The InstigatorTheatre 33 has big plans ahead and it all starts now.
Celebrating its past and looking to its future, the new play development company launched its 10th season this year. It presented two productions in June (a staged play and a pop-up reading) and has four more ahead this summer.
Since 2014, Theatre 33 has been assisting northwest playwrights develop their new scripts from an initial workshop (lights, sound, props, set, costumes, and fully blocked with scripts in hand) to a world premiere full production.
A couple of years ago, they expanded their program adding three pop-up readings to their three-play season. A pop-up reading is a dramatized reading of the play. Although it has fewer rehearsals than a traditional show, the goal is still the same — to give the playwright an opportunity to hear their play, collaborate with the Theatre 33 creative team and receive and respond to a talkback with the audience after the performance. It is an important step in early new play development.
Building on this upward momentum of growth, the nonprofit arts organization is aiming to expand further. The goal? To make their festival a regional destination by 2025.
What does that mean?
Essentially, there will be two festivals: one for Willamette Valley patrons and one for regional patrons, said Executive Director Thomas Nabhan.
The festival for “locals” will be a continuation of what Theatre 33 has been doing for the past 10 years but moved up a month to start in May and run through June and July. August will host the regional festival, a 4-day event where patrons can see “three full productions and one reading of new plays, take a writing workshop and view a world-class visual art exhibit.”
“…we will bring back all six productions. The three full productions will be moved into the main stage … and run in true repertory, six performances a week, changing each production out every night so each play is performed twice each week. The readings will also be brought back and staged in various locations around the Willamette University campus.”
The biggest encouragement people can provide right now is to support Theatre 33’s programming.
“…it would help for folks to spread the word about our festival plans and our unique mission both locally and across the region,” Thomas said. “In a relatively short period of time, this festival could have a big impact on Salem and the valley artistically and financially.”
Up Next
Theatre 33 has two more plays and pop-ups to present this summer. Attendance to a Theatre 33 production is by donation. The suggested donation is $15, but no one will be turned away. Reserve your spot at www.theatre33.org to receive a reminder about the performances.
Working for Crumbs by Kate Danley — Grace and Amy are living for the crumbs of their soul-sucking job. But when calamity strikes and their boss chokes on an oatmeal raisin cookie, it creates a domino effect of destruction that brings down the corporate house. 9 to 5 meets Weekend at Bernie’s in this quick-witted, sidesplitting farce. Directed by Susan Coromel. 7 p.m. July 13-15 and 2 p.m. July 15 & 16 at M. Lee Pelton Theatre, Willamette University
Pop-up Reading: The Great Bub by Nora Douglass — It is 1968 and three high school buddies, Bub, Dev and Louis, are eager to play army and “join in the fun” in Vietnam. They have made a pact to enlist together the day after graduation. Fourteen-year-old Mud, Dev’s little sister, Bub’s pet and Louis’ nemesis feels left behind. With an often-absent mother, she finds herself having to care for Grammy, her ever-loving and equally feisty grandmother who is beginning to show signs of forgetfulness. Only Louis comes home from Vietnam, injured, disillusioned and angry. Mud’s grandmother ultimately disappears into her dementia, but it will be Grammy who manages to reach beyond the grief and confusion holding both Mud and Louis back. 2 p.m. July 22 at Capitol Auto Pavilion, 783 Auto Group Ave NE and 2 p.m. July 23 at M. Lee Pelton Theatre, Willamette University
The Names by Paul Lewis — Martina Visconti, a Jewish opera star, decides to remain in German-occupied Milan during World War II in hopes of protecting her impetuous younger sister Giulia, who has joined the Resistance. Meanwhile, an American GI in an embattled infantry unit south of Rome dreams of reaching Milan so that he can finally meet his operatic idol. A story of the bonds of love stretched to their very limits and the heart-wrenching choice one sister must make in a world that is falling into unfathomable darkness. Directed by Rob Ceballos. 7 p.m. Aug 10–12 and 2 p.m. Aug 12 & 13 at M. Lee Pelton Theatre, Willamette University
Pop-up Reading: A Tale of Two by Angela Gyurko — Leila and Sarai confront each other’s expectations of life, activism and the college application process as they stand side-by-side each morning at the entrance to their high school, attempting to recruit new members for their high school clubs. This engaging tale of the next generation of leaders explores what it means to be a success, what it means to be a friend, and what it means to be the one responsible for “fixing” the structures of power. 2 p.m. August 19 & 20 at M. Lee Pelton Theatre, Willamette University
FUN FACT: In 10 years, Theatre 33 has produced 38 new plays, 14 of which went from Theatre 33 to world premieres in 11 cities nationwide.
This story originally ran in Press Play Salem issue 17 (Summer 2023)
Carlee Wright
