CHC Kicks off Summer Theatre New Works Festival

Publish Date: Aug. 18, 2022

The Crafton Hills College Theatre Department is bringing the heat this summer with its 3rd annual New Works Festival. The department invited playwrights from around the world to submit 10-minute and one-act plays to be performed over a 7-week period. This year’s theme is “Messages and Memories,” stories about dreams, passing along collective memories and experiences, as well as associated topics.

Attendees can par ticipate online via Zoom or in person in an intimate black box theatre set in the Performing Arts Center, designed specifically for the festival.

The student ensemble is responsible for the entire production: casting, performing, set design, costuming, stage lighting, and audio. Students will even direct entries -- under the supervision of theatre department head Paul Jacques.

The festival is unique as playwrights are invited to participate in a talkback session on the evenings when their play is performed. Three of the playwrights

chosen for opening night attended via Zoom. Bill Brohaugh and Lisa Holt, writers of “Hope Springs A Turtle” and Arianna Rose, writer of the “Do Over,” participated in the post-show talkback via Zoom. The students and audience wasted no time in asking the playwrights questions, and the playwrights asked questions in return, creating a shared moment of feedback as well as admiration. Arianna Rose (“Do Over”) shared that this was the first time her play was ever performed.The festival is an exciting experience for the students, playwrights, and attendees alike.