Imagination Theatre to host national festival of new plays by female playwrights

Each year, Little Black Dress INK — a nationwide female playwright producing organization — invites female-identifying playwrights to submit short pieces fitting the ONSTAGE theme. This year’s theme was Volume Control. Semi-finalists are selected for presentation in the festival.

As a participating partner in this year’s festival, Imagination Theatre has selected 10 semi-finalists to share with Milwaukee, bringing Little Black Dress INK’s nationally-sourced Female Playwrights ONSTAGE Festival to Next Act Theatre’s performance space at 255 S. Water St., Milwaukee, on Jan. 21 at 5 p.m.

The free, public event will feature local actors reading short plays written by female playwrights from across the nation. Some plays contain mature subject matter and language. Donations will be accepted at the door to benefit the Milwaukee Women’s Center.

Imagination Theatre’s reading will take place in solidarity with the Women’s Voices Theatre Festival in its global pursuit of gender parity. Although this is the first time that Imagination Theatre has participated in the ONSTAGE Festival, Heidi Salter, Imagination Theatre’s artistic director believes that the selection of plays will resonate with Milwaukee audiences.

“The plays we’ve selected highlight many aspects of modern-day womanhood, including family life, sexuality, harassment, workplace discrimination, relationships and more,” Salter said. “We also wanted to raise awareness of issues faced by women in Milwaukee, which is why we’ve partnered with the Milwaukee Women’s Center for this performance. We will be collecting donations to benefit the Milwaukee Women’s Center, and our audience will hear from representatives of the center and women who have used its services throughout the night.”

Imagination Theatre is a Milwaukee-based theatre company that raises awareness of social issues and amplifies the voices of marginalized groups through theatre. Its goal is to create an inclusive, community-centric environment that supports local artists, inspires Milwaukee’s diverse community, and sheds light on the issues it faces.

For more information, visit imaginationtheatrewi.org.