A Dramatic Return

Brian J. Porter (left) and Kyle Barnette, cofounders of What If? Productions and the Playwrights Festival, at Threshold Repertory Theatre; photograph by Ruta Elvikyte

July 2, 2015

A Dramatic Return
The fourth annual Playwrights Festival stages adventurous new theater July 10-18

written by Nicole DeMarco

Since founding What If? Productions in 2010, Kyle Barnette and Brian Porter have built a solid reputation for producing what Barnette calls “sometimes dark, edgy, and progressive and often hilarious” contemporary theater. Seeking to share “ambitious works by emerging artists,” they created the Playwrights Festival, back for a fourth installment from July 10 to 18 at Threshold Repertory Theatre.

The festival hinges around the company’s Playwrights Competition. Each spring, What If? accepts submissions from writers around the Southeast. Judges select three finalists and invite audiences to watch staged readings, then join in on voting for a winner. This year, the readings take place July 11th, a day also filled with a “Lunch & Learn: Anatomy of a Scene” workshop with Thomas and Judy Heath, a performance of a short play created in 24 hours, and a show in which actors dramatically interpret Charleston Craigslist ads.

The pièce de résistance, though, is the world premiere of 2014’s winning play, How to Field Dress an Android, by Florida’s Irene Pynn, which runs throughout the festival.

For more details on the Playwrights Festival, click here.

For a full calendar of July events, click here.