Local adjudicated performances give budding playwrights their first curtain call
When people think about playwrights getting their big break, they might conjure lights going up on stages in Los Angeles or New York. But Dayton has its own launchpad for aspiring authors whose names might be found on a Playbill one day.
Since 1991, Dayton Playhouse has sponsored FutureFest, a weekend festival promoting playwrights and their new works. Each year, six plays are selected as finalists by the FutureFest playreading committees. Those chosen playwrights are brought to Dayton as special guests. “New York and regional theater professionals adjudicate the plays (presented as fully staged or staged readings) and select the winner,” says Fran Pesch, FutureFest program director. “Playwrights benefit from professional adjudications, networking opportunities and speaking with our very knowledgeable and supportive FutureFest audiences.”
Theater-goers will be able to see these never-before-seen, one-time-only performances July 15-17 during the 2022 FutureFest, which will take place at Dayton Playhouse, 1301 E. Siebenthaler Ave. (located inside Wegerzyn Gardens MetroPark).
This year, 378 scripts were submitted. Each script is guaranteed a minimum of three reads. Roughly 18 committee members select the semi-finalists, then a second committee chooses the final six plays for FutureFest. “In addition to local playwrights, submissions were received from throughout the U.S. including Hawaii and Washington D.C., France, Canada, England and Ireland,” Pesch says.
While not every finalist gets the chance to take their show to a larger stage, many of the plays throughout the years have achieved some level of commercial success, including two movies. “Farragut North,” (2005) by Beau Willimon was optioned for “The Ides of March” (2011), and “N” (2016) by Adrienne Earle Pender became “The Black Emperor of Broadway” (2020).
When the last curtain drops on July 17, FutureFest will have produced 189 scripts since 1991.
How to go: FutureFest, July 15-17, Dayton Playhouse, 1301 E. Siebenthaler Ave., Dayton; https://wordpress.thedaytonplayhouse.com; (937) 424-8477.
