WRITER'S DEN SERIES: SEASON 9

Our Writer's Den series celebrates and cultivates the talents of prominent and promising local writers in the form of staged readings, workshop productions, and special events. 2018 - 2019 marked our fifth Writer's Den series, and once again we were blown away by what KC artists brought to the table.


STAGED READINGS
 

The Plume by Mike Rice

I’m Not Rick Springfield by Vicki Vodrey

Loons by Sarah Aptilon

The Man Without a Country by Dan Born

Shellshock by Anne Welsbacher

A Night of 10 Minute Plays,
featuring works by Marilyn Carpenter, Mark Mattison, Diane Hightower, Stewart Lewis, Angela Hagenbach, and Michael Phillips

Our Children of the Past by Emmeline McCabe

Supreme / Being: The Musical by Grace Suh

The Summer House by Christie Kennard

(Is your work missing from this list?
Email us at marketing@thelivingroomkc.com and let us know!)

 


 
The Plume.png

The Plume
by Mike Rice
February 17, 2019

Following a deadly chemical plant explosion in West Virginia, two lawyers, a court reporter, a custodian, and the plant owner find themselves trapped in an office building. Tensions rise and tempers flare as the truth behind the disaster is uncovered. Will they be rescued? Or will they do each other in first?

 

 
I'm Not Rick Springfield.png

I’m Not Rick Springfield
by Vicki Vodrey
February 17, 2019

No description available.

 

Loons
by Sarah Aptilon
March 10, 2019

Vanessa takes her children on a family vacation at a summer lake house, which starts out on a discordant note and goes increasingly awry with each passing day. When a seemingly kind and insightful stranger arrives at the house, new information about the family comes to light, resulting in a struggle no one could have foreseen.

Loons by Sarah Aptilon.png

The Man Without a Country
by Dan Born
March 11, 2019

Young Army officer Philip Nolan falls under the spell of Aaron Burr during the early years of the 19th century. His fiance, Aurora Rutledge, is not so enamored. Tensions boil over when he is arrested and tried for treason, resulting in a sentence of never being allowed to hear of The United States again.

 

 

Shellshock
by Anne Welsbacher
March 17, 2019

Summer 1920: Women's suffrage is almost within grasp, veterans suffer post-WWI ravages, and immigrants endure lingering xenophobia. An Ohio housewife joins forces with her suffragist sister and an ambitious nurse to help her shellshocked husband and a bitter German-American physician face the promises of a new century.


A Night of 10 Minute Plays
March 18, 2019

Ominous Cumulus Nimbus by Marilyn Carpenter

Flush by Mark Mattison

Uneven Space by Diane Hightower

A Very Different Night by Stewart Lewis

Reaching Back by Angela Hagenbach

And another new play by Michael Phillips.


Our Children of the Past
by Emmeline McCabe
April 1, 2019

Barcelona in 1943 is still feeling the reverberations of trauma from the Spanish Civil War, but Isabel Salazar has managed to find stability after years of involvement in the heated politics of her community. Now her past is coming back to haunt her in the form of a malevolent military officer looking to tear all of her secrets into the open until she has nothing left.


supreme being_banner2.png

Supreme / Being: The Musical
by Grace Suh
April 8, 2019

When the surprise finalist of the TV talent search show The Choice Supreme turns out to be a refugee from North Korea, things escalate fast. Suddenly the safety of the country and even the world may be at stake. But to look on the bright side, ratings have never been higher. Supreme / Being : The Musical tells the story with the same tools favored by the North Korean regime: catchy tunes, flashy choreography, fantastical imagery, world-ending nuclear threats, show-stopping power ballads, and literally captive audiences. As one critic said, "It's the bomb!" (Or maybe: "It's a bomb!")


The Summer House
by Christie Kennard
May 6, 2019

Kate Eastman is determined to make friends with her neighbors, Mrs. Woodson and Mrs. Howard, newly arrived in Nashville in 1881. Little does she suspect they are the wives of outlaws Frank and Jesse James. Trouble starts when a Missouri gang member, Bill Ryan, arrives to lend the husbands a hand.

The Summer House_Banner.png

Our annual No Sleep November 24-hour playwriting event was cancelled this season due to inclement weather. Below is a list of artists who were scheduled to participate.

Writers: Nathan Jackson, Emma Carter, Forrest Attaway, Emmeline McCabe, Lewis Morrow, and Curtis Smith

Actors: Ben Auxier, Cecilia Ananya, Christy Courville, Katie Gilchrist, Larry Goodman, Jake Golliher, Nicole Hall, L. Roi Hawkins, Casey Jane, Matt Lindblom, Lydia Miller, Bryce Ostrom, Keenan Ramos, Roan Ricker, Elissa Schrader, Austin Taylor Smith, Amy O'Connor, and Jessi Burkette.