The Regional Premiere of a Brand New Play
Hypotheticals is a Romantic Comedy that will upturn your world.
Set in current-day Chicago, this play is about a beautiful but misanthropic woman who kisses a stranger in an elevator on her way to mandatory psychotherapy. When the stranger turns out to be her new therapist, they’re forced into a professional relationship where the intimate environment is as fertile for romantic tension as it is for personal growth—until the revelation of a mutual secret threatens to bind them together or tear them apart. In an age where up to 20% of the world’s population is neurodivergent, this story shatters stereotypes about neurodiversity and Autism, arguing that neurodivergent brains are not faulty and that there’s no wrong way to be human.
PLUS, the playwright will be spending the week with us. See her play, shake her hand, ask your questions - welcome an award-winning playwright and novelist to Waco!
And as if that's not enough, we have FIVE staged readings happening as well!
Vampire Panic! on Saturday, 2:30pm
In 1890’s New England, a wave of consumption is wreaking havoc in a small town. The local doctor is using the epidemic to sell his fraudulent elixirs and tonics, young women are actively trying to catch the disease to achieve their dream figures and a preacher woman has everyone convinced that consumption is caused by vampires. (That’s right, blood sucking undead VAMPIRES.) When the logical Lucy Greene returns home to care for her orphaned niece, she takes it upon herself to teach her neighbors about germ theory but will her recent encounter in Europe dilute her message? Inspired by true historical events, Vampire Panic! is a gothic pandemic comedy that reminds us that medical misinformation, conspiracy theories and general hysteria aren’t just byproducts of the Covid era.
The Sporting Life on Saturday, 5:00pm
“Dad’s new girlfriend is a serial killer and it’s honestly kind of iconic.”
16-year-old Dot still hasn’t gotten her period. Lucky for her, there’s a Witch in the woods who can get it started. However, in exchange, Dot must offer her the life of a man who has wronged her. And who better to offer than a math teacher? When Dot gets her elusive first period and becomes witness to the Witch’s murder, they become bonded in literal blood, sending Dot down a path of self-understanding, bitterness, and perhaps a little bit of violence too (as a treat). The Sporting Life is a ‘this girl is a woman now’ story brutally snapped open to expose the, sometimes literal, entrails of growing up girl.
Ink and Paint on Saturday, 7:30pm
This historical docu-musical follows five women artists at Walt Disney Studios in the 1930s and beyond, whose ranks included immigrants from Europe and Asia, a single mother and architect, a record-breaking pilot, a concept artist, and Disney’s first credited woman animator. At the musical’s outset, in 1991, former Disney employees Gyo Fujikawa, Sylvia Moberly Holland, Grace Huntington and Retta Scott convene to accept a Disney Legend Award on behalf of their friend and colleague, Mary Blair, who passed away of a cerebral hemorrhage in the 1970s. The company’s framing of Mary’s legacy prompts an outburst from Retta, her closest friend at the studio, who argues that they are distorting history. With the help of Gyo, Sylvia, and Grace, she tells the real story of what happened to the first women to work in Disney’s story department in the 1940s, ultimately revealing her complicity in a dark secret that impacted Mary’s work.
The Wonderful Out There on Sunday, 2:30pm
The Wonderful Out There takes place in a group home for neurodivergent children, where they can solve mysteries, draw on walls, play space exploration, and eat their favorite foods. None of them can leave without “permission.” One day, 11-year-old Daryl arrives. Unsure how he got there, Daryl is eager to return home and celebrate his 12th birthday with his family. While waiting to get “permission” to leave, he befriends the other children living in the home—aspiring detective Jennifer, the non-speaking artist Bethany, and the home’s firm but kind caretaker, Larry. But when Daryl learns the truth about his new home, he is faced with an impossible choice. A play about trauma, ableism, and the hopeful possibility of a better future.
Crawlspaceblog on Sunday, 5:00pm
Meet Claire. She runs a super hip Airbnb for budding writers in a beautiful forest. She gets her coffee from the farmer’s market. She’s a good listener, and she’ll always give you as many extra towels as you need. Then as you’re getting ready for bed that night, she’ll watch you in your most private, mundane moments, and she’ll tell the world all about every little detail on her blog. Crawlspaceblog is a new play in development following Claire as she follows her renters, until she gets a special new guest whose unexpected bond with her may threaten more than just her livelihood and her weird little nighttime hobby.
