The festival kicks off on Friday, January 18 at 7:30 p.m. with Celebrating Community Voices, an evening of work created by San Diego residents through the Globe’s arts engagement programs Community Voices and coLAB. These readings include The Last Signal Officer by Max Daily, Dissecting Fortune by Eboni Harvey, Boundaries and Barriers by Johnny Lozano, The Best Insurance Company in the World by Renea Minyard, Who’s Crazy by Richard Nichols, 3 Days by Maharani Peace, and The Ex Games by Miki Vale. All of the readings will be directed by Karen Ann Daniels and Katherine Harroff. The Community Voices and coLAB initiatives are play-development workshops that provide professional theatre-making skills to select San Diego communities. This evening is a curated collection of some of the best short scripts developed in these programs.

Press Release

Celebrating Community Voices:

Friday, January 18 at 7:30 p.m.

The Last Signal Officer by Max Daily
When a dream takes over a reality, a farmer can land a plane.

Dissecting Fortune by Eboni Harvey
An in-depth examination of an altercation between the police and the wrong suspect-of-color.

Boundaries and Barriers by Johnny Lozano
The moment when the desire for reality outweighs the comfort of self-medication.

The Best Insurance Company in the World by Renea Minyard
Are we spending our time properly on this planet? A voice from Mars puts a hard focus on that question in this sci-fi piece.

Who’s Crazy by Richard Nichols
The puppet master of our reality is who we are on the inside.

3 Days by Maharani Peace
A spoken-word examination of the romantic entanglement between two souls for three days.

The Ex Games by Miki Vale
Who really is qualified to give advice on love? The Ex Games attempts to answer this question.

The complete Powers New Voices Festival lineup is as follows:

Saturday, January 19 at 4:00 p.m.
Welcome to Matteson by Inda Craig-Galván
Directed by Delicia Turner Sonnenberg

A suburban couple hosts a welcome-to-the-neighborhood dinner party for their new neighbors—a couple forcibly relocated from Chicago's roughest housing project—and it’s anything but welcoming. A dark comedy about reverse gentrification and how we deal with the other when the other looks just like us.

Saturday, January 19 at 7:30 p.m.
The Great Moment by Anna Ziegler

As Sarah’s grandfather is nearing the end of his life, her son Max is nearing the beginning of his. Globe favorite Anna Ziegler crafts a poetic meditation on beginnings and endings, birth and age, and the moments of transition that mark our journey from life to death.

Sunday, January 20 at 4:00 p.m.
Faceless by Selina Fillinger
Directed by Jennifer Chambers

Susie Glenn, a white 18-year-old from the Chicago suburbs, was arrested at O’Hare International Airport for conspiring with ISIS. Recent Harvard Law grad and practicing Muslim Claire Fathi has been brought on to prosecute. Inspired by real court cases, Selina Fillinger’s crackling drama looks at two women fighting for justice in a world gripped by fear.

Sunday, January 20 at 7:30 p.m.
The Thanksgiving Play by Larissa FastHorse

In this satirical comedy, four well-intentioned teachers and actors set out to create a politically correct school play that can somehow celebrate both Thanksgiving and Native American Heritage Month. Can they navigate historical fact, cultural representation, and school district regulations to create a play that makes everyone thankful? Either way, the pageant must go on!