The Company by Lex Thammavong
Mon, Jul 07
|The Proscenium Theatre at The Drake
In City X, a biotech giant threatens to consume homes, businesses, and lives. When it targets the last indie bookstore, activist Ash must rally their neighbors to fight back before it’s too late.
Time & Location
Jul 07, 2025, 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM
The Proscenium Theatre at The Drake, 302 S. Hicks Street, Philadelphia, PA 19102
About The Event
This reading is presenting as part of PlayPenn's 2025 New Play Development Conference July 5 -20
The Company
by Lex Thammavong
Directed by Brett Ashley Robinson
Dramaturg: Walter Bilderback
Foundry First Spark Reading presented in Partnership with Philadelphia Theater Company
In the dystopian food desert of City X, USA, no one’s quite sure who pulls the strings. Except for, of course, Ash, a leftist activist/puppeteer, but no one takes that weirdo seriously. That is until a mysterious “health/lifestyle/bioengineering conglomerate” called The Company sets up its new headquarters in City X. When The Company attempts to buy City X’s last remaining independent bookstore, “The Church”, in its first of many efforts to “transform” the neighborhood, suddenly Ash is tasked with organizing their neighbors of various ages, backgrounds, and political affiliations. Ash and their neighbors must act as a community before The Company devours their businesses, homes, or even worse: their flesh.
Lex Thammavong (they/she) is a playwright and singing actor with a BFA in Musical Theatre with a minor in Creative Writing from the University of the Arts. They're so excited to graduate from The Foundry! They're also a graduate and co-facilitator of PAPA Playwrights Project, a member of Delaware Shakespeare’s Artistic Squad, and have performed at various theaters in Philly and Delco. As a multidisciplinary artist, Lex loves telling provocative, cerebral, and darkly funny stories that push conventions of form.
About the 2025 New Play Development Conference
PlayPenn, a national new play development center based in Philadelphia, proudly announces the 2025 New Play Development Conference, taking place from July 5th to July 20th, 2025. For nearly two decades, PlayPenn has been a cornerstone of new play development, providing a vital platform for playwrights to create, collaborate and connect.
This year, the conference extends its reach beyond a single location to bring new plays into communities across four Philadelphia County districts, thanks to a groundbreaking collaboration with InterAct Theatre Company, Philadelphia Theatre Company, Philadelphia Young Playwrights, Power Street Theatre, Theatre in the X, and the Wilma Theater. The collaboration aims to foster greater sustainability in the arts by sharing resources and expanding audiences.