Dear Friend,

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

As you know, we’re currently in rehearsal for our virtual coproduction of William Luce’s The Belle of Amherst, starring Margery Lowe, which will stream from April 2 – April 6. Margery shared her thoughts on Emily Dickinson and her approach to the iconic poet in an interview that you can access here. 

We also want to remind you about a couple of other upcoming events. A week from tonight, at 7pm on March 24, the 10 winning plays of our fourth annual Young Playwrights 10-Minute Play Contest will be read by professional actors in a live Zoom presentation. The contest was open to students in grades 9-12 throughout Palm Beach County, and the winners were chosen by a group of theatre professionals.

Our next Drama(in the)works reading takes place on Monday, March 29 at 7:30pm, when we present Here Comes the Night by Lisa Kenner Grissom. Casting will be announced next week. When Olivia invites her old friend, Maggie, to spend the weekend and provide support through a difficult event, the women’s opposing worldviews lead to unexpected ramifications for both of them. What happens when a woman’s right to choose becomes a litmus test for all of her life choices?

Tickets to the contest and Drama(in the)works are free, but reservations are required. Tickets for The Belle of Amherst are $30 and all proceeds will benefit PBD and Actors’ Playhouse. You can learn more about The Belle of Amherst on March 26, when Dramawise takes you inside the play and behind the scenes. Tickets for Dramawise are $15. Those of you who are already subscribed to the 2021-2022 season receive complimentary tickets to both events. You can make your reservations at www.palmbeachdramaworks.org or by calling the box office at 561.514.4042, x2.

Macy’s and Kids’ Dreams are the sponsors of the Young Playwrights 10-Minute Play Contest. Mark and Diane Perlberg are the executive producers of our virtual play readings; Penny Bank and Roe Green/The Roe Green Foundation are the associate producers. PBDonline is sponsored by Louise and Barry Snyder. Sandra and Bernie Meyer are the sponsors and associate producers of The Belle of Amherst.
 
Please consider donating to PBD. With your support, we can continue to offer a variety of programs virtually and preserve our reserve funds as we await the return to our live, mainstage performances later in the year.

Stay safe!
Wednesday, March 24 at 7:00pm

The 10 winning plays of our fourth annual Young Playwrights 10-Minute Play Contest will be read by professional actors in a live Zoom presentation.

The winning playwrights, in alphabetical order:
Jaynie Curzi       American Heritage School  The United States in Five Minutes
Felicity Dillow     Royal Palm Beach High School Frayed Ends
Alexa McCulla    The Benjamin School         Fall From Grace
Amanda Miller    American Heritage School     Lacuna
Lauren Ortega    Dreyfoos School of the Arts   Sinner
Murleve Roberts Dreyfoos School of the Arts   In the Wake of Fermin de los Santos
Carlyn Serpone  Jupiter High School          The Terathe Tribe
Sunaina Singh    Dreyfoos School of the Arts     Invisible Demarcations
Barrett Vargas    Jupiter High School         Ghosts of Graduation Past
Emma Young      Oxbridge Academy           The Party Bathroom


Sponsored by:
Macy's and Kids' Dreams
Here Comes the Night by Lisa Kenner Grissom
Monday, March 29 at 7:30pm

When Olivia invites her old friend, Maggie, to spend the weekend and provide support through a difficult event, the women’s opposing world views lead to unexpected ramifications for both of them. What happens when a woman’s right to choose becomes a litmus test for all of her life choices?

Lisa Kenner Grissom is a Boston-born, LA-based playwright whose work explores complex social issues through intimate relationships, often through the lens of complicated women. Her multiple award-winning short film Tattoo You is based on her award-winning one-act play of the same name (Samuel French Off Off-Broadway Short Play Festival winner), and has been screened at national and international festivals. Full-length plays include Here Comes the Night (Garry Marshall New Play Festival finalist), Four Chambers (Jean Kennedy Smith Playwriting Award winner, Kennedy Center; O'Neill Playwrights Conference finalist), Motherland (Jewish Plays Project finalist, Princess Grace Playwriting Fellowship semi-finalist), Building the Perfect Chair (TRU Voices finalist). Lisa's work has been recognized as a finalist at the Ashland New Plays Festival, The Lark, Playwrights' Center, and for the Actors Theatre of Louisville’s Heideman Award. Her work has been presented and/or developed at The Kennedy Center, Antaeus Theatre, Boston Playwrights' Theatre, Chalk Rep, Clurman Theater, Collaboraction, Inkwell Theater, Moving Arts, Manhattan Theatre Source, Road Theatre, and more. lisakennergrissom.com 
Sponsored by:
Mark and Diane Perlberg, Executive Producers
Penny Bank, Associate Producer
Roe Green and The Roe Green Foundation, Associate Producer

THE BELLE OF AMHERST
FRIDAY, APRIL 2-TUESDAY, APRIL 6

Based on the life of Emily Dickinson, this one-woman show tells the story of the independent, enigmatic, reclusive, witty poet through her letters, verse, and the playwright’s rich imagination, interweaving the voices of friends, family, and acquaintances to create a vivid portrait of the artist.

Sponsored by
Sandra and Bernie Meyer, Associate Producers
Please consider donating to PBD. With your support, we can continue to offer a variety of programs virtually and preserve our reserve funds as we await the return to our live, mainstage performances later in the year.