New Works Play Reading: Collection of Student Work

Time and Location
- 2021, Jan 28
- 2021, Jan 29
All new works by Western students. These works reflect struggles in life and how life is not always as it seems.
- Spiked by Kevin Harris
- First Step: An Ode to Wham! by Hope Winsor
- Tidal Lock by Jessica Moreland
- The Woodpecker by Boomer Lusink
- Conversations with a Cat by Chauncey Drummond
- Gimme A Sign by Barnett Marcus
Spiked
by Kevin Harris
Cast
Alexis: Katie Ginther
Penn: Tessa Hoyos
Stage Directions: Megan Burr
Production Team
Playwright: Kevin Harris
Director: Mark Lutwak
Assistant Director: Kenneth Dalena
Dramaturg: j. chavez
Stage Manager: Stephanie Ward-Harvey
Production Manager: Savannah LeCornu
Company Managers: Mark Kuntz, Kamarie Chapman
First Step: An Ode to Wham!
by Hope Winsor
What do reality stars, kitchen appliances, recovery, and an eighties pop duo have in common? Surprisingly, more than you’d think. First Step follows Chance as they attempt to make sense of the unthinkable. Chance must navigate the harsh reality of loss, love, and the art of letting go. However, not everything may appear as it seems as Chance discovers help in the least likely of places. On the road to recovery Chance learns that perhaps the hardest part is taking that first step.
Content Warning
- substance abuse
- talks of suicide/suicide ideation
- self harm/blood
- death
Cast
Chance: Kevin Harris
Microwave: Wilson Loucks
Morgan: Ryan Hamilton-Sutherland
Meg: Gwen Brewer
Stage Directions: Levi Collins
Production Team
Playwright: Hope Winsor
Director: Mark Lutwak
Assistant Director: Daniel Hanlon
Dramaturg: j. chavez
Stage Manager: Stephanie Ward-Harvey
Production Manager: Savannah LeCornu
Company Managers: Mark Kuntz, Kamarie Chapman
Tidal Lock
by Jessica Moreland
Cast
Dee: Dylan Braund
Linda: Shona Carter
Stage Directions: Robert Clifton
Production Team
Playwright: Jessica Moreland
Director: Mark Lutwak
Assistant Director: Isaac Hall
Dramaturg: j. chavez
Stage Manager: Stephanie Ward-Harvey
Production Manager: Savannah LeCornu
Company Managers: Mark Kuntz, Kamarie Chapman
The Woodpecker
by Boomer Lusink
Arthur struggles with isolation as he distances himself, both literally and figuratively, from the people who care about him. Alone at his family’s cabin, he fights against an unseen presence, an incessantly beleaguering force that gets continuingly worse and fills him with wave after wave of terrible, heavy pain. He does his best. The woodpecker is not what it seems.
Content Warning
- suicidal ideation
- an attempt at suicide
- strong language
Playwright's Note
Wear a mask.
Cast
Arthur Bassini: Mitch Stevens
Phoebe Applegate: Erin Smith
JJ: Logan Johnson
Stage Directions: Riley Stowell
Production Team
Playwright: Boomer Lusink
Director: Mark Lutwak
Assistant Director: Sarah McBride
Dramaturg: j. chavez
Stage Manager: Stephanie Ward-Harvey
Production Manager: Savannah LeCornu
Company Managers: Mark Kuntz, Kamarie Chapman
Conversations with a Cat
by Chauncey Drummond
Cast
Cordy: Kharma Stambaugh
Lily: Marina Clever
Stage Directions: Gracie Johnson
Production Team
Playwright: Chauncey Drummond
Director: Mark Lutwak
Assistant Director: Brittany Morgan
Dramaturg: j. chavez
Stage Manager: Stephanie Ward-Harvey
Production Manager: Savannah LeCornu
Company Managers: Mark Kuntz, Kamarie Chapman
Gimme A Sign
by W. Barnett Marcus
Charlie and Louise, college-aged roommates, discuss the ongoing protests for racial justice occurring throughout the United States. Louise (who is white) goes to protests, while Charlie(who isn't) stays at home. When Charlie is treated unfairly by a local librarian and nearly has the police called on them, Louise resolves to secretly fundraise for Charlie and spread word of the incident in the activist community. When Charlie learns of this, they are more concerned for their personal safety than delighted at the money raised. Louise's continued ignorance and assumptions of Charlie's needs results in Charlie kicking her out of the house.
Content Warning
- themes of racial injustice
- physical assault
- vehicular assault
- alcohol consumption without drunkenness
Playwright's Note
Dear white audience
I hope you weren't expecting a call to action here, because you aren't getting one from me. If you're looking for the impetus to change and make change, I don't owe it to you. It is neither my prerogative nor my interest to make you like this play.
Dear audience of color
You already know what I'm going to say here.
My dearest thanks to the cast and crew for their unwavering support.
xoxo wbm
Cast
Louise: Anna Olsen
Charlie: Nalica Hennings
Stage Directions: Katie Garcia
Production Team
Playwright: W. Barnett Marcus
Director: j. chavez
Assistant Director: Nina Stanyo
Dramaturg: j. Chavez
Production Manager: Savannah LeCornu
Company Managers: Mark Kuntz, Kamarie Chapman
Director's Note
“there are white people in heaven, too.
they build condos across the street
& ask Mexicans to speak English.
I’m just kidding.
there are not white people in heaven”
-“Mexican Heaven”, by José Olivarez, from Citizen Illegal
“But they’ll drink a six-dollar turmeric latte,
make a chaiwalla shop in Toronto, ride rickshaws down
Manhattan say Namaste during
yoga extra loudly because they are so so so very
cultured and ask you “Why is Bangladesh so
poor, you think?”
- an excerpt from “the many descriptions of being brown”, by Fariha Róisín, from how to cure a ghost
“I feel most colored when I am thrown against a sharp white background”
-from “How It Feels to Be Colored Me” by Zora Neale Hurston
j. chavez
Director, Gimme A Sign
j.chavez is a theatre artist from white suburbia, Bellingham. They got their Bachelors in Playwriting and Directing from Western Washington University in 2019. They are the current reigning Little Miss Kennedy Center National Undergraduate Playwright for their play “how to clean your room (and remember all your trauma)” won the 2020 and is being published in the Methuen Drama Book of Trans Plays in May 2021. Founder and Artistic Director of Haus of Hazard Theatre Productions in Bellingham, Washington which attempted a production of Romeo and Juliet where one of the characters was a crab. And has spent the last 24 years of their life trying to understand the concept of wind, and has yet to.

Mark Lutwak
Director, The Woodpecker, First Step: An Ode to Wham!, Spiked, Conversations with a Cat, Tidal Lock
Mark Lutwak has served as director of education and outreach for Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, artistic director at Honolulu Theatre for Youth, executive director at Rain City Projects, a resident director at New Dramatists in NYC, and program director for Taller Latinoamericano. He has specialized in commissioning, developing and directing new work for both young people and adults. As a freelance director, he has directed in theatres across the U.S., produced and directed award-winning educational media, and produced a wide variety of projects for non- profits arts, community and educational organizations. He currently is focused on the work of playwright Y York, through their production company Snowflake Avalanche.

Disability Accommodations
For disability accommodations, please contact the department presenting the event. Disability access information is available online at Parking Services, and further resources can be found on Western's Disability Resources website.