April 1 and 8, Primary Stages will showcase readings of new works by playwrights from its affiliate theatre school, the Einhorn School of Performing Arts (ESPA), at the annual ESPA Drills. This year's Drills, to be held at the Lucille Lortel Theatre Off-Broadway, will feature plays by Aaron Coleman, Margot Connolly, Veronica Cooper, and Joshua Young.
In Coleman's Uncle Remus, His Life and Times, As Told to Aaron Coleman, directed by Billy Mitchell (April 8), a writer (named Aaron Coleman, but not played by the playwright himself) finds himself face to face with the famed fictional narrator of folktales. From the inside of a plantation cabin, Remus begins to spin beloved stories and conjure up a fantastical world of animal critters—at the same time, exposing the realities of growing up a slave that inspired his tales of family, courage, and survival.
The cast features Issa Best, Ashley Taylor Greaves, Marcus Johnson, Rob Karma, Matthew S. Morgan, Adam Huel Potter, Justin “Squigs” Robertson, and Clint Zugel. Reserve free tickets here.
In Connolly's Quiz Out, directed by Jackson Gay (April 8), a junior-year student and her best friend join their church Bible Quiz team, learning more about themselves and the Bible than they ever thought they would.
The cast features Heidi Armbruster, Grace Fojtik, Holly Grum, EmJ Nelson, Nick Ong, and Gil Polk. Reserve free tickets here.
In Moab, by Cooper, directed by Sarah Krohn (April 1), a father—in the wake of illness shattering their family—takes his two daughters on a desert camping trip, asking: When confronted with uncertainty, can you go it alone?
The cast features Isabella Dawis, Brian Keane, Al-nisa Petty and Anna Savant. Reserve free tickets here.
In Young's Red Room on a Dark Web, directed by Shira-Lee Shalit (April 1), two Southside residents find themselves turning to the darknet in an attempt to profit from a nightmare inspired by their own lives.
The cast features Margaret Ivey, Jesse Markowitz, David Mason, Kathy McCafferty and Naomi Lindh. Reserve free tickets here.
All readings are free and open to the public.
