Bay Area Playwrights Festival 2021

After such a wonderful experience in the fall/winter of 2019/2020, I joined the national reading committee again for the 2021 Bay Area Playwrights Festival. The performances for this year’s festival began this past weekend and will continue this weekend. While I didn’t read any of the scripts that were selected this year, I am watching them and have enjoyed the ones I’ve watched so far. I’d love to highlight some other scripts that stood out to me from this year’s submissions. All scripts are linked to their New Play Exchange pages. I highly recommend signing up for a New Play Exchange account (if you haven’t already) and taking some time to read these scripts and the many other fabulous scripts on the site.

The After by Erin Osgood

I was so pulled into the story I read the entire script in just over a half-hour. I had to know what was going to happen next. The twists and turns were not even close to predictable. I loved it! This script is so relevant right now. The end of the play creates a great opportunity for further discussion of the topics after the end of the script. The best plays are the ones that start the conversations, not end them. This is definitely a conversation-starting script.

Night Shift by Gabriella Bonamici

The character entanglement was fascinating and unexpected. I enjoyed the realistic supernatural genre of the play. The unbroken cycle of a child becoming a parent is a fascinating commentary.

Last Gleaming by David Preece

The structure of this script is very interesting. Each administration takes place in its own act and they don’t really all come together until the final act. I love the political genre and the final act focusing on Nixon. It has a lot of mirroring to our country’s recent history. As a daughter of a history teacher, historical plays tend to hold a special place in my heart.

Smite Me by Edmund Sabato

The dialogue and commentary on religion are very fascinating. I appreciated the arc that each character went through by the end of the script. This playwright has a lot to say. Abortion and religion are very hot topics right now. This is a great way to continue that conversation.

I love being a part of reading opportunities like this. I love little more in life than advocating for playwrights and their new works. If you’re looking for readers for your festival, let me know!