ABOUT THE
MICHIGAN PLAYWRIGHTS FESTIVAL
Theatre NOVA focuses on new plays and new playwrights and is dedicated to working with new and local playwrights to help them develop their craft and to offer brand new plays for audiences. We created the Michigan Playwrights Festival to nurture Michigan playwrights and to develop full-length plays for future seasons. Plays that were products of Michigan Playwrights Festivals that have received their world premieres at Theatre NOVA include "Eclipsed: The Sun, The Moon, and Gladys Atkinson Sweet" by D. L. Patrick, "Mazel Tov, John Lennon" by David Wells (Wilde Award for Best New Script), "Resisting" by David Wells (Wilde Award for Best Original Production), "Mrs. Fifty Bakes a Pie" by Linda Ramsay Detherage, "Clutter" by Brian Cox (Wilde Award for Best New Script), "Irrational" by R. MacKenzie Lewis and David Wells (Wilde Award for Best New Script), "Katherine" by Kim Carney (Wilde Award Nomination for Best New Script), "Spin (aka Swimming While Drowning)" by Emilio Rodriguez, and "Bird" by Kristin Hanratty.
2025 MICHIGAN PLAYWRIGHTS FESTIVAL
September 11-14, 2025
“I Am A Sword” by Joseph Zettelmaier
Sept. 11 @ 8pm
Martine Lowe was an Olympic fencer until a brutal assault put her into a coma. Her recovery has been long and difficult, but she's managed to regain most of what she's lost. In hopes of returning to the competitive fencing world, she's begun training with Declan Teague, a man famous for his prestigious students and his unusual teaching methods. Martine moves in and out of reality as she faces the truth of what's happened to her and what it means to be a sword. Directed by Josie Herman.
“Matrescence” by Jennifer Lane
Sept. 12 @ 8pm
Margot is an unmarried, pregnant, queer woman in her thirties, and she has to tell her ultraconservative Republican parents that she's having a baby. Using the structure of pregnancy, childbirth, and the fourth trimester, Matrescence is a story of motherhood in the modern era.
“Look at Me Now” by Jill Halpern
Sept. 13 @ 3pm
In this dramatic exploration of James Baldwin's quote "I am what time, circumstance, history, have made of me, certainly, but I am also much more than that— so are we all..." a yin-meets-yang lesbian couple, an orphaned Black teen, and a third-generation White supremacist on Death Row are all dutifully playing their assigned roles— or trying— when a brush with death calls each to break free from the prison of fixed identity, from habitual ways of seeing and being seen, and find the grace in becoming.
“Blue Star Highway” by Andrew Morton
Sept. 13 @ 8pm
Blue Star Highway is an exploration of love, secrecy, and the impact of choices across generations. In 1994, William, a closeted high school teacher, meets Ben in the lakeside town of Saugatuck, Michigan and begins to imagine a different kind of life. Thirty years later, William’s children and grandchild arrive in Saugatuck for a funeral and discover the life their father lived after he left them. As past and present collide, they are forced to confront the past and redefine the meaning of family.
“These My Queens” by Sarah Elisabeth Brown
Sept. 14 @ 2pm
A 90s baby dyke performance artist falls in love with a budding drag queen and questions her sexuality.
2024 MICHIGAN PLAYWRIGHTS FESTIVAL
August 21-25, 2024
The Crown Forum by Craig Ester
Wednesday, August 21 at 8:00 pm
On the week before his high school graduation Littlejohn Wallace is struck with questions of family, faith, and loyalty as he steps into manhood. Directed by Lynch Travis.
Cast:
Cassius Merriweather- Littlejohn Wallace
Princess Jones- Cheryl Rogers
Darius Franklin- Big John Wallace
Kelli Williams- Zelma Wallace
LaVette Paige Quick- Geraldine Rogers
Damon Curtis Nathan- Willie James
David Moy- Arnold Nelson
Emergency Protocol Camouflage by Erin Osgood
Thursday, August 22 at 8:00 pm
Set in 2190, a widowed mother (Natalie) struggles to raise her neurodivergent son in the new world as the government orders her late husband’s gene editing procedure to be performed on all individuals with disabilities with a goal for a happier, more productive society. Possible death and personality alterations does not deter the government, leaving Natalie struggling to protect her son. Directed by Emily Lange.
Cast:
Alex Meyer- Nicky
Carrie Jay Sayer- Natalie
Jim Moll- Lawson
Jeannine Thompson- Beth
Jenna Kellie Pittman- Devine
Allison Megroet- Tess
Cora Lynn Beauty Can Change Your Life by Maureen Paraventi
Friday, August 23 at 8:00 pm
Two women assigned to be hotel roommates at a multi-level marketing company’s convention make an effort to connect with each other, despite their obvious differences. By the play’s end, both women have lost a great deal – but have also found common ground that will change their lives forever. Directed by Sarah Elisabeth Brown.
Cast:
Lindsey Brown- Harlene
Breon LaDawn- Stacey
Shattered Pieces by Joël Doty
Saturday, August 24 at 2:00 pm
An artist on death row and her correctional officer, develop an unusual friendship through art, when they discover both their lives have been struck by mental health tragedies. Directed by Kez Settle.
Cast:
Maggie Gilkes
Sheila "Mac" Peck
Heather Hudson
Meg Berger
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Eclipsed: The Sun, The Moon, and Gladys Atkinson Sweet by D. L. Patrick
Saturday, August 24 at 8:00 pm
On the night of September 9, 1925, Gladys Atkinson Sweet was arrested and charged with first-degree murder, along with her husband, Dr. Ossian Sweet, and nine other African Americans following the attack on her Detroit home by more than 700 white neighbors. Although much has been written about Dr. Sweet and the two Sweet trials, litigated by Clarence Darrow, this play imagines the perspective of Gladys Sweet and the women who populated her life. It is about what women do, and have always done, in the shadows. Directed by Lynch Travis, dramaturgy by Olivia Kiefer.
Cast:
Princess Jones- Gladys Atkinson Sweet
Diriest Crowell-Buffington- Rosella Mitchell
Shanice Davis- Edna Butler
Emily Wilson-Tobin- Madame Curie/Ruby Darrow
Deborah Carter- Dora Sweet
Darius Franklin- Walter White
Swamp Creatures by Michael Alan Herman
Sunday, August 25 at 2:00 pm
Three estranged siblings reunite in the Amazon Jungle to hunt a mysterious creature that killed their father, but as they delve into the jungle’s secrets and their own familial trauma, their bloody quest for revenge transforms into a deeply personal journey of self-reflection and familial identity. Directed by Josie Eli Herman.
Andy Jones- Alan
Callie Bussell- Susan
Daniel Santilana- Jessie
2022 MICHIGAN PLAYWRIGHTS FESTIVAL
September 30 - October 9, 2022
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Our Place by Quan Chambers
Carter and Meech long ago decided to call one place all their own, but what happens when two unique souls stumble upon it? Will their lives change forever?
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Nuns at the End of the World by Catherine Zudak
In the near future, Sister Clare is trying to keep her spirits up on the island of Nun’s End. A weather catastrophe in the early days of Lent has cut her and her Sisters off from the mainland of Ireland. As they await the return of their priest with news and supplies, they run short on food and hope. They begin turning on each other. Will the Good Father return in time for Easter and bring peace back to their little cloister? Only God knows.
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From Mars, Earth Looks Like a Star by Meg Richards
The play is about two friends. One has been chosen to join the first human settlement on the planet Mars- but the other has not, and so they must say goodbye.
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Small Slam by Arnold Johnston and Deborah Ann Percy
Two couples - Karl and Barbara, Joel and Ellen - meet regularly to play bridge. Unfortunately, Barbara’s terminal illness causes various simmering problems - including career frustrations and suspicions of infidelity - to erupt into open conflict. Contributing to humor and tension are the play of actual bridge hands, a magazine sex survey, and the thematic counterpoint of Christopher Marlowe’s Edward II, in which Karl plays the title role in a university production.
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Divided Boxes by RD Wakeman
Fred has lost his job and his mind, again. It seems to him that someone is watching him, messing with his life, and pulling the strings. His wife blames him. Fred was never the same after he disappeared years ago. Fred is about to discover his puppeteer.
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Spaceling by Michael Alan Herman and Josie Lapczynski
A painter named Nathan Kensington struggles to keep an alien lifeform hidden in his house amid a budding scientific investigation. But, as NASA and independent scientists circle closer and closer, Nathan might not be able to keep his new otherworldly friend safe from humanity. As a love letter to classic science-fiction, Spaceling explores what it means to be human, and what it means to be the dominant species on earth.
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The Growing Season by Steve Clark and Tom Emmott
The Growing Season, a musical, tells the story of a grieving family reconnecting with each other and the land. Time spent rebuilding a rundown farm reminds each family member of who they are and what is important in their lives.
2020 MICHIGAN PLAYWRIGHTS FESTIVAL
Covid Impacted​​​
The Absent Minded by Joe Zarrow
Boyd is stuck in his head. He can't concentrate on his drone-piloting work, on his relationships, or even on sex. When his wife Monica issues him an ultimatum to work on his mental health, Boyd turns to a mad scientist to give his brain a literal out-of-body experience. Will it be enough to save Boyd and Monica's marriage? A dark sci-fi comedy about the mind-body problem. Directed by Kaitlyn Valor Bourque.
Lois Bipolar and the Esoteric Scotch Tapes by Rachel Keown Burke
A woman compartmentalizes her personality and her perceived role within her family to hide a devastating genetic trait that may or may not be passed down to her daughter. She also enjoys Breaking Bad, popcorn, and call-in shows on NPR. Directed by Briana O'Neal.
Small Slam by Arnold Johnston and Deborah Ann Percy
Two couples—Karl and Barbara, Joel and Ellen—meet regularly to play bridge; Barbara’s terminal illness causes various simmering problems—including career frustrations and suspicions of infidelity—to erupt into open conflict. Contributing to both humor and tension are the play of actual bridge hands, a magazine sex survey, and the thematic counterpoint of Christopher Marlowe’s Edward II, in which Karl is playing the title role in a university production. Directed by Rachel Keown Burke.
Spaceling by Michael Alan Herman and Josie Lapczynski
A painter named Nathan Kensington struggles to keep an alien lifeform hidden in his house amid a budding scientific investigation. As NASA and independent scientists circle closer and closer, Nathan might not be able to keep his new otherworldly friend safe from humanity. As a love letter to classic science-fiction, Spaceling explores what it means to be human and what it means to be the dominant species on earth. Directed by Michelle Resnick.
The Growing Season by Steve Clark and Tom Emmott
The Growing Season, a musical, tells the story of a grieving family reconnecting with each other and the land. Time spent rebuilding a rundown farm reminds each family member of who they are and what is important in their lives. Directed by Megan Bush.
2018 MICHIGAN PLAYWRIGHTS FESTIVAL
July 25 - 29
Sex and Innocence by Emilio Rodriguez
Wednesday, July 25 at 8:00 pm
After hours, inside a fictional museum for 1950’s Hollywood plastic figurines, a statue of Rita Moreno comes to life and runs into a statue of Marlon Brando. When Rita’s statue discovers that she is tucked away in the basement of the museum and remembered as merely a sex symbol instead of an Oscar-winning actress, she attempts to re-brand herself while simultaneously confronting her tumultuous relationship with Marlon. Can she change how she is revered, or will her interactions reaffirm the very image she seeks to shatter? Directed by Emilio Rodriguez.
Hollywood Lies by Jackie Sue Salter
Thursday, July 26 at 8:00 pm
A story of friendship amidst the Hollywood blacklist, "Hollywood Lies" presents 1948 Hollywood where a just-past-her-prime actress attempts to revive her stalled career. Directed by Brian Cox.
Under Ceege by Jeffry Chastang
Friday, July 27 at 8:00 pm
Following the death of her father, a retired hospital worker finds herself not only at odds with her son, in the middle of a lottery lucky streak, but also at a financial disadvantage as she struggles to buy the home she’s lived in all of her life. Directed by Lynch Travis.
Dirt by Kristin Andrea Hanratty
Saturday, July 28 at 8:00 pm
All that Saundra wants to focus on during her sixth year of college is parties, avoiding school work and herself. But after she returns from a road trip to the Southwest, she finds herself plagued by the pains of others and the mysterious substance found in a hole of a New Mexican church. Directed by Aliyah Kiesler.
Dirty Glass by Micealaya Moses
Sunday, July 29 at 2:00 pm
Teenaged Meghan returns home a year after running away and has to find a way to fit herself into her old life. Meghan and her community grapple with their own responsibility concerning Meghan's choices in a world that often doesn't see young black girls as children and refuses to acknowledge when they have been victimized. Directed by Casaundra Freeman.