Lineup Announced For WET INK SERIES

Theatre East, a New York City based off-Broadway theatre company, in partnership with the Division of Theatre and the Meadows School at Southern Methodist University, will be launching the WET INK SERIES on Monday. The series of readings will include 7 new short plays by SMU students with mixed casts of students and professional actors. The new plays are inspired by the quote from the late John Lewis:

"Do not get lost in a sea of despair. Be hopeful, be optimistic. Our struggle is not the struggle of the day, a week, a month, or a year, it is the struggle of a lifetime. Never, ever be afraid to make some noise and get in good trouble, necessary trouble."

The partnership offers college students the rare opportunity to write roles for actors of all ages and see them performed by age-appropriate actors. It also allows the Texas-based students the chance to form a connection with a New York City professional theatre ahead of their graduation. Tickets are free and open to the public. The program will include:

Nov 9th, 7pm CT / 8pm ET

GRACE by Crislyn Fayson, directed by Mikaela Brooks. Featuring Yhá Mourhia Wright, Crystal Tigney & McKenna Dersam.

DELI by Anthony Gaetjen, directed by Judson Jones. Featuring Savier Losornio, Angelica McEwan & Felipe Carrasco.

NECESSARY TROUBLE by Dalton Glenn, directed by Lisa Devine. Featuring Debra Wassum & Carson Shofner.

Nov 10th, 7pm CT / 8pm ET

A SISTER IS GOD'S WAY OF MAKING SURE WE NEVER WALK ALONE by Stakiah Washington, directed by Shaun Bennet Fauntleroy. Featuring Lisha McCoy, Monique Letamendi & Tyne Dickson

THE LOST GOSPELS by Shyama Nithiananda, directed by Misti Wills. Featuring Camilla Frontain, Lyon Hamill & Ben Dawson.

TWO PONDS by Josh Leblanc, directed by Nick Piacente. Featuring Kate Rose & Sami Habib.

DUE SOUTH by Isa Muiño, directed by Kara-Lynn Vaeni. Featuring Rocío Mendez, Olivia de Guzman, Corey Finzel & Brady White.

Since the closing of theatre spaces due to the global pandemic, Theatre East has produced several successful online readings and productions, including their popular 5x5 Drama Series which was live streamed via Facebook and had over 30,000 views, far more than was previously possible. Since 2016, the 5x5 Drama Series has toured all five boroughs, utilizing non-traditional space like bars and rooftops. The move to virtual performance has further expanded accessibility for Theatre East's audience and given them a reputation for excellence in this New Medium.

Theatre East is a 501(c)3 nonprofit theatre company whose mission is to provide the community with a platform to deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world we share through works of theatre that utilize simple storytelling. The New York-based company believes that theatre is not a luxury, but should be accessible to all, regardless of economic or social status.

The company was founded in 2008 by husband-and-wife producing partners, Judson Jones (Artistic Director) and Christa Kimlicko Jones (Associate Artistic Director), along with Joseph Mitchell Parks, after producing such hits as the premiere of Christopher Durang's THE VIETNAMIZATION OF NEW JERSEY (NY Times Critic's Pick", and the premiere of Texas playwright David W. Crawford's HARVEST (BackStage Critic's Pick, Smith & Kraus Best New Plays of 2008), as well as earning a spot as producers to watch in 2008 on PBS's Theatre Talk. Since its founding, Theatre East has mounted such critically acclaimed New York and World Premieres as Tim Blake Nelson's EYE OF GOD, Daniel McIvor's THE SOLDIER DREAMS, Bennett Windheim's NORMALCY, Megan O'Brien's THE JUNGLE BOOK, DEVIL AND THE DEEP with original music and lyrics by Air Supply's Graham Russell, Cindy Williams' A NAME FOR A GHOST TO MUTTER, Lori Fischer's PETIE, and most recently the rare and critically praised revival of Romulus Linney's HOLY GHOSTS.

For more information or to make a reservation, go to www.theatreeast.org/production/wet-ink-series.