Tag Archives: Human Race Theatre Company

SIX SHORT PLAYS.  A WILD WINTER RIDE.

In a riff on their usual seasonal offering, The Human Race Theatre Company is pleased to announce Seasonal Shorts – six short plays celebrating seasonal memories, moments and silliness – for adults only! No kids.  No carols.  Just chaos.

Told by an ensemble of three actors, and inspired by the Human Race Theatre Company’s summer “Playwright’s Race,” our local playwrights’ original plays will split your sides and put you in a festive mood. In the lineup this year are: Greeting Card Holiday Movie by Kelsey Celek, Three Turkeys by Aleah Vassell, Three Wise Guys by Robb Willoughby, Black Elephant by Torie Wiggins, Waiting for the Snow by Marley Masterson, and Cookies for Santa by Chris Leyva.

“While there are only six shorts this season, we hope to build on this first year of plays to create an interchangeable festival of holiday shorts,” says artistic Director Emily N. Wells. “Highlighting the talent that chooses to make this area their home has been a backbone of this organization since its founding.”

Returning to direct, Heather Wilson-Bowlby leads the creative team: Eric Barker, scenic design; Kelsey Gallagher, lighting design; Victoria “Ori” Rancor, costume design; Bailey Olean, sound design; Sarah Gomes, props design; Isabella Myers, stage manager, and Kaitlin Teller, assistant stage manager. The trio of performers are Annie Pesch, Elliot Cromer, and AJ Baldwin.

SEASONAL SHORTS will play in the Loft Theatre in downtown Dayton, December 10 – 21, 2025.  Tickets are on sale through the Dayton Live box office, 937-228-3630, or online at www.humanracetheatre.org

For press ticket requests, please contact Tiffany Countryman, Engagement and Learning Coordinator, at tiffany@humanracetheatre.org

The Human Race Theatre Company continues its commitment to high quality theatre with access points for all with two special ticket initiatives: two sections of $20 seats available at any time through the box office, and ten $10 rush seats available 60 minutes before any performance.

Special Nights at The Loft:  

• Inside Track Thursday, December 11, 2025 6:45 pm – Pre-show Discussion
• Parent’s Day Out Sunday, December 14, 2025 2 pm – Kids Activities (5-12yo)
• While We’re On The Subject Sunday, December 14, 2025 2 pm – Post Show Discussion
• $10/Sawbuck Sunday Sunday, December 14, 2025 7:30 pm – $10 tix starting at 6:00 pm
• Parent’s Day Out Sunday, December 21, 2025 2 pm – Kids Activities (5-12yo)
• While We’re On The Subject Sunday, December 21, 2025 2 pm – Post Show Discussion

The Human Race Theatre Company expresses gratitude for the public and private support which makes these productions possible:  Loft Season Sponsor: Jack W. and Sally D. Eichelberger Foundation. Sustainability Sponsors:   Steve and Lou Mason, The Toulmin Fund at The Dayton Foundation.  Additional Season support:  Erma R. Catterton Trust, Funds at The Dayton Foundation, Virginia F. Kettering Foundation, The Shubert Foundation, Charles D. Berry Foundation, Sam Levin Foundation, and Pizza Factory.  Organizational support:  Culture Works, Montgomery County, Ohio Arts Council. Media Sponsor: WDPR Discover Classical. Pay What You Can Sponsor: Enterprise Holdings Foundation.  Capital Support: The Schiewetz Foundation, The Dayton Foundation, The Toulmin Fund at the The Dayton Foundation, Oakwood Rotary. 

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A FRESH BITE OF A CLASSIC TALE

The Human Race Theatre Company throws back to their very first production with a fresh bite of a classic horror tale: Dracula: A Feminist Revenge Fantasy, Really by Kate Hamill.

When your survival is at stake…will you be able to distinguish the monster from the man? Bouncing between horror and humor, Kate Hamill’s adaptation of Bram Stoker’s classic novel is a thrilling play that questions who the true monsters are. Kate Hamill’s imaginative, gender-bending Dracula is unlike any adaptation you’ve ever seen – exploring the nature of predators and reinventing the story as a smart, disquieting, darkly comic drama. No damsels in distress, no romanticized villains – just a gleeful stake through the heart.

 “We themed our 40th Season around family and knew that we wanted to nod back to the Dracula we produced in 1986. Kate Hamill’s retelling of the classic story through a woman’s lens felt like the right choice,” writes Emily Wells, Artistic Director of The Human Race. “A pregnant Mina Harker attempts to save her dear friend from the throes of the vampire and his wives, and in doing so, puts her family unit at risk.”

Wells directs, with a stellar Miami Valley area cast: Caitlin Larsen as Renfield, Andrew Ian Adams as Jonathan Harker, Angelique Archer as Mina Harker, Greg Mallios as Dracula, Jordan Trovillion as Lucy Westerna, Rico Romalus Parker as Dr. George Seward, and Darlene Spencer as Van Helsing. Two Wright State University students round out the cast as part of the Human Race – WSU Performing Arts Collaboration – Skye Hodgkin and Evelyn Vordtriede.

Providing the spooky atmosphere and designs are Charlie Calvert, Scenic Design; Jessica Drayton, Lighting Design; Ayn Swann, Costume Design; Jay Brunner, Composer & Sound Design; Sarah Gomes, Props Design; Carolyn Fast, Production Stage Manager; Isabella Myers, Assistant Stage Manager

DRACULA will play in the Loft Theatre in downtown Dayton, October 29 – November 9, 2025.  Tickets are on sale through the Dayton Live box office, 937-228-3630, or online at www.humanracetheatre.org

For press ticket requests, please contact Tiffany Countryman, Engagement and Learning Coordinator, at tiffany@humanracetheatre.org

The Human Race Theatre Company continues its commitment to high quality theatre with access points for all with two special ticket initiatives: two sections of $20 seats available at any time through the box office, and ten $10 rush seats available 60 minutes before any performance.

Special Nights at The Loft:  

• Pay What You CAN – Tuesday, October 28, 2025 7:30 pm to benefit the Dayton Food Bank & Artemis Center
• Inside Track – Thursday, October 30, 2025 6:45 pm – Pre-show Discussion
• While We’re On The Subject – Sunday, November 2, 2025 2 pm – Post Show Discussion
• $10/Sawbuck Sunday – Sunday, November 2, 2025 7:30 pm – $10 tix starting at 6:00 pm
• Parent’s Day Out – Sunday, November 9, 2025 2 pm – Kids Activities (5-12yo)

The Human Race Theatre Company expresses gratitude for the public and private support which makes these productions possible:  Loft Season Sponsor: Jack W. and Sally D. Eichelberger Foundation. Production Sponsor: Charley and Judy Schuerholz.  Special thanks to: Versiti Blood Center of Ohio. Sustainability Sponsors:  Steve and Lou Mason, The Toulmin Fund at The Dayton Foundation.  Additional Season support:  Erma R. Catterton Trust, Funds at The Dayton Foundation, Virginia F. Kettering Foundation, The Shubert Foundation, Sam Levin Foundation, and Pizza Factory.  Organizational support:  Culture Works, Montgomery County, Ohio Arts Council. Media Sponsor: WDPR Discover Classical. Pay What You Can Sponsor: Enterprise Holdings Foundation.  Capital Support: The Schiewetz Foundation, The Dayton Foundation, The Toulmin Fund at the The Dayton Foundation, Oakwood Rotary.

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Fathers and sons, downsizing, and imposter syndrome? Right at home in Jake Lockwood’s world premiere Dad’s Place – A Farce starting the 40th Season at The Human Race Theatre Company.

Paul briefly steps away from a lucrative writing career in LA to help his father, Karl, go through an apartment that’s overrun with “stuff”. Paul seeks to use this time away from corporate clients to write something more meaningful, but the distractions of Karl’s life prove to be more than Paul’s creative inspiration can overcome. In the end, Paul finds he has just as much “stuff” to work through.

This new work by Jake Lockwood is a two-actor farce that dives into complex parent-adult child relationships, an artist wrestling with his creativity, and wraps them into a love letter to the artistic process.

“Jake started writing this play in 2022 as a 5-minute scene in The Playwright’s Race, one of our new play initiatives,” notes Emily N. Wells, Artistic Director of The Human Race Theatre Company. “A farce that is so full of heart, family connection, and local talent feels like a great way to start our 40th Season.”

Resident Artist Joe Deer directs area favorites Jason Podplesky (Incident at Our Lady of Perpetual Help) as Paul and resident artist Bruce Cromer (Shipwrecked: An Entertainment) in a quick change extravaganza as Terry, Karl, Mortimer, and others.

The full production team: Richard Block, Scenic Design; Matthew P. Benjamin, Lighting Design; Molly Walz, Costume Design; Kaitlin Barnett Proctor, Sound Design; Sarah Gomes, Props; Ruth E. Kramer, Production Stage Manager; Isabella Myers, Assistant Stage Manager.

Dad’s Place – A Farce will play in the Loft Theatre in downtown Dayton, September 3-14, 2025.  Tickets are on sale through the Dayton Live box office, 937-228-3630, or online at www.humanracetheatre.org

For press ticket requests, please contact Tiffany Countryman, Engagement and Learning Coordinator, at tiffany@humanracetheatre.org

The Human Race Theatre Company continues its commitment to high quality theatre with access points for all with two special ticket initiatives: two sections of $20 seats available at any time through the box office, and ten $10 rush seats available 60 minutes before any performance.

Special Nights at The Loft:  

• Pay What You CAN
  Tuesday, September 2, 2025 7:30 pm to benefit the Dayton Food Bank
• Inside Track Thursday, September 4, 2025 6:45 pm – Pre-show Discussion
• While We’re On The Subject
  Sunday, September 7, 2025 2 pm – Post Show Discussion
• $10/Sawbuck Sunday Sunday, September 7, 2025 7:30 pm – $10 tix starting at 6:00 pm
• While We’re On The Subject
  Sunday, September 14, 2025 2 pm – Post Show Discussion
• Parent’s Day Out
  Sunday, September 14, 2025 2 pm – Kids Activities (5-12yo)

The Human Race Theatre Company expresses gratitude for the public and private support which makes these productions possible:  Loft Season Sponsor: Jack W. and Sally D. Eichelberger Foundation. Sustainability Sponsors:  Steve and Lou Mason, The Toulmin Fund at The Dayton Foundation.  Additional Season support:  Erma R. Catterton Trust, Funds at The Dayton Foundation, Virginia F. Kettering Foundation, The Shubert Foundation, Sam Levin Foundation.  Organizational support:  Culture Works, Montgomery County, Ohio Arts Council. Media Sponsor: WDPR Discover Classical. Pay What You Can Sponsor: Enterprise Holdings Foundation. Capital Support: The Schiewetz Foundation, The Dayton Foundation, The Toulmin Fund at the The Dayton Foundation.

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