Join us on Monday, May 7 at 6pm for a panel discussion about models for playwright-led theatre companies. What structures have been tried, and what are their strengths and pitfalls? We’ll talk both theory and specifics with DC-based playwrights Alexandra Petri and Allyson Currin, both current and founding members, respectively, of Washington’s The Welders playwrights’ collective, and with Boston’s Laura Neubauer, member of the Boston Public Works theatre company, and Dramatists Guild Regional Rep Patrick Gabridge, producing artistic director of Plays in Place and co-founder of the Colorado-based Chameleon Stage (which thrived back in the ‘90s).

The panel is free, we suggest you reserve a spot by RSVPing online.

Caesar & Dada
written by Allyson Currin, directed by Courtney O’Connor
Tuesday, May 8 at 7pm
Tickets are free with reservations recommended. RSVP Online.

Critically and popularly-acclaimed director Franz Lichter is the dictatorial impressario of Theatre for Truth in post-World War I Zurich, at the vanguard of realism for the stage. His actors, a gifted but ragtag group of refugees from the war, depend on him for everything. But when the sunshine-y and ambitious American actress Lily Brik arrives on the scene, Franz’s traditional production of Julius Caesar begins to veer dangerously into the realm of that strange new art movement, Dada…endangering the delicate ecosystem of the acting troupe. A comic but dizzying journey through the realms of dreams and nightmares in a profoundly dislocated time…

To Tell My Story: A Hamlet Fanfic
Written by Alexandra Petri
directed by Kira Patterson
Monday, May 7 at 7pm
Tickets are free with reservations recommended. RSVP Online.

When Elsie receives a disturbing message that suggests her father may have been murdered by her new stepfather, she sets out on an increasingly high-stakes quest that takes her from the hallways of her high school to the wild and colorful world of online fanfiction, seeking confirmation of her suspicions by retelling her story in increasingly outlandish ways while her friend Horatio looks on in horror. Part comedy part tragedy part Shakespeare part really really bad online fan fiction, all something undreamed of in most philosophies.

Berlin; or, The Part of You That Wants It: A Musical Comedy Love Story (Written by Accident)
by Should Rick Chason
Directed by Pete Riesenberg

April 19 – May 12, 2018
Central Square Theater Studio

This Brechtian burlesque of epic theatre takes a genderqueer look at sexual predation in an irreverent vaudeville about an American rapist who goes to Berlin and inadvertently starts a genderf**ked feminist revolution of anarchy and turmoil.

A world première presented by O.W.I. (Bureau of Theatre) with Eric McGowan, Erin Reilly and Patrick McCarthy.

This production is by an outside company is not produced by Central Square Theater.

Luminosity: The Story of Henrietta Leavitt
written & performed by Erin Eva Butcher
Wednesday, April 25 at 7pm

Tickets are free with reservations recommended. RSVP Online.

Luminosity: The Story of Henrietta Leavitt was commissioned by the Lancaster Public Library. Miss Leavitt was a Lancaster native and this piece will be premiered at Lancaster’s Founders Day Celebration. Miss Leavitt, through her work at the Harvard Observatory in the early 1900’s, discovered the Period Luminosity Relationship of Caephid Stars which later allowed Edwin Hubble to measure the distance of stars from Earth and from each other, enabling us to begin to understand the true scale of our Universe for the first time. This piece explores her life, and contribution to Astronomy. It explores what she overcame, and how she might feel now about how far women in science have come, and how far we still have to travel to reach our full potential.

Erin Eva Butcher is a Boston based theatre artist, since moving to the Boston area in 2011 Erin has worked in the Boston Theatre Scene as an actor, producer, and costume maker. She received an Elliot Norton Award nomination in 2017 for Outstanding Actress for her portrayal of Henrietta Swan Leavitt in Silent Sky with Flat Earth Theatre and an IRNE nomination for Best Actress. Erin was Founder and Artistic Director of Maiden Phoenix Theatre Company, a local fringe theatre company committed to telling stories about women and employing at least 51% women in all productions, onstage and off. During the school year Erin performs with Deana’s Educational Theatre, a company that brings plays about healthy relationships and dating violence to area schools. She is known for her work on the one-woman show about domestic violence The Yellow Dress. All of Erin’s theatrical work is focused on giving voice to women’s stories and highlighting women’s contributions to the arts, sciences, and history.