As temporary theatre closures continue in New York City and around the world, Off-Broadway company Normal Ave will launch QuaranStream, a series of digital short play readings premiering on Facebook Live and IGTV. Commissioned playwrights are encouraged to pen a play that is meant to be performed in quarantine, using the environments and materials that each actor has available to them in their homes.
Each week, Normal Ave will give two playwrights a paid micro-commission to write a 10-minute play. Each writer will be paired with a director, a group of actors, and given a title.
QuaranStream will kick off on April 9. The first four featured playwrights are Yianni Papadimos (April 9 at 8 PM), Megan Chan Meinero (April 12 at 8 PM) , Andrew Frye (April 16 at 8 PM), and Lily Houghton (April 19 at 8 PM).
Future playwrights include Enzo Gattuccio, Harron Atkins, Gillian Beth Durkee, Lilly Camp, and Paige Zubel. Readings will feature James Scully (YOU on Netflix), Sara Kapner (The Band’s Visit National Tour), RJ Vaillancourt (Saint Joan), and more actors to be announced.
QuaranStream is produced by Shannon Molly Flynn, Jeremy Landes, and Kylie M. Brown and virtually stage managed by Jenna Ng Lowry. Noah Befeler will produce the live stream. Each play will be directed by a member of Normal Ave’s artistic producing team.
The initiative is in lieu of its spring programming: the previously planned revival of Suzan Lori-Parks’ The Book of Grace. Normal Ave will resume in-person programming in the Fall of 2020.
