Reading Theater Project Reveals Season of Wonder

 The ​Reading Theater Project​ has announced the next season of new and locally inspired theater and performance, all centered around the theme of “Wonder.” 

Highly theatrical and beautifully told, Silent Sky by Lauren Gunderson opens our season. It will be performed at the Yocum Institute of Arts Education in West Lawn from November 2 to 5, 2023. The true story of 19th-century astronomer Henrietta Leavitt explores the idea that social progress, like scientific progress, can be hard to see when one is trapped among earthly complications; Henrietta Leavitt and her female peers believe in both, and their dedication changed the way we understand both the heavens and Earth. This production will be directed by Andrea Kennedy Hart.

Following is the 9th Annual 5-Minute Fringe Festival, this year with the theme of “Wonder” to match the season theme. What do YOU wonder about? Does the word inspire feelings of awe or doubt? Performers and playwrights from around the region push their personal creative boundaries to create new work for the Fringe around this theme, presented in one show, opening February 29, 2024, and playing through March 3, 2024, at the Yocum Institute in West Lawn. The director of this year’s Fringe is Vicki Haller Graff, and the stage manager is Sean Sassaman.

Our Play Reading Series this spring will connect to the season’s theme of “Wonder” and will feature three plays by local and regional playwrights. Each is performed as a staged reading followed by a facilitated talkback with the playwright, director, and actors. Literary Manager Adam Richter will coordinate the series, which will be held on three Thursday evenings, April 11, April 25, and May 16, at GoggleWorks’ Boscov Theatre.

As always, our BCTV show, Reading Reading, where we talk with local playwrights and read new plays, will continue in the odd months on the third Tuesday at 6:30pm. It’s always available on our YouTube channel. 

Auditions for our fall production, Silent Sky, will be held Tuesday, August 29, 6:30pm, with callbacks scheduled for Thursday, August 31, 6:30pm. Auditions will be at Holy Cross United Methodist Church, 529 N. 5th Street, Reading, PA.  Free parking and the entrance are available at the back of the building, off the Church Street alley. 

More information about the roles, plays, director, overall production, and the audition sign up form are available on our website, readingtheaterproject.org. All actors are paid a stipend. 

All productions this season will follow the Pay What You Will Model: an audience member can choose their own price for a ticket, including $0.  The recommended price is $20, and we encourage those who are able to pay the $40 Pay It Forward price.  This ticket pricing model is part of our Theater For All initiative to make theater more accessible to all audiences. Tickets are already available at readingtheaterproject.org or by calling 484-706-9719.

Productions this season have received funding from the Reading Musical Foundation and the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, a state agency funded by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, administered through Berks Arts.  

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