2018 Conference Tickets

5:00PM: The Garbologists (Reading #1) by Lindsay Joelle

Danny’s a white, conservative, proud union member of the DSNY. Marlowe’s the Black, liberal, ivy-educated newbie who just joined his sanitation route. When they find something on the curb too valuable to throw away, they’ll be forced to reevaluate in each other what they mistook for trash.

8:00PM: Tha Chink-Mart (Reading #1) by Ray Yamanouchi

In a small, suburban town in Long Island, New York, five Asian American teenage friends battle through high school—where they’re marked as Asians—and their ethnic home fronts—where they’re too American. Finding solace only among each other, they attempt to define for themselves what it means to be an Asian in America… for better or for worse.

5:00PM: Bruise & Thorn (Reading #1) by J. Julian Christopher

Bruise and Thorn work at a busted-up old laundromat in Jamaica, Queens. Bruise dreams of becoming a chef. Thorn dreams of changing the face of Hip Hop with his unabashed Queerness. When finances become strained, they get caught up in an illegal cockfighting ring led by their boss, Mrs. Gallo, sending them on a magical ride to make their dreams come true and get the hell out of Jamaica. Bruise & Thorn is an authentic look at a Nuyorican street family, not through bloodline, but rather the social and economic indicators that naturally selects them to one another.

8:00PM: You, the Fire, and Me (Reading #1) by Sevan K. Greene

Tommy, Jules, and Omer are tired of their worlds, their countries, their governments, and their families. They’re tired of being invisible. They’re tired of being disenfranchised. They’re tired of being no one. They’ve found a supportive family with one another and found the solution to their problems: Joining a terrorist organization. A coming-of-age story for a new generation, You, the Fire, and Me asks how far you would go to have your voice heard and to finally be seen as someone rather than just anyone.

5:00PM: Kids Drop (Off) (Reading #1) by Dominic Anthony Taylor

A group of parents have a collective “staycation” while their first graders are on a field trip. They get together because all parents need a moment of tension release. This day of relief is broken when Ado, the mother of a child that died a month ago, arrives. This play asks; how we can take care of ourselves and each other at the same time?

8:00PM: Dimenticar (Reading #1) by Mattie J. Hawkinson

A loving father of three daughters has gone missing on his way to work. His car is found at the bottom of the river and the circumstances of his death don’t add up. The local police think he ran away, but nobody knows why. People crack under pressure all the time, but sometimes they do it in the most remarkable ways. This play asks, “Why would you ever leave your family? And if you did dare to leave home, what would bring you back again?”

7:30PM: Down in the Holler by Val Dunn (Foundry Reading)

Deep in a holler of the Shenandoah Valley, Juniper prepares to spend a perfect life in a perfect cabin with her perfect partner, Blake. Until Maeve appears. Telling tall tales and crooning high lonesomes, Maeve beguiles Juniper return to Gin – a past self who once lived and loved in this here house. As Juniper attempts to exorcise her pursuit of passion and maintain the stable life she’s created with Blake, Down in the Holler witnesses a collision of class and queerness, ultimately asking how we reconcile who we were and who we thought we would become.

The Foundry is PlayPenn’s professional development and membership program for emerging Philadelphia-area playwrights.

7:30PM: Joan by Stephen Belber

Joan is a play about the entire life of a woman named Joan.

8:00PM: The Garbologists (Reading #2) by Lindsay Joelle

Danny’s a white, conservative, proud union member of the DSNY. Marlowe’s the Black, liberal, ivy-educated newbie who just joined his sanitation route. When they find something on the curb too valuable to throw away, they’ll be forced to reevaluate in each other what they mistook for trash.

8:00PM: Tha Chink-Mart (Reading #2) by Ray Yamanouchi

In a small, suburban town in Long Island, New York, five Asian American teenage friends battle through high school—where they’re marked as Asians—and their ethnic home fronts—where they’re too American. Finding solace only among each other, they attempt to define for themselves what it means to be an Asian in America… for better or for worse.

2:00PM: Intern Playwright Ten-Minute Plays

Each summer we invite six interns from across the country to learn the ins and outs of new play development by working alongside our Conference playwrights. In addition to taking on a supporting role in every area of our work, they have the opportunity to write, revise and rehearse a 10-minute play written under the instruction and guidance of award-winning playwright and Education Director, Jacqueline Goldfinger. During the final week of the Conference, we have the pleasure of hearing six ten-minute plays, written by PlayPenn’s 2018 Interns and performed by Conference actors. These young artists are the future of the American theatre and their plays are a highlight of each year’s Conference.

4:00PM: You, the Fire, and Me (Reading #2) by Sevan K. Greene

Tommy, Jules, and Omer are tired of their worlds, their countries, their governments, and their families. They’re tired of being invisible. They’re tired of being disenfranchised. They’re tired of being no one. They’ve found a supportive family with one another and found the solution to their problems: Joining a terrorist organization. A coming-of-age story for a new generation, You, the Fire, and Me asks how far you would go to have your voice heard and to finally be seen as someone rather than just anyone.

8:00PM: Bruise & Thorn (Reading #2) by J. Julian Christopher

Bruise and Thorn work at a busted-up old laundromat in Jamaica, Queens. Bruise dreams of becoming a chef. Thorn dreams of changing the face of Hip Hop with his unabashed Queerness. When finances become strained, they get caught up in an illegal cockfighting ring led by their boss, Mrs. Gallo, sending them on a magical ride to make their dreams come true and get the hell out of Jamaica. Bruise & Thorn is an authentic look at a Nuyorican street family, not through bloodline, but rather the social and economic indicators that naturally selects them to one another.

2:00PM: Dimenticar (Reading #2) by Mattie J. Hawkinson

A loving father of three daughters has gone missing on his way to work. His car is found at the bottom of the river and the circumstances of his death don’t add up. The local police think he ran away, but nobody knows why. People crack under pressure all the time, but sometimes they do it in the most remarkable ways. This play asks, “Why would you ever leave your family? And if you did dare to leave home, what would bring you back again?”

5:00PM: Kids Drop (Off) (Reading #2) by Dominic Anthony Taylor

A group of parents have a collective “staycation” while their first graders are on a field trip. They get together because all parents need a moment of tension release. This day of relief is broken when Ado, the mother of a child that died a month ago, arrives. This play asks; how we can take care of ourselves and each other at the same time?