{"id":2510,"date":"2022-04-28T11:08:14","date_gmt":"2022-04-28T15:08:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.montgomerymag.com\/?p=2510"},"modified":"2022-04-28T11:08:14","modified_gmt":"2022-04-28T15:08:14","slug":"round-house-theatres-national-capital-new-play-festival-runs-through-may-8","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.montgomerymag.com\/round-house-theatres-national-capital-new-play-festival-runs-through-may-8\/","title":{"rendered":"Round House Theatre\u2019s National Capital New Play Festival runs through May 8."},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
Ryan Rilette, artistic director<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Beloved for producing works of the American canon, in recent years Round House Theatre artistic director Ryan Rilette has been on a quest for new plays and new voices.<\/p>\n

The theater, which began operations in 1978, remains one of Montgomery County\u2019s venerable professional theater companies, and with a budget of about $6 million and a recently renovated 350-seat theater, it\u2019s a powerhouse arts organization on the local scene. About 50,000 people come through its doors each year.<\/p>\n

Finding and producing works by new voices is integral to Round House\u2019s ethos, said Rilette. \u201cThat ties into our mission, which is to give a voice to folks who haven\u2019t traditionally been featured on American stages and to build a theater that is reflective of the community that we serve.\u201d<\/p>\n

He added that when he signed on as the Bethesda theater\u2019s artistic director a decade ago, \u201cI actually pitched a new play festival to the board.\u201d<\/p>\n

While it\u2019s taken 10 years to realize, and most recently rescheduled because of a global pandemic, the National Capital New Play Festival runs April 5 through May 8, in Round House\u2019s downtown Bethesda theater. Producers and artistic directors from around the country are coming in to view the new works and Rilette hopes to make the region a hub for new play productions that particularly express the nation\u2019s growing diversity.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur area is maybe one of the most diverse communities in America,\u201d Rilette pointed out. \u201cWe\u2019re trying to produce plays that reflect that so that everybody can see themselves on stage in some way.\u201d<\/p>\n

And demographic surveys back him up: Montgomery County became majority minority in about 2010, and recent reports state the breakdown is 45 percent white, 18 percent Black, 19 percent Hispanic and 18 percent other races and ethnicities.<\/p>\n

Naysan Mojgani, the theater\u2019s associate artist and literary manager, added, \u201cOur society has really had to give some serious thought to how we function from a standpoint of equity, diversity and inclusion \u2026 over the last several years. The outcome of that introspection has been the recognition that we need to think about who is telling our stories. Obviously, traditionally a lot of the stories that we see on our stages have been written by a lot of white men.\u201d<\/p>\n

At just a year into his tenure at Round House, Mojgani takes the lead in shepherding new plays to the stage and leading the team in reviewing scripts, both unsolicited and requested by the literary staff. With Rilette, Mojgani and other artistic staff, this group reads hundreds of new plays each year, sometimes four to five a week, then they discuss which will fit into Round House\u2019s mission and satisfy its audience. In seeking new voices, new approaches and compelling subjects for the sophisticated audience Round House serves, Mojgani said, \u201cWe\u2019re not just looking for plays as part of our regular season selection choices, but also for plays that are still in process and are looking for a premier home and maybe a bit of development work.\u201d<\/p>\n

That\u2019s where Round House aims to make its mark nationwide \u2014 launching new plays and playwrights in the hopes that these world premieres and staged readings will find their way to theater seasons around the country in subsequent years.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe thrust behind our new play festival is to help create the new canon,\u201d Rilette said. \u201cThis is done at major theaters throughout the country, throughout the world, and we don\u2019t have one in this area, despite the fact that we are one of the largest theater markets in the country.\u201d He looks ahead to producing two world-premiere plays every year, accompanied by developmental play readings, performed with scripts in hand, to allow playwrights to hear and see if their funny lines draw laughs and dramatic moments don\u2019t cause rustling of programs.<\/p>\n

On the main stage<\/strong><\/p>\n

This year, on the main stage, Majgani is looking forward to Charly Evon Simpson\u2019s heartwarming \u201cit\u2019s not a trip it\u2019s a journey,\u201d an introspective look at friendship between four women who take an impromptu road trip to the Grand Canyon.<\/p>\n

\u201cI first read that script several years ago in earlier versions,\u201d Majgani said. \u201cWhatever your gender, whatever your ethnicity, there\u2019s a lot of healing potential, a lot of release in this play.\u201d And because he\u2019s followed its evolution, he terms the ending \u201cfantastic\u201d \u2014 though no spoilers here. \u201cIt was a good play before,\u201d he said. \u201cNow it\u2019s fantastic.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rilette with Jared Mezzocchi directs Tim J. Lord\u2019s political thriller \u201cWe declare you a terrorist \u2026\u201d based on the tragic episode of the Dubrovska Theater, when in 2002 Russian President Vladimir Putin tried to quell rebellion in Chechnya and Chechen insurgents hijacked the theater, holding nearly the entire audience hostage.<\/p>\n

Rilette recently spoke to the playwright about doing a play with Putin as a character, and Lord said, \u201cIt\u2019s always going to be the right time to do a play about Putin.\u201d The director added, \u201cWith Putin that\u2019s true \u2026 . Ultimately, though, [the play] is not so much about Putin as much as it is about what happens when you disagree with your government. Or what happens when you start to realize that the narrative that you\u2019ve been told is not true.\u201d And that, too, is a story that never feels out of date.<\/p>\n

Artist associate Majgani added, \u201cAs a theater artist, you always want your work to be relevant, but there are times where I know a work to be this relevant \u2026 I could do it a little less relevance in some cases.\u201d<\/p>\n

Developmental readings<\/strong><\/p>\n

Beyond the mainstage premieres, the four developmental readings, which run between April 28 and May 8, feature family stories, whether that entails a traditional family, or a created one.<\/p>\n

\u201cAdia and Clora Snatch Joy,\u201d by Mfoniso Udofia, tells a multi-generational story of a family of Nigerian immigrants, the struggles and triumphs, along with original music by Udofia and Nehemia Luckett.<\/p>\n

And Mary Kathryn Nagle\u2019s \u201cOn the Far End\u201d is a one-woman show tracing family history through the notorious Trail of Tears.<\/p>\n

Rilette is always ready to observe Round House Theatre\u2019s lively and responsive audiences when they take in new or less familiar works. \u201cWhat makes this audience so special is that because of living in proximity to D.C., and the careers that people have here, makes [audiences] want to have deep, deep conversations with us about the meaning of the plays, how they intersect with the world and what the playwright is saying. That is unique here at Round House, and one of the things that makes this area very, very special.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Beloved for producing works of the American canon, in recent years Round House Theatre artistic director Ryan Rilette has been on a quest for new plays and new voices. The theater, which began operations in 1978, remains one of Montgomery County\u2019s venerable professional theater companies, and with a budget of about $6 million and a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":53,"featured_media":2511,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nRound House Theatre\u2019s National Capital New Play Festival runs through May 8.<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.montgomerymag.com\/round-house-theatres-national-capital-new-play-festival-runs-through-may-8\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Round House Theatre\u2019s National Capital New Play Festival runs through May 8.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Beloved for producing works of the American canon, in recent years Round House Theatre artistic director Ryan Rilette has been on a quest for new plays and new voices. 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