January 12 – 15, 2023

Sheryl and Harvey White Theatre
Conrad Prebys Theatre Center

The 10th annual Powers New Voices Festival, a four-day event of readings of 11 new American plays by some of the most exciting playwrights writing for the American theatre today, including new works by San Diegans. The free festival opens on January 12, 2023 and closes on January 15 in the Sheryl and Harvey White Theatre, part of the Globe’s Conrad Prebys Theatre Center.

The Powers New Voices Festival kicks off with the first of five of the new American play reading series on January 12 with The Janeiad by Anna Ziegler, followed by the Globe-commissioned play The Black Beans Project by Melinda Lopez and Joel Perez, Wipeout by Aurora Real de Asua; Unf*ckwithable by Eliana Pipes, and Uncle Remus, His Life and Times, as Told to Aaron Coleman by Aaron Coleman.

Celebrating Community Voices, an evening of short works created by San Diego playwrights through the Globe’s arts engagement programs CommunityVoicesand coLAB, is scheduled on January 13. The evening will feature readings of 10-minute plays by Casj, Michaela Subido, Rudi Fate, Melanie Taing, Farah Dinga, Gingerlily Lowe, and Daryl “Scooter” Davis.

Press Release

THURSDAY, JANUARY 12, 2023
7:30 p.m.
The Janeiad
By Anna Ziegler

In The Odyssey, Penelope’s long wait is eventually rewarded when Odysseus returns 20 years after leaving to fight the Trojan War. Will the same be true for Jane in Brooklyn in 2021, 20 years after her husband left for work one fateful September morning? A play about longing and hope as well as the myths we tell ourselves in order to get through the day, The Janeiad is a wry contemplation of the power, and slipperiness, of storytelling.

CELEBRATING COMMUNITY VOICES

FRIDAY, JANUARY 13, 2023
7:30 p.m.

Under the Guise of Love
By Casj
Adamma, a young singer and legacy space child of the Pulchritude settlement on Zozinada, finds herself caught in a war of two hearts and three species.

To Tessa, from Dad
By Michaela Subido
Tessa, a young Filipina filmmaker, captures her last conversations with her father as they explore the past, their present relationship, and the uncertainty of the future.

Everyone Loves Raiin for the Day
By Rudi Fate
Raiin, a dedicated therapist, will do anything to “save” her clients.

Between the Seams
By Melanie Taing
Actuary by day and metalhead by night, Robynn deliberates her grandmother over her marital status.

Two Gay Desis
By Farah Dinga
Rida, a queer Pakistani person, has decided to get an arranged marriage. When sharing the news to their older queer cousin Nabila at this year’s Eid celebration, Nabila questions Rida about their impending wedding.

Bound
By Gingerlily Lowe
Three generations confront their own legacy of female feet binding and subjugation.

If These Walls Could Talk, and the Floor, and the Ceiling
By Daryl “Scooter” Davis
An exterminator dealing with bipolar disorder tries to convince his wife that he is ready to come home to rejoin the family—once he has made a few repairs.

FESTIVAL SERIES OF NEW AMERICAN PLAY READINGS

SATURDAY, JANUARY 14, 2023
4:00 p.m.

Globe-commissioned play
The Black Beans Project
By Melinda Lopez and Joel Perez
Mariana and Henry meet to share a secret family recipe that forces them to reveal secrets of their own. The siblings transform pandemic panic into renewal in this tender comedy about family, food, and finding the strength to move on. The Black Beans Project invites audiences to open a bottle of wine, chop some garlic, and savor the possibility of connecting with family after a long time apart.

SATURDAY, JANUARY 14, 2023
7:30 p.m.

Wipeout
By Aurora Real de Asua
It’s Gary’s 77th birthday and all she wants to do is surf. The only problem? She’s never stepped foot on a board before. But with the help of a hot-rod teenage surf instructor and the company of her two best friends, Gary is about to go on the ride of her life. As the three women navigate the currents of the Pacific, they must confront seven decades of secrets and sacrifices, not to mention the odd jellyfish or two. Aurora Real de Asua’s Wipeout is a septuagenarian surf comedy about what it really takes to hang 10.

SUNDAY, JANUARY 15, 2023
4:00 p.m.

Unf*ckwithable
By Eliana Pipes

In Unf*ckwithable, a disaffected millennial who’s recently been laid off decides to take control of her own destiny. She moves into a van, vlogging her #vanlife adventures by day and shooting down delivery drones to plunder the contents by night. She’s ready to become a modern-day Robin Hood, until one day she shoots down a box she shouldn’t have.

SUNDAY, JANUARY 15, 2023
7:30 p.m.

Uncle Remus, His Life and Times, as Told to Aaron Coleman
By Aaron Coleman

There’s more to the tale than zip-a-dee-doo-dah. Uncle Remus’s famous Brer Rabbit folktales have enchanted Americans for over a century—no one more than Aaron Coleman, a contemporary writer struggling to find his own story in today’s world. Seeking inspiration, Aaron finds himself transported to a plantation cabin in the late 1800s, face to face with the legendary Remus. As the withered man starts spinning his wild stories, conjuring up a fantastical world of rabbits and foxes, he cracks open his own unspoken life. But can he help Aaron discover his own truth? Uncle Remus, His Life and Times, as Told to Aaron Coleman is a new play about reclaiming the past to understand the present—and reveals the galvanizing truths about being a Black storyteller in America, then and now.

Major funding for the Powers New Voices Festival is provided by the Powers New Works Fund. The Old Globe’s Community Voices Program is supported by the Ann Davies Fund for Teaching Artists. Financial support of The Old Globe is provided by The City of San Diego. The Theodor and Audrey Geisel Fund provides leadership support for The Old Globe’s year-round activities.