Tag Archives: Cincinnati Playwrights Initiative

LIGHTENING UP
Cincinnati Playwrights Initiative
May 20
Union Township Amphitheatre

Lightening Up is a romantic comedy full of twists and turns. An architect has taken to wearing cargo pants 24/7, an attorney has decided to simplify his practice by concentrating on name changes, and two women — a math teacher and a shop clerk — are part of ongoing mysteries involving a lost and found date-book, a ratty dollar bill, and a bag of lingerie.

Lightening Up is a comedy about changing jobs, chai, lingerie, garden rakes, and dreams of Costa Rica.

• Sat, May 20 at 4pm

Official page |

SYMONE WITH A Y
Cincinnati Playwrights Initiative
April 4
Aronoff Center Fifth-Third Bank Theater [Downtown]

Symone Edwards, an African American woman diagnosed with “unexplained infertility,” hopes to publish a children’s book with her friend and book illustrator who has recently become pregnant.  That the women met at an infertility clinic makes their contrary circumstances all the more challenging for Symone.  As disappointments mount and childhood wounds resurface, Symone is driven to the brink of her ability to cope.

Playwright Bio:
Roger Collins is professor emeritus at the University of Cincinnati where he received the Cohen Award for Excellence in Teaching.  His fiction has been published in literary journals and his plays produced in Cincinnati and Dayton, Ohio, Fort Thomas, Kentucky, Brooklyn, NY, and San Francisco, CA.  His debut novel, ‘Cities of Glass,’ was published June 2022 by All Things That Matter Press.

• Tue, April 4 at 7:30pm

Official page |

SYNAPSE
Cincinnati Playwrights Initiative
March 14
Aronoff Center Fifth-Third Bank Theater [Downtown]

Directed by Katrina Reynolds

Cast: Katie McCarthy as Judith Brown, Nate Huitger as Dr. James Connors, Brian Anderson as Dennis & Pat Germano as Richard Brown

When Mrs. Brown’s husband disappears, she gets an offer from his employer- a technology company that can put Mr. Brown’s brain into the body of a willing participant, essentially bringing him back to life. Mrs. Brown agrees, but she may come to regret that decision.

Playwright Bio:
Mary Beringer was born and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio. After working as a high school English teacher, she now writes grants for a non-profit. You may know her plays from performances at the Know Theatre, Cincinnati Lab Theatre, the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, or University of Dayton’s Studio Theatre.

• Tue, March 14 at 7:30pm

Official page |

LOVEFEST 2: An Evening of 10-Minute Love Stories
Cincinnati Playwrights Initiative
Feb. 14
Aronoff Center Fifth-Third Theatre [Downtown]

Cincinnati Playwrights Initiative presents LOVEFEST 2: An Evening of Eight Romantic Short Plays in celebration with the American Heart Association’s centennial celebration fundraiser.

---

A BOX OF MOM’S PHOTOS by Michael Defrancesco
While visiting Mom, a daughter discovers the unbelievable.

Michael is familiar to CPI audiences for his play The Circle, a narrative of priestly abuse, that received a staged reading last January. He had a second staged reading for his play, The Car Ride in October, 2022 and now turned his playwriting skill to his 10-minute love story, A Box of Mom’s Photos. After attending a summer drama program at UC, Michael was awarded a Rockefeller grant to UC’s Theatre Arts program, where he earned a Master’s degree. Michael is a native Cincinnatian and resides in Clifton with his wife.

---

ANCHOVIES AND ROSES by Bill Brohaugh and Lisa Holt
A couple’s shouty public argument entices the undivided attention of two bystanders. Love is in the confrontation, as odd as it may seem.

Plays written by Bill Brohaugh and Lisa Holt have been produced in NYC, LA and other places from Kentucky to Florida to, yes, South India. Bill, a retired magazine and book editor, has written hundreds of produced short-form radio comedy scripts, as well as published books and magazine articles about writing, words and language. Lisa is a retired pharmacist with a 40-year background in theatre. As a reed doubler, her focus has always been on musical theatre, where she performs as a pit musician. More recently she accidentally discovered she enjoys writing with Bill.

---

APPROPRIATE PROPOSAL by A.K. Forbes
Love is love. And if you love something, set it free. But first trap it and make it listen.

Both a Dramatists Guild and CPI member, A.K. holds an MA in professional writing from the University of Cincinnati. A.K.’s plays have been selected nationally by SourceFest (Washington, D.C.), Association for Theatre in Higher Education, Rockford New Play Festival, Pend Oreille Players (Newport, Washington) and Fusion (Albuquerque). A.K. also enjoys acting, traveling, and riding her Harley.

---

LOVE COUNTS by Traci Taylor
A wife’s obsession with calculations + her husband’s frustration + an emotional reckoning and the SUM = satisfaction.

Traci Taylor’s play Folie Famille was stage read by CPI in 2015.  Her recent short, Misfit Mansion, was in the 2021 Foolsfest.  A comedy play, Relatively Speaking, was written with co-writer, Peggy Murphy.  Taylor is also an actress seen regularly at many local theaters.  Links to all Taylor’s work is at www.tracitalks.com.

---

LOVE IN NIGHTTIME by Camilla McMahon
When an elderly woman cannot sleep at night, her husband stays awake with her. Together, they face the sleepless night.

Camilla McMahon is an Associate Professor of Psychological Science at Miami University. Her teaching and research interests focus on developmental psychology, including social and cognitive development throughout the lifespan. Love in the Nighttime is her first play with the Cincinnati Playwrights Initiative.

---

LOVE IN THE TIME OF COCKLEBURS by Nancy Gall Clayton
A forest ranger just wants to lead a hike, but those who have joined him (two costumers from the opera, a man who may be a jail escapee, and a would-be writer) have agendas of their own –and yet, love is in the air.

Nancy Gall-Clayton’s plays have been presented in half the states, plus Australia, Canada, Denmark, and Japan. Her full-length Bernice’s 70th Birthday recently premiered at Market House Theatre in Paducah, KY, and will be produced in November and December 2022 at First Run Theatre in St. Louis. More at nancygallclayton.net.

---

POSTCARDS FROM PARMADALE by Alan Jozwiak
Short glimpses of a long-distance relationship conducted via post.

Alan Jozwiak has had plays in the Scenes from the Staten Island Ferry Festival, Gi60 One-Minute Play Contest, Lamia Ink! International One-Page Play Contest, Madlab Theatre, Miami Writes, IndyFringe Festival, and the Cincinnati Fringe Festival. He obtained a City of Cincinnati Individual Artist Grant to write/produce Only When I Bleed, a play about cutting and self-injury. A long-time CPI board member, he has served as Treasurer and President.

---

SAGE ADVICE by Fred Rothzeid
When it comes to love what advice would you give?

Fred has been exploring life’s journey in poems, songs, liturgy and plays for most of his adult life – trying to comprehend what it all means.  This is his eighth stage play reading with CPI and he is no closer to understanding the answer then when he started.

• Tue, Feb. 14 at 7:30pm

Official page |