PHILADELPHIA: PlayPenn has announced the lineup of its 2017 mini-conference, featuring free public readings of new plays by Mickey Fisher and Kara Lee Corthron at Drexel’s URBN Center Black Box on March 19 and 20. PlayPenn will partner with Repertory Theatre of St. Louis and the Contemporary American Theater Festival to help develop the two works.

“This year, we are thrilled to support Repertory Theatre of St. Louis and Contemporary American Theater Festival to develop work by Mickey Fisher and Kara Lee Corthron, respectively, and for the first time, offer these workshops concurrently in a ‘mini-Conference’ of free readings for Philadelphia audiences, whose response will ultimately help shape these plays into what theatregoers across the country will see,” said PlayPenn’s artistic director Paul Meshejian in a statement.

Fisher will develop and present Replica (March 19), in cooperation with the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis. Michele Volansky will serve as the dramaturg, and the reading cast will include Tom Teti, Kim Carson, and Molly Ward. Seth Gordon, associate artistic director of Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, will direct.

In cooperation with the Contemporary American Theater Festival, Corthron will develop Welcome to Fear City (March 20). Volansky will be the dramaturg, and Elena Araoz will direct. The reading cast will include Aaron Bell, Abdul Sesay, Taysha Canales, Kimberly Fairbanks, Brandon Pierce, and Lindsay Smiling.

PlayPenn, now in its 12th year, is an artist-driven organization that is dedicated to improving the way in which new plays are developed.