MALVERN, P.A.: People’s Light has announced the launch of the Kiln, an annual new works program, which will invite six artists to develop new projects at the theatre April 4-15.
“As the theatre landscape changes and evolves, the field is giving birth to more and more multi-
hyphenate artists,” People’s Light associate producer and director of new works Lisa Portes said in a statement. “In conceiving The Kiln, I wanted to create space for directors and performers, as well as playwrights, to develop their dream projects. We are excited to host director-writers, writer-performers, actor-writers, actor-musicians, choreographers, composers, dramaturgs, and more.”
The Kiln will invite artists for a five-day residency that will culminate in a series of readings, performances, community conversations, and artist talks. The presentations will take place over the weekends of April 7-8 and 14-15.
The residency will welcome actor and playwright Lisa Ramirez with All Fall Down, a memory play with dance about the costs of addiction; actor, dancer, and singer-songwriter Daphne Rubin-Vega with FUQs, an autobiographical riot about death with songs; director Seema Sueko with Song of the Exile, a play with music about the Hawaii Territory, adapted from the novel by Kiana Davenport; director, actor, writer, and People’s Light resident director Steve H. Broadnax III with Bones, a horror allegory about intimacy, masculinity, and identity; stage and film director Estefanía Fadul with The New Latin American Musical Project, a spectacle created in collaboration with Jacinta Clusellas and Robi Hager; and director and playwright Carey Perloff with Edgardo or White Fire, based on the true story of an Italian Jewish boy who was abducted by the Pope in 1858 and raised to become a priest.
“While the Kiln is a brand new endeavor for People’s Light, it emerges from a decade of significant investment in new work through our innovative New Play Frontiers commission and residency program,” producing artistic director Zak Berkman said in a statement. “The Kiln aims to further establish Malvern as a destination for the development of new theatremaking.”
Founded in 1974, People’s Light is known for its resident company of artists, wide array of productions, and innovative work with young people. People’s Light is a civic and cultural center that invites and creates opportunities for diverse communities to celebrate our shared humanity. As of 2023, the theatre had a budget of approximately $7.2 million.
