The Strand Continues its Second Saturday Series with Developmental Stages

The Strand Theater Company continues our first annual Second Saturday Reading Series. The Reading Series will give one new playwright each month, a chance to have their work produced for an audience. The series will be FREE to the public, and audience members will be asked to provide feedback to the playwright.

This month's play (Saturday, November 12 at 2pm - A MATINEE!): Developmental Stages by Emily Hall and Sara Anne Simpkins

Developmental Stages (inspired by Erik Erikson) are short stories about death and loss. The stories are told from the perspective of a young girl falling asleep in a church service. The piece uses puppetry, music, and the Good Book to give the experience of growing up and knowing death, like an imaginary friend. If nothing else, Developmental Stages will make you laugh.

The piece blossomed from a workshop with Holly Hughes, and was developed this year in Juanita Rockwell's New Works class at Towson University.

About the playwrights:
Emily Hall is a 22-year-old Maryland native. Most recently, she worked as a videographer at Performance Space 122 in Manhattan, where she filmed acts by Philip Glass, Elevator Repair Service, the Wooster Group, and others. In that same building, at that same time, she worked on Modicums Festival, produced by Towson University, hosted by Mabou Mines. Recent local credits include directing for 10 Minute Play Fest and performing in Solo Performance Extravaganza at the Bell Foundry. She received a BA in Theatre/French from Goucher College and is currently an MFA Theatre candidate at Towson University.

Sara Anne Simpkins was born in Canada and raised on the Oregon Coast. Local credits include The Drowsy Chaperone (Kitty) at Dundalk Community Theatre, The Secret Garden (Ayah) at Cockpit in Court, Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing (Fudgie) and Seussical The Musical (Mayzie) at Red Branch Theatre, and The Producers (Ulla) at DLC Summer Stage. Offstage, Sara works as a technical writer.

The Strand Theater's Second Saturday Reading Series is free and open to the public. NO reservations required. Doors open a half hour prior to the performance.

The Strand Theater is dedicated to providing opportunities for women artists, writers, designers and directors. With a focus on producing original works, the Strand hopes to foster a love of theater for a new generation of patrons. strand-theater.org