Year 2 Brings Increased Audience Accessibility and a Robust Expansion of the WOMXN on Fire Festival
October 4, 2018: Now in its second official year of supporting new works, today Keegan Theatre’s Boiler Room Series launches its international, national, and local searches for new plays. From thousands of entries, five plays will be selected to receive a workshop and free public staged reading complete with an audience feedback session. The Boiler Room Series lineup this season will highlight the five scripts selected for further development from the search, in addition to an exciting expansion of the WOMXN on Fire Festival.
“This year we wanted to double our focus on supporting the playwright and his/her/their process” says Boiler Room Series Producer Josh Sticklin. “An integral part of that process is feedback from a full audience. Thanks to the commitment of our Board, donors, patrons, and the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities, I’m thrilled to announce that all five of the public readings and talk-backs this season will be free to the public.”
Boiler Room Series kicks off with a rolling, international, 6-month search for new, full length plays in addition to a 3-month local search for the WOMXN on Fire Festival. Check out the Boiler Room Series landing page for submission instructions for both searches.
Keegan is also thrilled to announce the return and expansion of the second WOMXN on Fire Festival in February. Building on the overwhelming success and audience feedback of last year’s festival, the Boiler Room Series will devote an entire week of performances to this year’s festival and feature even more ten-minute plays as well as one-acts and full-length solo shows.
“Keegan is incredibly proud of the Boiler Room Series, and we’ve been overwhelmed by the positive response to this program,” adds Susan Marie Rhea, Keegan’s Artistic Director. “Boiler Room Series has enabled Keegan to continue to nurture emerging artists and give them a platform. It also adds a welcome balance to our main stage season. We’re committed to discovering new voices and providing a collaborative and inviting space for artists to create and push boundaries — and the audience support for this initiative has proven that DC theatergoers are eager and willing to take a risk on new works. It is our hope that the Boiler Room Series continues to expand in the seasons ahead.”
2018-19 Boiler Room Series Season
Monday, November 12, 2018 @ 8pm
New Works Staged Reading #1
At the beginning of the season, Boiler Room Series launched an international, national, and local search for new plays. Selected from hundreds of submissions, this play will be workshopped by Keegan’s Artistic Development Team and presented to the public as a free staged reading. Every staged reading is followed by a post-show discussion. Stay tuned – new works will be announced on a rolling basis.
Tuesday, December 18, 2018 @ 8pm
New Works Staged Reading #2
At the beginning of the season, Boiler Room Series launched an international, national, and local search for new plays. Selected from hundreds of submissions, this play will be workshopped by Keegan’s Artistic Development Team and presented to the public as a free staged reading. Every staged reading is followed by a post-show discussion. Stay tuned – new works will be announced on a rolling basis.
Monday, February 11, 2019 – Sunday, February 17, 2019 @ Various Times
WOMXN on Fire Festival
Boiler Room Series is pleased to announce the return and expansion of the WOMXN on Fire Festival. Building on the success and audience feedback of the 2017-18 festival, this year the festival will feature even more 10-minute plays, one-act plays, and full-length solo shows all fully staged in rep. Over the course of a week, audiences will have the opportunity to interact with an exciting and eclectic grouping of all new works by local, womxn playwrights. The full festival schedule will be announced in late December and ticket packages will be available then. See them all and stay for the post-show discussions after every performance.
Monday, May 20, 2019 @ 8pm
New Works Staged Reading #3
At the beginning of the season, Boiler Room Series launched an international, national, and local search for new plays. Selected from hundreds of submissions, this play will be workshopped by Keegan’s Artistic Development Team and presented to the public as a free staged reading. Every staged reading is followed by a post-show discussion. Stay tuned – new works will be announced on a rolling basis.
Monday, July 1, 2019 @ 8pm
New Works Staged Reading #4
At the beginning of the season, Boiler Room Series launched an international, national, and local search for new plays. Selected from hundreds of submissions, this play will be workshopped by Keegan’s Artistic Development Team and presented to the public as a free staged reading. Every staged reading is followed by a post-show discussion. Stay tuned – new works will be announced on a rolling basis.
Monday, August 26, 2019 @ 8pm
New Works Staged Reading #5
At the beginning of the season, Boiler Room Series launched an international, national, and local search for new plays. Selected from hundreds of submissions, this play will be workshopped by Keegan’s Artistic Development Team and presented to the public as a free staged reading. Every staged reading is followed by a post-show discussion. Stay tuned – new works will be announced on a rolling basis.
