Palm Beach Dramaworks Announces The New Contemporary Voices Series

Palm Beach Dramaworks has announced Contemporary Voices, a live online series featuring readings and discussions of plays by some of the finest playwrights working in theatre today, representing a cross-section of America. PBD will dedicate a month to each playwright, presenting three of his or her plays on three consecutive Monday evenings, followed each Wednesday with a discussion of the work by theatre professionals and community leaders.

The series launches with the spotlight on two-time Pulitzer Prize-winner Lynn Nottage. First up, on October 12 at 7:30pm, is Intimate Apparel (2003), which is scheduled for a full production when PBD returns to the theatre next season. Her Pulitzer Prize-winning Sweat (2017) follows on October 19, and Crumbs from the Table of Joy (1995) will be read on October 26. The Wednesday evening discussions, also at 7:30pm, take place on October 14, 21, and 28. Tickets are free, but reservations are required.

"Throughout this pandemic, we've given a lot of thought to how we can best continue to bring live, quality theatre to our patrons," said PBD Producing Artistic Director William Hayes. "Since April, we've been doing Zoom readings of new plays, works that are still evolving, and have developed a loyal audience. And we realized that not only could we expand our content, but we could use this time to do things that we could not do during the course of a normal season, like offer multiple works by a single playwright. Our subscription season is made up of five plays, and we look for diversity because we know that's what our audiences want. But doing one-time only readings, we can offer many more plays and have the luxury of delving into the work of a single playwright for a month. Thanks to Zoom, we also have the ability to hold a discussion about each play a few days after each reading because audiences don't have to travel anywhere to participate. They just have to turn on their computers. And it's all free.

"We decided that we want to spotlight significant, living American Playwrights from a variety of backgrounds, perhaps introducing our patrons to works they've never seen before. And certainly, at this moment in time, we've become more aware than ever before how important it is to hear from a range of voices and viewpoints. We're starting with Lynn Nottage because she's the only female playwright ever to have won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama twice. As our online season progresses, we will be showcasing additional playwrights."

Intimate Apparel will be directed by Jade King Carroll (PBD debut), and feature Rita Cole, Karen Stephens, Betsy Graver, Jacob Heimer, Shanna L. Woods (PBD debut), and Jovon Jacobs, with Laura Turnbull reading stage directions. Carroll will take part in the Wednesday discussion, along with Director of Education and Community Engagement Gary Cadwallader and Lorna Anderson James, managing director of Greywood Consulting and wife of West Palm Beach Mayor Keith James.

Sweat will be directed by Belinda Boyd and Crumbs from the Table of Joy by Reginald L. Douglas, both newcomers to PBD. Casting will be announced at a later date.

INTIMATE APPAREL (October 12, 7:30pm; Discussion October 14, 7:30pm)

In this heartfelt and heartbreaking work set at the turn of the 20th century, Esther is a 35-year-old African-American seamstress of exquisite intimate apparel who aches to love and be loved. An unlikely opportunity arises when she enters into a correspondence with a man she's never met. The play is a lyrical exploration of loneliness and longing, sweet dreams and bitter truths, determination and resiliency.

SWEAT (October 19, 7:30pm; Discussion October 21, 7:30pm)

Lives, friendships, hopes, and the American Dream unravel in this Pulitzer Prize-winning drama, when the plant that has long employed a tight-knit group of factory workers debilitates their union. Set in blue-collar Reading, PA, this searing and compassionate play is an all too timely and realistic cri de coeur on racism, the demonization of immigrants, and the disenfranchisement of the working class.

CRUMBS FROM THE TABLE OF JOY (October 26, 7:30pm; Discussion October 28, 7:30pm)

Following the death of his wife, a disconsolate Godfrey Crump moves with his daughters, Ernestine and Ermina, from Pensacola, FL to Brooklyn in 1950, after coming under the spell of a radio evangelist. Seventeen-year-old Ernestine is our guide through this warm memory play, a coming-of-age tale in which the sisters confront a cultural and racial divide and are challenged with new ideas including communism and interracial romance, as they seek to break free from their father's restrictive rules.

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