Plays
Anne Frank in Mt. Vernon, Ohio
Community theater leader Logan Dean, inspired by his dedication to bringing outside voices to his town, decides to write his own stage version of Anne Frank’s story despite knowing little about the Jewish people. Mary Klam, a young Christian wife who has just unearthed her family’s Jewish heritage, finds herself drawn to the role of Anne, despite having learned about the Franks at a haircut the week prior. This goes about as well as you might expect.
Smooth Time
The Humanities Certificate Program is a popular rite of passage at Athol State Correctional Facility for those who aspire to successfully reintegrate into society. The students in the current Shakespeare semester gain uncharted freedoms when the Massachusetts State Legislature finds itself in a stalemate over a new budget, furloughing most of the guards in the prison. While Matteo awaits a letter detailing the status of his transfer to the Bard Prison Initiative and David mourns the relapse of a confidant, Zebulun sees this as his chance to regain contact with his eight-year-old daughter, jeopardizing the final week of the semester for all three. Smooth Time explores education in an unjust prison system and the additional burdens that all those involved must endure to keep the classroom a place of learning and growth.
Books
What This Place Makes Me: A Collection of 21st Century American Plays on Immigration
Seven award-winning plays by rising stars of contemporary theater herald a profound shift in what it means to be an American, an immigrant, and an artist on today’s stage. Includes works by Shayok Misha Chowdhury, Hansol Jung, Martyna Majok, Mona Mansour, Charlie Oh, Mfoniso Udofia, and Jesús I. Valles. Forthcoming from Restless Books in April, 2025.
