PROGRAMMING
From the UNTITLED Writers Groups, to table and concert readings, UNTITLED's programming gives writers a first stop to hear their freshest material
in a supportive and dramaturgically focused environment.
Recent Music Presentations
2&1: A HARLEM LOVE STORY WITH LOOSE MORALS
Book and Lyrics by Joël René Scoville, Music by Jenna Byrd
Hosted at the Dramatist Guild Foundation Music Hall
MUSICIANS
Jenna Gillespie Byrd and Justin Ramos
PRESENTATION CAST
Jenna Gillespie Byrd, Anthony Festa, Joël René Scoville, Matthew Sims Jr.,
Natalie Wachen
Photos by Maggie Loesch | Videography and Editing by Sam Clark
Recent Table Readings
Our Unrehearsed Table Readings gather actors, creators, and a small group of trusted colleagues to hear a script aloud in a closed informal setting. Following the readings, the writers engage with moderated feedback to assist them on the next steps of the piece's development.
2&1: A HARLEM LOVE STORY WITH LOOSE MORALS
Book and Lyrics by Joël René Scoville, Music by Jenna Byrd
It’s the Harlem Renaissance and “the Negro is in vogue”. Olivia is a writer for The Crisis magazine longing for literary acclaim like her male peers. One night she meets Irene, a White passing flapper and falls headfirst into a torrid affair. Life is a gas until the women are forced to take drastic measures for survival and Olivia finds herself questioning how much is enough for love. With a contemporary jazz score, this queer love story spotlights a part of the Roaring ‘20s rarely mentioned: the Black women who not only defined the modern woman, but also invented it.
READING CAST — Aaron Moore, Brandon Burks, Britney Alfred, Bruce Landry, Desiree Gillespie, Faye Telemaco-Beane, Fernando Contreras, Frank Lawson, Jr., Imani Moss, Joi Danielle Price, Lauren Singerman, Natalie Wachen, Sharaé Moultrie
Book, Music, and Lyrics by Amy Jo Jackson
In 1900, Kansas is a Dry state – but it looks pretty Wet from where Carry Nation is sitting. Rather than enforce the state’s Prohibition Amendment, government officials are flouting the laws and skimming off the top. Carry begs God to show her the way. “The Way” turns out to be charging into a saloon and throwing bricks in every direction until a joint is destroyed. She gains notoriety, a band of supporters, and a Very Important Hatchet, all of which aids in her fight against the Big Bad Bottle. She and her Home Defenders are gonna bring Temperance to the masses – whether they like it or not.
HATCHETATION is a musical which follows real-life Temperance activist Carry A. Nation through her more notorious exploits at the turn of the last century. The show is zany, anachronistic, and adheres more closely to the actual historical events than you’d think, given how many times the word “fuck” appears in the script. HATCHETATION is written for a company of ten versatile actors across a diverse background of age, ability, race, ethnicity, and gender identity. None of the roles are to be cast with cis men.
READING CAST — Alyssa Payne, Amara Brady, Amy Jo Jackson, Britney Nicole Simpson, Brooke Ishibashi, Hannah Bakke, Juwan Crawley, Kathy Deitch, Kendal Hartse, Natalie Walker, Turna Mete