Playlabs 2025 at the Playwrights' Center

Every fall, The Playwrights' Center hosts Playlabs, a festival of new plays with free readings over two weeks. Of course, this is in addition to the work that they do year-round supporting thousand of playwrights in various ways. I attended Playlabs every year from 2016 to 2019, as well as many other readings. But for whatever reason, I'd only been back to that beloved old church in South Minneapolis once since the pandemic. This summer, they moved into their brand new home at University and Raymond in St. Paul, with more space to support playwrights, and now they're hosting their first Playlabs in this gorgeous new space. I attended just one of the readings of the festival, but it made me realize how much I've missed The Playwrights' Center. We are so lucky to have this treasure in our community, and are invited to be part of the process of developing new plays, which we need so much right now! Because a play isn't a play without an audience, when playwrights get to see and hear how audiences react to their work. Now that I've been back, I vow to become a PWC regular again! Their monthly Ruth Easton New Play Series begins in December and continues through the spring, but for right how, you can attend readings and other events in this celebration of new plays through November 1, and/or watch any of the plays virtually after the festival's conclusion.

Minnesota Fringe Festival 2019: "Stoopidity"

Day: 5

Show: 18

Title: Stoopidity

Category: 

By: Domino D'Lorion, Ian McCarthy, and Michael McKitt

Created by: Domino D'Lorion, Ian McCarthy, and Michael McKitt

Location: Rarig Center Xperimental

Summary: Three young black men use rap, rhyme, spoken word, dialogue, and song to explore their hopes, fears, and dreams.

Highlights: These three recent grads from the Guthrie/U of M BFA program overflow with talent and charisma. They represent the next generation of black artists (mentored by Talvin Wilks, no less), and the future looks good. They've created a show that feels sort of stream-of-consciousness as it flows from one scene to the next, almost all of it in rhyme. Each of the artists gets a chance to show their skills solo, and they also have great chemistry as a trio. The various scenes are funny or sobering or poignant or powerful as they express what it means to be young and black (and queer) in America today. They make great use of the space at the X, with the stairs on either side representing the titular stoop, and walking around the audience and across the balcony. There is great young talent on display here, and I hope they stay in town!

Read all of my Fringe mini-reviews here.