Theater company to present play festival

RiverStage received and read more than 30 short plays that were submitted last fall from playwrights all across Pennsylvania and the U.S., and they worked with local directors and actors to cast and produce 8 of those scripts as part of this year’s performance.

Gaspipe co-founder Derek Scott, who will return this year to direct one of the plays, said, “We were excited again to get so many great, creative scripts that people sent to us from all over the country. Our cast and crew have been working hard to put together a show that combines these brand new plays into one entertaining night of laughs and drama. It’s fresh, new theatre that you’re not going to see anywhere else, and it’s always a lot of fun for the audience as well as the performers.”

This year will mark the ninth time that Gaspipe has produced this unique festival, but the first time since 2018 that it is returning to the stage after a hiatus.

Scott will direct “Letter to My Father” by Karen Elias (Lock Haven), about a daughter grappling with her father’s environmental career and legacy.

Another drama, “Dry Ribbons” by Nickolette Jones (Bryn Mawr), follows a young woman helping her grandmother to clean house when old secrets get revealed. On the lighter side, this year’s festival is filled with comedies, including: “Idemo!” by Ramsey Uhter (Williamsport,) about a boy’s birthday party that becomes a whodunit; “Lost and Found” by Clara Graham (Lewisburg), about two friends who make a surprising discovery in the woods; “Staples of Life” by Ashli Starks (Milton), about an unconventional religious cult; “Betty the Staten Island Ferry Fairy” by John McDonnell Tierney (Shelburne Falls, Mass.) about a commuter who meets a magical being; “Nick Goes to the Drag Show” by Anne Valentino (Rockville, Md.), about a married couple expanding their horizons; and “At the Haiku Convention” by James Spock (Hanover Township) about two strangers connecting over poetry.

This production will feature 17 actors from Lewisburg, Milton, Danville, Selinsgrove, Williamsport and beyond. The shows will be directed by Maggie Able, Emily Ayn Bowen, Clara Graham, Derek Scott, Andrew Shaffer and Ashli Starks, and the casts include Maggie Able, Steve Anderson, Teddy Casimir, Daelyn Castle, Michael Conard, Cathy Emery, Fred Hooper, Ketaki Hutchinson, Doug Orbaker, Elaine Pfeil, Storm Pryor, Lindsay Sauer, Ralph Sayers, Maddie Smith, Barbara Sundin, Ross Wiley and Jude Wilkinson.

RiverStage Community Theatre was founded in 2003 as a nonprofit group of artists committed to bringing top-notch theatre to the Greater Susquehanna Valley. Following this production, the season will continue with the drama about love at a movie theatre, Tiny Island, and conclude in June with the classic musical The Sound of Music.

For more information about the show or to purchase tickets, visit www.riverstagetheatre.org, send an email to info@riverstagetheatre.org, or call 570-989-0848.