The Foundry is PlayPenn‘s three year membership program led by L Feldman and R. Eric Thomas that supports emerging Philadelphia playwrights with professional development, networking opportunities, and exposure as they launch their playwriting careers. Foundry graduates will present a workshop reading of their play. This year’s Foundry playwrights are: Robynne Graffam, Griffin Horn, Devin Randall, and Megan Schumacher.
The Foundry Graduate Readings
July 14 – July 16, 2023
The Drake Theater 302 S. Hicks Street, Philadelphia, PA
DEATH CAME BY MY DOORSTEP
Written by Devin Randall
Directed by Susan Dalian
Dramaturgy by Autumn Storm Blalock
Family is family is family is family… at least it used to be. But for one small family in one small home, the ties are falling at the seams. After skipping back home to mama’s house, Lyra and Luis are bemused. “Why did we come here?” “Where did mom go?” And who’s crying in the other room? You see, Lyra needs a favor, Luis needs a break, and Dedra needs to get out this tomb.
Cast includes: Ang(ela) Bey, Katrina Hall, Joyous Whitfield, Finn Irvin
REUNION
Written by Robynne M Graffam
Directed by C. Ryanne Domingues
Dramaturgy by Kirsten Bowen
Beth returns home for her twenty-fifth high school reunion, bracing herself to finally face the man who stood her up for her senior prom. Instead, she discovers a shocking lie her younger sister told all those years ago that forces her to question everything she’s come to believe about herself, her family, and what she thought would be her future.
Cast includes: Corinna Burns, Kelly McCaughan, Nancy Abrams Segal, Andrew Carroll, Joe Falcone, Bob Weick, Erin Markham
OUR HOPEFUL ANXIOUS HEARTS
Written by Griffin Horn
Directed by Che’Rae Adams
Dramaturgy by Alix Rosenfeld
Deb and Pen return to settle their mother’s estate after her death, only to find out that an old family friend, Es, and their mother were lovers. As Es struggles to be part of the sister’s lives, they sort out their mother’s legacy which includes longing, unachieved dreams, compromises, and regrets. Can they be a part of each other’s lives, given all that has transpired?
Cast includes: Colleen Corcoran, Parker Sera, Annette Kaplafka, Kate Orly Goldberg.
UNPRECEDENTED
Written by Megan Schumacher
Directed by CJ Miller
Dramaturgy by Quinn Eli
A Black woman, who with the help of her anthropomorphized conscience, tries to understand her own choices and why she responded to a discriminatory situation in the way that she did. Through the constant rehashing of the traumatic moment, the play asks the question:“How does our conscience serve us?” This dark comedy explores the subtle moments of racism, and the microaggressions that can haunt one for perpetuity.
Cast includes: Paul Guerin, Terry Guerin, Donovan Lockett, Rebecca Whitten, Noelle Diane Johnson, Regan Riehl