The Literary Series Returns

Presented at, and in partnership with Harlem Stage

Playwrights’ Playground

Jan 27, 2025, 7 PM at HARLEM STAGE
RSVP (FREE)


 

In this dynamic evening of new theatrical voices, emerging playwrights share their works-in-progress with a live audience. Scenes are read aloud by actors cast on the spot. Actors: please arrive by 6:45 PM

Future Classics

Feb 24, 2025, 7 PM at Harlem Stage
RSVP (FREE)


 

No History by Reynaldo Piniella is a solo theater piece about Arturo Schomburg, a man who crossed oceans in a quest to preserve our history. This diasporic journey will fill us up with cornbread before transporting us to the frontlines of the fight for Cuban and Puerto Rican independence, the streets of New York City during the Harlem Renaissance, and back to the kitchen where it all began. We will experience the music of the Caribbean, the joy of eating soul food for the first time, the poetry of Harlem and rediscover San Juan Hill, the community that was uprooted to build Lincoln Center. With guest appearances from Billie Holiday, Langston Hughes and W. E. B. DuBois, this coming of age story will make us celebrate our shared history and inspire us to save our grandmother’s recipes.

Future Classics

Mar 24, 2025, 7 PM at Harlem Stage
RSVP (FREE)


 

Nina Ki’s A DEMON INSIDE, a fantastical drama with a dab of Asian horror.

Rory, an elderly hoarder, lives alone, visited only by her daughter Julia. Then one day, she finds a locket in the dump that is haunted by a demon. The demon begins taking over Rory’s mind and home, and Rory comes to believe it is the spirit of her other (deceased) daughter, Franny. The demon demands that Rory give it her soul – wracked with guilt, Rory acquiesces, until an encounter with Julia forces Rory to make a decision about whether to live in the present, or die with the ghosts of the past.

Literary Classics

MISSION

At the core of the Classical Theatre of Harlem’s Literary Series is the belief that theater has the transformative power to challenge the status quo, connect disparate worlds of thought, and, ultimately, change the world. Thus, we are invested in the development of work that shifts the conversation around representation in the theater and are dedicated to providing a platform for those voices traditionally underrepresented on the American Stage.

CTH’s Literary Series is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, the Jarvis & Constance Doctorow Family Foundation and the Axe-Houghton Foundation.

 

PLAYWRIGHTS’ PLAYGROUND

Selected playwrights submit 10-12 pages of a new work in the early stages of development. Actors are cast on the spot and perform a cold reading, followed by a moderated audience feedback session. In addition to serving the development of new work, these readings give audiences a sneak peek into how new plays are created.

 

FUTURE CLASSICS

CTH asserts that a “Future Classic” promotes courageous and open-minded examination of controversial and critical topics that are at the heart of society. Designed for the emerging professional playwright, Future Classics offers participating writers the opportunity to showcase their new completed works and receive dramaturgical feedback.  Participants work with CTH’s resident dramaturge, a professional director and a dedicated group of actors to showcase a new full-length play.

FOR PLAYWRIGHTS


 

Submit your work to Ms. Shawn René Graham, Literary Director at shawnrene@cthnyc.org. No phone calls please.