25 gift card, a bottle of apfel ort dry cider aged in Malort barrels, two glasses, and four pack of Van Van Mojo blueberry cider

4 tickets to The S Paradox from Babes With Blades

2 tickets to any Second City show Sunday-Thursdays

2 tickets to The Plagiarists production of When You Awake You Will Remember Everything! followed by drinks with playwright Gregory Peters

2 tickets to What The Weird Sisters Saw at Idle Muse Theatre 

2 tickets to Raven Theatre's 41st season

$25 gift card from Women and Children First bookstore

2 tickets to Caveman Play and 2 tickets to Hamlet from Red Theater

2 tickets to any show from Trap Door Theatre

2 tickets to Love Song from Remy Bumppo Theatre

2 tickets to any Timeline Theatre production

2 tickets to a future Theatre Above The Law production

2 tickets to a Saint Sebastian Players production

…and much more!

New items being added to the list of prizes daily!

The Wordshop Image created by Sir Green Pea Studios

Special Thanks to our Show Sponsor, R Public House!
Be sure to meet up with your friends after the performance there - right across Jarvis Ave!

The Plagiarists steal from literature, visual art, history, and the culture at large to create new theatre that finds the familiar in the strange, the unique in the commonplace and ultimately enlarges the world.

For any ticketing information, please call 773-963-7721.