2025 Summer Staged Reading Series
Beginning June 1 and through August 24, we’ll bring you 7 evenings of entertainment with readings of 11 brand-new original works by budding playwrights at the American Legion Hall #113 in Napa (1240 Pearl St.)
Out of hundreds of submissions, we have chosen 11 delightful brand-new plays. We look forward to bringing you these gems!
Performance Dates are:
June 1st, June 15th, June 29th, July 13th, July 27th, August 10th, and August 24nd, all at 4 pm.
Admission: $10
Buy a Summer Series Pass: 7 tickets for $50
That’s 7 admissions for the price of 5!
See every show yourself, or share the fun—bring two friends to one show, three to another, or mix it up. Use your tickets however you like!
On June 1st at 4 pm
Resident Poet by Cassandra Powers
When a mother-daughter pair of poets compete for the same prestigious residency, old wounds re-open, forcing questions about who gets to make art to the surface.
On June 15th at 4 pm
The Other Wife by Arnold Margolin
In this painful comedy, Richard’s late wife, Diana, now a ghost but free of the dementia that killed her, visits Richard and his new wife, Kate, on the eve of their first anniversary. Diana says she has come back to save Richard and Kate’s marriage. But is she really?
On June 29th at 4 pm
An Evening of Shorts
The Tea Test by Seth Freeman
When two friends meet for a casual cup of tea, the way the tea is prepared leads to an increasingly chilling conversation. Not that it matters, but the historical events referenced in this piece are true.
Little Cat Feet by William Brasse
A man trips over something. A discussion ensues. No questions. No answers.
The Tree by Barbara Anderson
The Old Woman tells her husband of many years that he must cut down their dying oak tree before the city comes out and cuts it down and charges them. After his wife leaves, the Old Man begins to cut it down. But the Tree has something to say about that!
Final Cut by Lorraine Midanik
Shelly is increasingly dissatisfied with Lisa’s (her long-term stylist) work and has decided to end their relationship. Lisa is surprised and angry, adding truth to the adage that breaking up is hard to do.
On July 13th at 4 pm
An Institution by Dan Takacs
When a graduate student reports sexual misconduct to her professor, the faculty scrambles to control the rumor. In the end, one adjunct professor must choose between her career, and doing the right thing.
On July 27th at 4 pm
Two One-Acts
She leaves behind… by Joy Sedjro-Gnang
Jace, a recovering addict and alcoholic, returns after years to his family for the funeral of his brother Noah’s wife. Noah and Jace have a very strained and complicated relationship stemming from childhood, often needing their mother and aunt to stand between them. The night before the funeral, all of that past finally comes to a head and the family is pushed to the brink.
A Second Language by Kate Neuman
A Second Language examines the intersection of memory, identity, and love as a daughter tries to reconnect with her fading mother over coffee, memories, and long-buried truths. This tender, witty play the fragile threads that hold us to each other—even as memory slips away.
On August 10th at 4 pm
Annelies by Oded Gross
The present collides with the past in the drama Annelies. Mourning the loss of his father, a bereaved man in 2020 begins to keep a journal, only to find himself in correspondence with the famous and tragic diarist, Anne Frank. A play about grief, friendship and hope, Annelies explores the strength and legacy of the written word, and its power to change our lives forever.
On August 24th at 4 pm
Fugitive Colors by Barbara Anderson
Every second Sunday of the month, four women, of very different ages and backgrounds, meet at Marge’s mountain cabin in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Usually they hike and share lunch but today will be different – very different. Fugitive Colors is a humorous yet thought-provoking play about love, friendship and life’s most difficult choices.
What’s a staged reading? It’s a rehearsed performance of a script—complete with actors, movement, and emotion—but without full sets or costumes. It’s a vital step for playwrights, giving them the chance to see their words come alive.
But the most important part? You. After each reading, we’ll hold a brief talk-back, and that’s where your voice matters. Join us in person, experience these living plays, and help shape what they become next!