Michigan Theatre Festival

The most collaborative single event in the history of Michigan theatre, the Michigan Theatre Festival is "a movable feast" as it is hosted each year in a different region of the state by participating theaters. This year, Plowshares Theatre Company, Planet Ant Theatre and Abreact Theatre join forces to host the event in Detroit. The Festival is a weekend-long series of staged readings of new and established plays.

PLAYS:

On Parenting by Kelly Rossi
“Have you ever thought about having children? They didn’t.” A hilarious and quirky look at
starting a surprise family, On Parenting follows the life of a young professional woman as she travels the path of a parent from her daughter’s conception during what was intended to be a one night stand through the early years of getting to know her daughter and the father to the
rough teenage “I hate your guts” days leading to graduation.

Senate Inappropriations by Barton Bund
It’s The Odd Couple meets The West Wing. Four Democratic Senators rent a Washington DC row-house to save money during the weekdays. Junior Senator Bill Evans is the newest member of the group, who quickly learns the seedy ins and outs of American politics. When his
housemates pull a practical joke against their Republican neighbors, a scandal arises that could
shake the foundation of the entire Democratic Party. Funny and sharp, this is a comedy for our
times.

Saying Kaddish with My Sister by Alison Luterman
This is the story of two sisters: Rahel is now an orthodox Jew and Lydia her younger sister is a performance artist/Comedienne in New York City whose work deals with family issues and is secular to the point of blasphemy. Their dying mother’s last words are "Girls, Don’t fight." By uncanny and hilarious means, even after death, their mother is determined to reconcile her warring daughters.

An Evening with Jack Kerouac by David A. McElroy & Steve A. Rowell
“I’m a good Catholic. I cannot kill myself so I’m going to drink myself to death,” Kerouac states
as he waits to be interviewed on national television. Set in the green room of William F.
Buckley’s syndicated television program, Firing Line, Kerouac shares with the audience his
deepest thoughts as only Kerouac can.

Freedom High by Adam Kraar
June 1964: black Civil Rights workers trained hundreds of white volunteers to register blacks to
vote in Mississippi. Jessica, a young white volunteer, and Henry, a wounded African-American
veteran of the Movement, experience the intense complexity of racism on a deeply personal
level. When everyone learns of the disappearance of James Chaney, Andrew Goodman and
Mickey Schwerner — three Civil Rights workers who’d been training the previous week — the
education of Jessica and the others becomes a terrifying test of faith.

Dr. Seward’s Dracula by Joseph Zettelmaier
A re-examination of the Dracula tale through the eyes of one of its supporting characters. The
supernatural and the psychological collide to determine the real truth, as young Dr. Jack Seward
must learn if the horrors await him in the outside world, or within the depths of his own mind.

The Homegoing by Erick Q. Irvis
Its been three years since the Clay family have been compelled to get together. The reason then
was the death of their father. Needless to say, it didn’t go well. Now, Sonya, John-Hugo and Juanita
finds themselves together once again prompted by another funeral, that of Sonya’s baby. They
will be dealing with all of their unresolved issues and secrets that have torn their family apart.

The Nature of Flight, by Dennis E. North
Weaving through time and space, this play follows Joshua through years of his turbulent
relationship with Jordan – they’re seemingly “just right” for each other – until their dreams,
fears and ambitions turn their worlds upside down. At the same time, we see Joshua through
the eyes of 3 of his closest friends, and follow the parallels in their journeys as all 5 people
struggle to take the lives they lead and reconcile them with the lives they want.