Reading
Series
LOUANNA O. CARLIN & JOHN MCDONALD READING SERIES
Each season The Acting Company hosts a series of staged readings. Our 2024-2025 performances are an exciting showcase of our artistic alumni and their explorations of new texts, classics of the canon, and forgotten favorites.
This series is generously underwritten by Richard J. Reilly, Jr.
Spell #7
By Ntozake Shange
Directed by Ann C. James
October 21, 2024
In association with Hedgepig Ensemble Theatre as part of Expand the Canon’s 4th Season
A striking choreopoem by the playwright of for colored girls who have considered suicide / when the rainbow is enuf, this bold play examines the irony of Black performers in a white-led entertainment industry. Written in the 1960s, its language and intent are blisteringly relevant to this day.
The Shadow of a Gunman
By Seán O'Casey
Directed by Ian Belknap
November 4, 2024
Set against the backdrop of the Irish War of Independence, this is a tale of a young poet who lets the rumor that he is an IRA assassin run wild as he enjoys the mysterious allure this lends him in the eyes of his neighbors, including a young woman. Moving from the comedic to the tragic, this is one of O’Casey’s Dublin Trilogy, exploring conflict, national identity, and the human cost of revolution.
The Tragedy of Hoffman
By Henry Chettle
Directed by Nathan Winkelstein
January 27, 2025
In association with Red Bull Theater as part of their Revelation Readings
The captivating story of a young man seeking to avenge the murder of his father with the help of a diabolical servant. He joins the household of his enemies, enacting convoluted plots of deceit, betrayal, poisoning and violence to pursue his ends. But unchecked vengeance has a way of catching up with you. This is a gripping tale of revenge and betrayal that sweeps an audience along to a conclusion not to be missed.
Orlando and Virginia
Adapted and Directed by Kevin Kuhlke
Music by Heather Christian
February 17, 2025
Loosely based on Virginia Woolfe’s fictional biography Orlando, as well as writing by and about Virginia Woolfe, this openhearted text playfully embraces the fluidity of identify, location, and time as only the theatre can.
A Clockwork Orange
By Anthony Burgess
Directed by Kent Gash
March 17, 2025
An authoritative adaptation of the controversial and provocative book by the author, Anthony Burgess, himself, this theatrical text is filled with "ultra-violence," capturing the chaotic tone of the novella in a dramatic experience both dystopian and satirical.