ARTS

MIT Music and Theater Arts announce 3rd annual Playwrights Lab

Staff Writer
The Milford Daily News

CAMBRIDGE — Massachusetts Institute of Technology Music and Theater Arts recently announced the third annual Playwrights Lab taking place from Sept. 18 to Oct. 3.

This virtual festival of eight staged readings brings together MIT students and professional theatre artists to showcase new works by the student writers in the Playwrights Lab workshop. Led by playwright and Senior Lecturer Ken Urban, the virtual readings feature directors such as Ashley Tata (“Mad Forest”), Steve Cosson (“The Civilians”) and Vanessa Stalling (“Jeff Award for Best Direction”). The exciting cast of acclaimed actors includes McKinley Belcher III (Netflix’s “Ozark”), Aaron Roman Weiner (FX Networks “The Americans”), Alex Breaux (Netflix’s “When They See Us”), Mary Testa (three-time TONY nominee), Zoë Winters (HBO’s ‘Succession”), Noah Robbins (“Grease Live” on NBC), Adrianne Krstansky (Eliot Norton and IRNE award-winner), Layan Elwazani (“The Band's Visit” on Broadway), Shoba Narayan (“Natasha,” “Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812” on Broadway), and more.

“The Playwrights Lab here at MIT is truly a one-of-a-kind experience for undergraduate playwrights, bringing together theater professionals and student writers together to develop new works for the stage,” says Senior Lecturer Ken Urban. “We had to postpone last year’s Lab, but we are coming back stronger in our new virtual edition. We are able to tap talent from across the United States with directors from New York, Chicago and Los Angeles, and amazing actors like three-time TONY nominee Mary Testa (Broadway’s “Oklahoma!”), Lortel Award nominee Zoë Winters (TV’s “Succession”), and Boston favorites Adrianne Krstansky and Maurice Emmanuel Parent. While we can’t all be in the same room together, we are able to Zoom together. The student plays range from a touching story about a woman confronting Alzheimer’s to a future where an app calculates the mortality rate of our daily activities. When I tell people teach playwriting at MIT, I can sometimes hear their surprise. But the Theater Arts program at MIT is at the cutting edge of theater arts education and training, and the Institute’s support of projects like the Playwrights Lab demonstrates its deep investment in the arts.”

Tickets to all virtual readings are free with RSVP, with a $5 donation encouraged. Donations go directly to future MTA Playwrights Labs and other dramatic writing initiatives that bring students and industry professionals together.

To view the list of performances and to RSVP, visit https://bit.ly/3iBwAFG.