For 2012, WordPlay will present staged readings of two plays

by our special Playwrights' Festival guest Constance Congdon...

Spring WordPlay -- "Lips" by Constance Congdon -- June 4 & 5

Mon June 4 - 7:00 p.m.
Tue June 5 - 7:00 p.m.
 

Fall WordPlay -- "Take Me to the River" by Constance Congdon -- Nov 4 & 5

Sun Nov 4 - 2:30 p.m.
Mon Nov 5 - 7:00 p.m.

WordPlay Archives
2011

For 2011, WordPlay presented staged readings of two classic plays

by our special Playwrights' Festival guest Lee Blessing...

"Eleemosynary"

Key City Public Theatre continues its 2011 WordPlay Reading Series with the touching one-act “Eleemosynary” by Lee Blessing.

The comedy/drama receives performances on Sunday November 6 at 2:30 p.m. and Monday November 7 at 7:00 p.m. at Key City Playhouse, 419 Washington Street, Port Townsend.

“Eleemosynary” presents three women of three generations, each learning how to "fly" in her own idiosyncratic way.  Written on a dare when Blessing was challenged to write a play with all female characters, the script began as a ten-minute piece and evolved into a one-act with seven scenes.  The word "eleemosynary" itself plays a significant role in the story.
 

(At left, Emily Huntingford as Echo, Heather Dudley Nolette

as Artemis,and DD Wigley as Dorothea.)

DD Wigley plays Dorothea, the grandmother who has chosen to be eccentric. Heather Dudley Nolette plays daughter Artemis, who holds an important job as a biochemist.  Granddaughter Echo, played by Emily Huntingford, lives with Dorothea and has extraordinary intellectual abilities.  These readings are directed by Judith Glass Collins.

Author Blessing, a Tony and Pulitzer Prize nominee, was a special guest at KCPT’s Annual Playwrights’ Festival this past February, and another of his theatre classics, “A Walk in the Woods,” was given WordPlay readings in March at the Playhouse and in July at Fort Flagler State Park.

Suggested donation is $10.

"A Walk in the Woods"

KCPT and The Friends of Fort Flagler present an outdoor reading of "A Walk in the Woods" at 6:00 p.m. on Saturday July 23 at Battery Bankhead, Fort Flagler State Park, Marrowstone Island. 

Admission is $5.  Bring chairs or blankets or have a picnic.

The Pulitzer and Tony nominee "A Walk in the Woods" depicts the evolving relationship between two international nuclear arms negotiators throughout one year of talks.  Lawrason Driscoll and Kerry Skalsky are the readers. 

Full press release and photos about this Fort Flagler encore performance is below...

Photo by Michael McKee

WordPlay presents encore of “A Walk in the Woods” at Fort Flagler

Key City Public Theatre and The Friends of Fort Flagler present an outdoor staged reading of the comedy/drama “A Walk in the Woods” by Lee Blessing. This classic play of international intrigue begins at 6:00 p.m. on Saturday, July 23 as part of the Summer Concert Series at Battery Bankhead in Fort Flagler State Park.

The audience is encouraged to bring chairs or blankets or have a picnic. Some non-alcoholic drinks and snacks will be available.

Admission is five dollars. Parking is free for this event. (No Discover or Access Park will be required for cars parked at Battery Bankhead during the show.)

This encore presentation of KCPT’s 2011 WordPlay Reading Series is directed by Patricia Earnest, and features Lawrason Driscoll and Kerry Skalsky as cold war nuclear arms negotiators whose relationship evolves over one full year of talks. Premiering in 1988, the play was called “the best of the few dramas to reach Broadway this season [and] the funniest comedy” by Time Magazine.

Author Lee Blessing was a special guest at this year’s Playwrights’ Festival at KCPT, and another of his theatre classics, “Eleemosynary,” will be given a WordPlay reading at Key City Playhouse in November.

Fort Flagler State Park is on Marrowstone Island. Once you get to Fort Flagler, follow the signs to Battery Bankhead.

Photo by Michael McKee

WordPlay Archives
2010

WordPlay presents staged readings of two classic plays for the 2010 season.

Your WordPlay donations support our expanding community outreach and education programs, including theatre classes for K-2 students at Grant Street School, summer theatre camps for middle and high school students, and continuing KCPT scholarships.

Mark Twain’s "The Diaries of Adam & Eve"
as adapted by David Birney

A remarkable love story that somehow transcends the fragile yearnings of romance

Thursday, March 18 at 7:00 p.m.

Friday, March 19 at 8:00 p.m.

and on Saturday, September 4 at Fort Flagler State Park.

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"Intimate Exchanges"  Volume I
by Alan Ayckbourn -- Newly-named recipient

of the 2010 TONY AWARD for Lifetime Achievement

Life and love's either/or decisions --

the consequences can be vastly different (or at least one imagines so)

Sunday, November 21 at 7:00 p.m.

Monday, November 22 at 7:00 p.m.  (Postponed due to snow)

Sunday, November 28 at 7:00 p.m.

WordPlay Archives
2009

WordPlay presents staged readings of four classic American plays for the 2009 season.

Each play will be presented twice at Key City Playhouse and once in the Cape George Community.  (Residents of Cape George: Consult your community calendar for the time and place of your readings.)

This year your WordPlay donations support our expanding community outreach and education programs, including theatre classes for K-2 students at Grant Street School, summer theatre camps for middle and high school students, and continuing KCPT scholarships.

"Harvey"

by Mary Chase

A story about a man whose best friend

is a "pooka" in the form of a six-foot rabbit. 

Winner of the 1945 Pulitzer Prize.

Thursday May 14th at 7:00 p.m.

Friday May 15th at 8:00 p.m.

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"Orpheus Descending"

by Tennessee Williams

A sultry play of loneliness, desire

and the longing for freedom.  Rich in imagery,

lyrical language and symbolism.
 

Thursday June 4th at 7:00 p.m.

Friday June 5th at 8:00 p.m.

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"Last of the Red Hot Lovers"

by Neil Simon

He's a lover...  He's a loser...

...but boy is he funny!
 

Thursday Sept 3th at 7:00 p.m.

Friday Sept 4th at 8:00 p.m.

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"The Price"

by Arthur Miller

"You have to make decisions...

and you never know what's what until it's too late."
 

Thursday Oct 1st at 7:00 p.m.

Friday Oct 2nd at 8:00 p.m.

Suggested Donation: $10.00.  (Using a FLEXpass voucher is an easy way to contribute to KCPT when you attend a WordPlay performance.)

WordPlay presents Arthur Miller’s drama “The Price”

Key City Public Theatre concludes its 2009 WordPlay Reading Series with two evenings of Arthur Miller’s biting drama “The Price” on Thursday Oct. 1 at 7:00 p.m. and Friday Oct. 2 at 8:00 p.m. at Key City Playhouse, 419 Washington Street, Port Townsend.

Premiering on Broadway in 1968, “The Price” takes place in the attic of a soon-to-be-demolished Manhattan brownstone, where two brothers meet after a sixteen-year estrangement to dispose of their father’s property. One is a policeman who sacrificed a brighter career to care for his invalid father. The other is an eminent surgeon who side-stepped his family to find personal success.

Which brother made the better choice? Who paid the higher price? “You have to make decisions,” as one of the brothers says, “and you never know what's what until it's too late.”

Theater critic Clive Barnes called the brothers’ confrontation “one of the most engrossing and entertaining plays that Miller has ever written. It is superbly, even flamboyantly, theatrical.”

Adding bittersweet comedy to the story is a secondhand furniture broker who arrives to appraise the memory-filled contents of the dusty attic.

The readings are directed by Don White, and feature local actors Lawrason Driscoll, Patricia Earnest, Art Reitsch, and David Speck.

Following these two evenings at Key City Playhouse, a third presentation will be given in the Cape George Community. Residents of Cape George can consult their community calendar for the time and place.

Suggested donation is $10. Using a FLEXpass voucher is an easy way to contribute to KCPT when attending a WordPlay performance.

Donations made throughout the 2009 WordPlay Reading Series will support KCPT’s expanding education programs, including theatre classes for K-2 students at Grant Street School, summer theatre camps for middle and high school students, and annual KCPT scholarships.
 

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2008

Four plays explored “Youth Culture: A Contemporary Snapshot” in Key City Public Theatre’s annual WordPlay Reading Series — “Sexsting,” “Schoolgirl Figure,” “The Stones,” and “The Visible Horse” — the latter by Mara Lathrop, an award-winning playwright living part-time in Port Townsend and part-time in Italy.

To encourage accessibility to quality live theatre for and by the community, WordPlay 2008 was generously sponsored by First Federal.

2007

Key City Players' 2007 WordPlay Reading Series raised $1,220 for United Good Neighbors of Jefferson County, exceeding the goal and surpassing last year's donation. Handing off the check to UGN representative Liz Coker (second from right) are KCP's Board President Ian Keith and Artistic Director Denise Winter. Net proceeds from the pay-what-you-wish performances in September, October and November will go to support community programs, per the theme of the series--"Community: the Collective Voice." A total of four plays were brought to life by local actors in readings at Key City Playhouse and in community venues throughout Jefferson County.

Photo by Shelly Randall

2006

Terry Campbell, Sy Kahn and Sharon Salisbury read from Visiting Mr. Green

by Jeff Baron during the 2006 WordPlay reading series "The Culture of Aging." 

Net proceeds from the series in the amount of $1112.29 were donated

to Olycap's senior nutrition program, Meals on Wheels.

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WordPlay is a pay-what-you-wish program with a portion of the proceeds supporting charitable programs related to its theme.