Studio 180 READS

Launched in 2016

Step into the role of artistic director and join us for readings of critically acclaimed plays.

Talkback during a reading, photo by Dahlia Katz
Audience members share their feedback after a reading. Photo by Dahlia Katz.

We invite you to hear a published play we are considering for production, experience the actors’ first instincts and share your feedback with us on whether you would like to see it produced.

“It was excellent – the script, delivery, thought-provoking nature. I am very impressed by these readings.”

Audience Member Feedback

With Studio 180 READS as a part of our Studio Series, we look forward to hearing your responses to the plays that intrigue us, and we welcome the chance for further conversation with you, our audiences.

past readings

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The Soap Myth, 4 Minutes 12 Seconds, The Niceties

The Soap Myth

By Jeff Cohen
Directed by Sarah Orenstein
Featuring Jessica Greenberg, Ron Lea, Alex Poch-Goldin & Maria Ricossa

November 10, 2021

7:30

Digital Presentation
In partnership with Harold Green Jewish Theatre Company

Did the Nazis make soap from the corpses of murdered Jews?  

Fifty years after the end of World War II, impassioned Holocaust survivor Milton Saltzman battles Holocaust historians to include the atrocity of “soap” in their Holocaust memorials and museums. The Soap Myth wrestles with the conflict between survivor memory and historical proof, as well as with the scourge of anti-Semitism masquerading as Holocaust denial. It asks who has the right to write history? Who determines the truth? How does a survivor survive surviving?

Related events
Relics: Soap, Lampshades, and Myth in Holocaust Memory  

November 9, 2021

7:30

Digital Presentation

4 Minutes 12 Seconds

By James Fritz
Directed by Mark McGrinder
Featuring Vivien Endicott-Douglas, Ngabo Nabea, Geoffrey Pounsett & Zorana Sadiq

October 21, 2021

Digital Presentation

Di and David, have devoted their lives to giving their son Jack every opportunity they never had. But a startling incident outside the school gates threatens to ruin everything they’ve striven for. As events begin to accelerate, Di and David begin to question whether they can trust Jack, his closest friends, or even themselves. James Fritz’s deeply provocative and topical drama explores issues of consent and privilege and sheds light on the insidious opportunities new technology offers.

Related events
Boys Will Be Boys

October 19, 2021

7:30

Digital Presentation

The Niceties

By Eleanor Burgess
Directed by Kimberley Rampersad
Featuring Natasha Mumba & Maria Ricossa

September 29, 2021

7:30 PM

Digital Presentation

Zoe, a Black student at a liberal arts college, is called into her white professor’s office to discuss her paper about slavery’s effect on the American Revolution. What begins as a polite clash in perspectives explodes into an urgent debate about race, history, and power.

Related events
Launch Party: Reclaim & Reframe

September 28, 2021

7:30 PM

Live on Kumospace

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