Staff Report
PCPA brings back InterPlay readings through March 20, with four new plays, each being read twice over the course of four weekends. The readings are all live streamed via Zoom. The series includes “Into the Breeches!”, “Two Degrees,” and “Fade.” Performances are 7 p.m. Fridays and 1:30 p.m. Saturdays. $10 per viewer or $40 for all four. A special $100 VIP pass includes all four play readings which includes a $60 donation to #PCPAStrong.
Literary Associate Emily Trask said that she is eager to share these wonderful new plays with our audiences.
“I’m thrilled that, by popular demand, our InterPlay series will be returning to PCPA this spring,” she said. “We will be introducing four more ‘fresh’ plays, by four fantastic, diverse, and exciting playwrights, to the Central Coast — where we cultivate not just great agriculture but also great art!”
The hilarious “Into the Breeches!” by George Brant is playing Friday, March 5 and Saturday, March 6. It’s World War II. All the male actors and director of the Oberon Playhouse are off fighting the war, and the theater sits dark. That is, until an unexpected troupe of players assembles to bring an all-female cast together to produce Shakespeare’s Henriad. “Into the Breeches!” is a moving celebration of collaboration, female fortitude, friendship and a timely reminder of the healing power of live theatre. The cast includes PCPA resident artists Erik Stein, Emily Trask, Don Stewart, Kitty Balay, Polly Firestone Walker, and Katie Fuchs-Wackowski, and the reader is George Walker, along with guest artists, under the direction of Andrew Philpot.
The third presentation introduces Emma Phelps, a paleo climatologist who researches ice core samples in Greenland. As she sees first-hand the symptoms of our changing climate, her grief over the loss of her husband has left her personally frozen. Tira Palmquist’s “Two Degrees” layers science, politics, and the deeply personal, in a landscape that is relevant in our current political climate and literal climate. The cast, under the direction of Roger DeLaurier, includes Kitty Balay, Polly Firestone Walker, Andrew Philpot, Yusef Seevers, and reader George Walker. “Two Degrees” will be performed live on Friday, March 12, and Saturday March 13.
This spring’s InterPlay series concludes with “Fade” by Tanya Saracho. A story that balances diversity, class and culture in a bittersweet comedy. Lucia has landed a writing job for a major TV show. But, her “token” position as the “diversity hire” backs her into a corner and shakes her confidence. As she comes out of her shell, after befriending the Latino janitor, her credibility and status among the Hollywood elite builds, but ultimately raises the question of “who gets to tell your story?” “Fade” plays Friday, March 19, and Saturday, March 20. It’s directed by Christian Arteaga and features guests Carolina Morones as Lucia and Stefan Espinosa as Abel. The reader is Leo Cortez.
For more information and to purchase tickets visit www.pcpa.org/interplay/
