Wisconsin Wrights New Play Festival

Forward Theater Company has been doing its part to help develop new plays through the Wisconsin Wrights biennial competition. Three playwrights work with professional directors, dramaturgs and actors to develop their plays, with staged readings at the end of the week. This year the festival kicks off on May 16 with The Flying Corpse by Thomas Campbell; continues on May 17 with The Other Side by Amy Quan Barry; and concludes on May 18 with Anatomical Hearts by Lila Hovey. Read James Rhem’s preview here.

media release: 7:30 pm, May 16-18, Edgewood College | Diane Ballweg Theatre. A talkback follows each performance.

The goal of Forward Theater Company with Wisconsin Wrights is to support and develop new theatrical works by Wisconsin writers in a biennial festival. After a submission and extensive feedback process, selected playwrights rehearse with professional directors, dramaturgs, and actors to develop their plays, culminating in public readings at the festival. Each night is dedicated to a single play.

THE PLAYS:

May 16: The Flying Corpse by Thomas Campbell: Synopsis: In this dark comedy, the Cawdor family unites following the death of the family’s estranged patriarch. As they prepare for the funeral, their father’s outlandish burial demands force the family to examine their father’s abuse and their respective demons and to decide what kind of family they want to be moving forward.

May 17: The Other Side by Amy Quan Barry: Synopsis: Millennial couple Bao, a software architect, and Zinnia, a medical resident, turn to YouTube influencing to navigate a tricky financial situation. But are videos of their headless chicken, Frank, “eggsactly” all they’re cracked up to be?

May 18: Anatomical Hearts by Lila Hovey: Synopsis: Lucie Sharpe’s dreams came true when she was granted permission to attend lectures at Harvard Medical School, so when the opportunity is snatched away, she’ll do anything to get it back. Medical student Elijah Campbell keeps the world at arm’s length; as a trans-masculine person in 1850, solitude is safety. But when his life collides with Lucie’s schemes, he’s confronted with the terrifying possibility of intimacy. A queer historical dramedy about love, purpose, and medicine.