Tag Archives: Cincinnati Playwrights Initiative

July 28, 2025 · 4:53 pm

Cincinnati Playwrights Initiative Announces FRIGHTFEST Play Selections

Local playwriting group selects scripts to support Cincinnati Care Center Animal Blood Bank

Cincinnati—July 28, 2025– The Cincinnati Playwrights Initiative (CPI) Play Selection Committee announced the play selections for its FRIGHTFEST ten-minute play festival and fundraiser which will benefit the work of the Cincinnati Care Center Animal Blood Bank, a full-service, non-profit veterinary blood bank that offers pet parents a full assortment of blood products ready to administer should your pet become critically ill and/or require a transfusion.

The following 8 CPI members will have their plays performed as staged readings at the
Aronoff in downtown Cincinnati on Tuesday, October 28, 2025.

Liz Coley: THE INTRUDER
Roger Collins: HALO’S GRIEF
Dave Doster: WEIRD SMILE
Keith Vanden Eynden: THE GORGE
Rose Vanden Eynden: THE DOOR
Tammy Reatherford: WHEN SECRETS BREW
Wendy Vogel: TOOTH FAIRY
Jim Waldfogle: FINAL IMAGE

Tickets for FRIGHTFEST are on sale now for $16.50 and can be purchased online at the following link: www.cincinnatiarts.org/events/detail/cpi-frightfest or by calling 513-621-2787.

###

1 Comment

Filed under Press Releases

Tagged as

July 10, 2025 · 5:12 pm

CPI Announces 30th Anniversary Season

Local Playwriting Group Selects Scripts for Staged Readings

Cincinnati, Ohio—July 10, 2025—At its June board meeting, Cincinnati Playwrights Initiative
(CPI) Board of Directors announced the selected scripts for its New Voices 30th Anniversary 2025/2026 season which will showcase both new and emerging local playwrights.

The following CPI members will have their Full-length, One-Act and Short plays performed as
staged readings at the Fifth Third Theater in downtown Cincinnati on the following six Tuesday evenings at 7:30 p.m.

  • September 16, 2025
    HOLLYWOOD MASALA
    A full-length play by Sanjay Puligadda
  • October 28, 2025
    FRIGHTFEST
    CPI’s annual ten-minute play festival fundraiser returns with a Halloween theme to
    support the Cincinnati Care Center Animal Blood Bank. 8 short plays will be selected and
    announced in July.
  • November 18, 2025
    THANKS FOR CALLING a One-Act play by Dave Doster
    STILLWATER DEPOT, CENTER STREET, AND SGT. SKINNER GOES FOR COFFEE
    Three ten-minute plays by Clint Bramkamp
  • February 10, 2026
    WELCOMING ECHOES
    A one-Act play by Paul Bergman
    MUST BE THE MUSIC, OFF THE BEATEN PARTH CAFE, NEXT TRAIN AT PLAYFORM 22, and THE HOLY TERRORS
    A Playwright’s Potpourri: Four Ten-Minute Plays by Roger Collins
  • March 10, 2026
    THE ANGELS OF MERCY
    A one-act play by Charles Stephan
    WHAT ARE THE ODDS
    A ten-minute play by Charles Stephan
  • April 14, 2026
    MARTHA’S WILL
    A full-length historical fiction play by Susan and Doug Decatur

Twenty-minute audience talkback sessions are conducted for staged readings at the end of each performance. Written feedback will be obtained from the audience for FRIGHTFEST.

Season tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday, July 11 through Tuesday, September 16, 2025 for $55 which includes all 6 dates for the price of 5 and can be purchased online at
www.cincinnatiarts.org/events/detail/cpi-new-voices-2025-2026-series or by calling the Aronoff box office at 513-621-2787. Single event tickets also go on sale July 11, 2025 for $11 per person. FRIGHTFEST tickets will be $16.50 each with a portion of the proceeds benefitting the Cincinnati Care Center Animal Blood Bank. All ticket prices are inclusive of service fees.

CPI is a non-profit theater arts organization whose mission is to support playwrights in the
Cincinnati Metropolitan Area by offering free playwriting workshops, cold and staged readings to provide valuable feedback so that scripts can be further developed to potentially become fully produced or published.

To join CPI, visit the website at https://cincyplaywrights.org or follow on social media both on
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/cincyplaywrights and X https://x.com/cincyplaywright.

###

Leave a comment

Filed under Press Releases, Season Announcements

Tagged as

March 12, 2025 · 3:22 pm

THE NATCHEZ TRACE, BURNT TOAST OF BROADWAY and GUARDIAN ANGEL BLUES On April 15

THE NATCHEZ TRACE, BURNT TOAST OF BROADWAY and GUARDIAN ANGEL BLUES
Cincinnati Playwrights Initiative
April 15
Aronoff Center Fifth-Third Bank Theatre [Downtown]

THE NATCHEZ TRACE by Jeremy Simmons
An old man tells his tale to a typist recording early American stories for the Library of Congress. He tells a shocking, thrilling tale of escape from slavery. His name is Ned Forrest. The year is 1856. Two men, Ned and Moses, escape their bondage on a Mississippi plantation during a fire as it destroys the river town of Natchez. Following an old trail along the river, under downpours and lightning storms, the men struggle through the wilderness while being hunted. Capture meant torture, possibly death. Evading disaster time and time again, often by the slimmest of margins, the two men find ways to work together and form a friendship as they fight to reach Mexico and their freedom. With waning strength Ned and Moses live face to face with fear, disillusionment and finally, redemption.

BURNT TOAST OF BROADWAY by Greg Hatfield
In a sparkling homage to Noel Coward, divorced theater duo Amanda and Edward bicker and banter their way through 1953 New York, sabotaging each other’s plans while searching for their next Broadway hit. Amidst witty repartee and undeniable chemistry, will they realize their potential for success lies in reuniting and reigniting their creative spark?

GUARDIAN ANGEL BLUES by Dave Doster
Dave Doster’s playlets include Thanks for Calling, Rushing for Pandas, The Obstacle Course, and The Last Out all produced by Gi60 (NYC and Leeds, UK), and can be found on YouTube. Dave has been writing weekly with NY/NJ based “Curtains On Fire” workshop and podcast since 2020.

  • Tue, April 15 at 7:30pm

Official page |

Leave a comment

Filed under On Stage

Tagged as

February 11, 2025 · 5:03 pm

FINDING MICKEY MANTLE On March 11

FINDING MICKEY MANTLE by Wendy Vogel
Cincinnati Playwrights Initiative
March 11
Aronoff Center Fifth Third Bank Theater [Downtown]

A foster kid who’s aged out of the system, Marie thinks she’s finally found stability, moving in with her boyfriend Logan and his grandmother, Nan. When Logan is killed in an accident, Marie is left pregnant and alone, except for Nan. And when she finds a million-dollar baseball card among Nan’s hoarder-house boxes, she must decide whom she can trust, whom she must protect, and what family truly means.

About the Author
Wendy is a veterinarian, cancer survivor, playwright, and author.  Her many novels include the Horizon Alpha sci-fi series from Future House Publishing, and she is currently working on a horror-themed board game story for a well-known game publisher. She lives with husband Andrew and a houseful of special needs cats.

  • Tue, March 11 at 7:30pm

Official page |

Leave a comment

Filed under On Stage, Staged Reading

Tagged as

January 14, 2025 · 6:59 pm

LOVEFEST 3 On Feb. 11

CPI_Lovefest 3LOVEFEST 3
Cincinnati Playwrights Initiative
Feb. 11
Fifth Third Bank Theater [Downtown]

A Ten-minute play festival and fundraiser showcasing the health and wellness community efforts and spotlight local Women of Impact during Heart Month with the Cincinnati Area Heart Association.

The plays by CPI members chosen to be performed as staged readings are:

  • MIXED DOUBLES by Liz Coley
  • RUNNING AGAINST TIME by Doug Decatur
  • ONE NIGHT STANDS by Dave Doster
  • LAST CALL by Rose Vanden Enyden
  • SEVENTEEN by Terri Foltz
  • A SECOND CHANCE by Camilla McMahon
  • HIGH SCHOOL SWEETHEARTS by Fred Rothzeid
  • RONCO PRODUCTS by Charles Stephan
  • Tue, Feb. 11 at 7:30pm

Official page |

Leave a comment

Filed under On Stage, Staged Reading

Tagged as