WHAT: On the Boards ’25: “Jane Austen Ruptured My Spleen” + “Glaucman’s Syndrome” & On the Boards ’25: Table Read Sunday
WHEN: Friday and Saturday, June 27 and 28, 7p.m. (doors at 6:30 p.m.); table reads Sunday, July 29, 3 p.m.
WHERE: The LAVA Center, 324 Main St., Greenfield
MORE DETAILS: https://thelavacenter.org/on-the-boards/
TICKETS: https://www.tixtree.com/o/lava
CONTACT: info@thelavacenter.org or 413-376-8118
GREENFIELD, MA — The LAVA Center is proud to present our third annual festival of new play readings by (mostly) local playwrights, “On the Boards.” Get a glimpse into the process of making theater, in this festival of readings of new works in several stages of development.
The festival concludes this weekend with two separate programs: “Jane Austen Ruptured My Spleen” and “Glaucman’s Syndrome” on Friday and Saturday, June 27 and 28, 7 p.m. and Table Read Sunday on Sunday, July 29, 3 p.m.
Friday and Saturday, June 27 and 28, 7 p.m.
“Jane Austen Ruptured My Spleen” was written by James Anthony Merolla and is directed by Jill Franks and performed Liza Manchester and Will Quale. A single modern woman, a former romantic, has been permanently soured, cynically ruined, by the frilly depths, the impossibly romantic notions, breathless whispers, and, ultimately, the empty promises of true love spilled into and out of her sensitive heart via Jane Austen novels she has read 100 times.
“Glaucman’s Syndrome” was written by Sam Rahman and is directed by Glenda Cresto and performed by Harold Burnett, Jill Franks, Katie Hertel, Simon Huynh, Will Quale. and Nicole Winot. Married couple and doctors, Jolie and Scott plan to spend a weekend with Jolie’s brother Trevor, sister-in-law Stephanie, and mother Sally. The political moment gets in the way.
Sunday, July 29, 3 p.m.
Playwrights presenting 15-minute slices of their work as table reads for targeted feedback. Directed by Ash Goverman and performed by Cynthia Claudio, Erin Fitzgerald, Hia Ghosh, Justin “Ryn” Griffin, Lindel Hart, Sally Howe, Penney Hulten, Simon Huynh, Sandy Kalmus, Liza Manchester and Clara Witty.
3pm:
“The Voices” by Eva Schegulla – As Sheila struggles to finish a novel, the voices of her main literary inspiration, her protagonist, and her inner critic challenge her choices.
“Consensuality” by Karina Lutz – Consensuality explores the interrelationship of nonviolence and sexual relations, birth control and sexual assault.
“Dreamzzz” by Ezra Prior – A local actor gets a lead role in a play but has obsessive compulsive disorder which causes scenes to come into dreams, creating confusion based drama.
4:30pm:
“Muse-aterium” by Deborah Kearney – Set in a Kenyan village of orphans, an arboretum desires to share the joy of its paths and plantings.
“No Sweat” by Howie Faerstein – A 20s something (straight) couple enter a cafe on a summer day. The woman feels there’s something amiss about her partner. Confusion reigns.
“Travel Whore: The Backside of International Relations” by Jo-Anne Hart – The humor of private anxiety and the costuming disasters underlying the seriousness of being a woman in conflict mediation in a dangerous world.
Plays take place at The LAVA Center, 324 Main St., Greenfield. Doors will open at 6:30 p.m. and start at 7 p.m. Tickets are on a sliding scale of $8–35, with a $2 option for Card to Culture participants. Friday and Saturday’s plays will also be viewable online, on demand for one month. Advance tickets can be purchased at https://www.tixtree.com/o/lava.
More details about the festival are available at https://thelavacenter.org/on-the-boards.
On the Boards ’25 is made possible by grants from the Massachusetts Cultural Council and the local cultural councils of Amherst, Bernardston, Buckland, Conway, Gill, Greenfield, Leyden, Northfield and Shelburne.
The LAVA Center is a community arts space in Greenfield, MA whose mission is to create opportunities and build inclusive community in and through the arts and humanities. We are focused on making The LAVA Center a space where all artists, including marginalized communities and individuals, can have their voices heard. The LAVA Center is located at 324 Main St., in downtown Greenfield, MA. https://thelavacenter.org
