2008-2009:  Visions & Voices: 2008 New Play Reading Series  |  Dream of a Common Language  |  The Hermit Bird  

 2007-2008:  Death of Ayn Rand / A Bed of My Own  |  Mankind’s Last Hope  |  Candide 

 2006-2007:  Love on the Edge: New Play Reading Series  |  Orphans 

 INAUGURAL SEASON:  Threepenny Opera 

 

 

 

VISIONS & VOICES: 2008 New Play Reading Series

 

Monday nights, July 14 – August 4

 

Four nights of staged readings featuring new works by Bay Area playwrights, selected from over sixty submissions. 

 

At Virago’s bi-annual reading series, audiences come hear exciting unpublished and unproduced plays by local artists, and give us their feedback. We will choose a piece or two for full production in a future season. From this series, The Afterlife of the Mind, by William Bivins, was selected for production and will be staged in the of Fall 2009.

 

 

Member, Actors' Equity* 

July 14

DEATH IN VAN NUYS

 

Written by Dan Pine

Directed by Tracey Rhys

 

Julie’s Coffee and Tea Garden

1223 Park Street, Alameda

 

In this intimate comedy, a lifetime of regrets work themselves out when Mike, a middle-aged divorced man, moves in with his dying father -- a former stand-up comedian and unrepentant communist. But it takes Mike's rebellious teenage son and a dedicated hospice nurse to open the gates of healing.

 

FEATURING: David Abrams, Michaela Greeley, Robert Lundy-Paine, George McRae*, Michael Moerman, and Andree Toussaint

 

 

July 21

THE AFTERLIFE OF THE MIND

 

Written by William Bivins

Directed by Laura Lundy-Paine

 

MONART Drawing Studio

1918 Encinal Avenue, Alameda

 

Noted philosopher Harry Pengrove is dying. After a botched brain transplant, Harry's wife Lydia pushes the limits of medical science to save his extraordinary mind. Shocking, funny and poignant, this is one story that will get under your skin.

 

FEATURING: Magenta Brooks, Tony Jonick, Emily Jordan*, Robert Lundy-Paine, Dennis McIntyre, George McRae*, Tracey Rhys, and Dan Wilson

 

 

July 28

SHOOT O'MALLEY TWICE

 

Written by Jon Brooks

Directed by Robert Lundy-Paine

 

Crosstown Community Center

1303 High Street, Alameda

 

In 1957, Billy Future is not only the champion "Odds-Evens" player in New York City, he also sees deep into the fabric of space and time. But a new challenger called The Savannah Kid is about to alter his understanding about the very nature of reality, and threaten the existence of everyone he knows and loves.

 

FEATURING: Cynthia Baggot, Magenta Brooks, C. Conrad Cady, Alex Goldenberg, John Hilinski, Tony Jonick, Sam Leitcher, Dorian Lockett, Luke Moran

 

 

August 4

THE EDGE

Written by Morgan Ludlow

 

THE SCRATCH

Written by Morgan Ludlow

 

IN HOUR IN TIME

Written by VB Leghorn

 

Directed by Angela Dant

 

Frank Bette Center for the Arts

1601 Paru Street, Alameda

In THE EDGE, Shawn Hornbeck is back home after a four and half year abduction that has made national headlines.  But half of him is still "on the other side of the woods" and he's not sure how he can truly pick up where he left off.

 

Three generations of women wrestle with the demons invading their lives.  Ledith confronts "The Sandman", Arlene is chasing the ghost of her father, and Estelle must face the ultimate battle of her life with THE SCRATCH.  

 

While driving under the influence of drugs and alcohol, Afia hits Simon as he waits for a tow truck on the side of the road.  When he becomes lodged in her windshield, Afia must choose whether to save his life or preserve her own. AN HOUR IN TIME is based in part on a true story

 

FEATURING: Tamar Cohn, Molly Holcomb, Dorian Lockett, Laura Lundy-Paine, Alec Mathieson, Tracey Rhys, Tamiyka White, and Dan Wilson

 

     
 
 
 
Lucid dreams and lost opportunities haunt Clovis, a woman in search of her artistic identity. In her insatiable quest to be taken seriously as an artist and to join her male counterparts in the Impressionist movement, she is driven to extremes. A passionate and daring story with a powerhouse ending.
   
 

DREAM OF A COMMON LANGUAGE

Written by HEATHER McDONALD

Directed by RACHEL LePELL

Produced by Special Arrangement
with Samuel French, Inc.

 

PRODUCTION DATES

November 7-22, 2008

 

All performances at

RHYTHMIX CULTURAL WORKS

2513 Blanding Avenue, Alameda

 

CAST . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Clovis: ANGELA DANT

Victor: STEVE BUDD

Pola: LAURA LUNDY-PAINE

Marc: MICHAEL CAPPELLI

Dolores: ADRIENNE KRUG

Mylo: HANK SMITH

 

CREW . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Stage Manager: Wameq Mohmand

Set Design & Construction:  Hilma Kargoll

Light Design: Alecks Rundell

Sound Design: Ryan Short

Costume Design:  Magenta Brooks

Props:  Hilma Kargoll

Paintings:  Debra Cramer

Photography: Luis A. Solorzano

Box Office Manager:  Tracey Rhys

Front-of-House Coordinator:  Eileen Meredith

House Managers:  Robert Lundy-Paine & Jennifer Roberts

 

     
 
 
   
 

Photos by Luis A. Solorzano

Marketing Image by Edna Cabcabin Moran

 

A fresh and startling world premiere from Los Angeles playwright John Byrd about the surrendering of dreams, the soul and spirit of water, and the purity of an isolated young woman who witnesses the secrets of the past and future from a tattered couch in a beat-up trailer home. Secrets, long buried desires and haunted visions drive a rural family to the brink of disaster, where a choice must be made about who survives and what must be sacrificed.

   
 

THE HERMIT BIRD

Written by JOHN BYRD

Directed by MICHAEL C. STORM

Developed by playwright John Byrd and Virago Theatre Company from one-act play to full-length stunner

 

PRODUCTION DATES

March 6-28, 2009

 

All performances at

BRIDGEHEAD STUDIO

2516 Blanding Avenue, Alameda

 

CAST . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(in order of appearance)

Missy: MOLLY HOLCOMB

Linda: ANGELA DANT

Roger: ROBERT LUNDY-PAINE

Tom: HAROLD PIERCE

 

CREW . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Stage Manager:  Hilma Kargoll

Set Design:  Michael Storm

Light Design:  Alecks Rundell

Sound Design:  Ryan Lee Short

Costume Coordinator:  Eileen Meredith

Choreographer:  Siobhan Doherty

Props:  Hilma Kargoll

Photography:  Luis A. Solorzano

Box Office Manager:  Tracey Rhys

Front-of-House Coordinator:  Eileen Meredith

House Manager:  Jennifer Roberts