The ​Reading Theater Project Hosts Ninth Annual 5-Minute Fringe Festival

The ​Reading Theater Project​ has announced the ninth annual​ 5-Minute Fringe Festival: WONDER. This live theater production will feature new work by 12 playwrights and performers from around the region.  Performances begin Thursday, February 29th, and continue through Sunday, March 3rd, at the Yocum Institute for Arts Education’s black box Schumo Theater, 3000 Penn Ave., West Lawn, Pennsylvania, 19609.  All tickets are Pay What You Will, including $0, with a recommended price of $20.  For more information and to purchase tickets, visit: readingtheaterproject.org/5-minute-fringe-2024/

Reading Theater Project’s 5-Minute Fringe Festival is a platform for performing artists to create something new, to challenge expectations, to experiment and explore new ideas, and to connect with an artistic community. Each year the festival features new and exciting work; this year audiences can look forward to short plays, monologues, dance, and music, as well as pieces that intermix performance genres. 

“Our goal with Fringe is to give local performing artists a platform to develop new work. Many actors are used to performing the work of others, but creating new work is a unique challenge. With a goal of 5 minutes, new work becomes accessible to more people,” explained Artistic Director Vicki Haller Graff.  

Each night of the performance will be followed by a talkback so audience members can share observations and ask questions of the performers and writers. 

Playwrights and performing artists selected for the production include Andrea Kennedy Hart, Chris Heslop, David Nice, Andrew Pochan, Nadia Pochan, Adam Richter, Elaine Soltis, Beth Toner, Charles Troxel, Jessica C. Warchal-King and JCWK Dance Lab with Marty Bonk, Eric Williams. Pianist Andy Roberts will play throughout to link one piece to the next. The production will be directed by Vicki Haller Graff, stage managed by Sean Sassaman, and production managed by Jody Reppert.

The Reading Theater Project is a locally-focused, professional theater company, based in Greater Reading/Berks County, PA. We value collaboration and creative challenges and believe theater is an inclusive experience that can reveal our shared human condition. For more information, visit readingtheaterproject.org or call 484-706-9719.