The Actors’ Reading Collective Hosts Outside the Box Summer Reading Series

The Actors’ Reading Collective will return with the third annual summer reading series Outside The Box. Presented in the company’s signature acclaimed style of staged readings with large-cast ensembles of all-star Bay Area and National talent, this year’s series builds on our community partnerships to offer each play in two Bay Area theatre locations, in San Francisco and Berkeley. Outside the Box 2025 delivers an exciting array of storytelling, from comedy and tragedy to mystery and family drama. 
 

This summer’s series kicks off with The Thin Place, a minimalist ghost story exploring liminal spaces. Emilie Talbot directs award-winning playwright Lucas Hnath’s spine-chilling mystery. Second in the series is Tony winner Appropriate, recently extended on Broadway. Leontyne Mbele-Mbong directs this dark family drama by MacArthur genius and Pulitzer Prize winner Branden Jacob Jenkins. The third play of the summer brings a poignant father-daughter road trip in The Best We Could. Timothy Redmond directs this Edgerton Foundation New Play Award recipient. The summer reading series concludes with Recipe, a comedy about The Morning Glory Baking Circle for Revolutionary Self Defense. Ansley Valentine directs this political comedy by ARC’s very own award-winning playwright, actor and director Michael Gene Sullivan.  

This summer’s Outside the Box staged reading series explores themes of facing death, facing who we are in life, moral ambiguity, love, family relationships and social change. Born in these recent years of instability and unrest, ARC believes in the power of storytelling to remind us of our common humanity. We find comfort, catharsis, hope and joy in exploring these themes together, in community with the audience.

Each play features the outstanding talents of the Actors Reading Collective: 

The Thin Place: Michelle Apriña Leavy, Ron Chapman, Amy Kossow, Danielle Levin