PENNEY FARMS – Clamour Theatre Company’s Fifth Annual Playwright’s Retreat, “Clay & Water 2023,” will be live this year after having virtual retreats for the past two years.

Partnering with Penney Farms Retirement Community this year, Clamour continues to participate in the development of new work for the stage with a new group of five playwrights selected through a nationwide application process. The writers will stay at PRC, and their works-in-progress will be read by local actors at McCormick Hall, the fellowship hall at Penney Memorial Church, from March 5 through March 9 at 7 p.m. A different play will be read each night.

The subject matter of this year’s plays again covers an array of themes and genres: A mother and daughter spend 25 years exploring their version of love. A graduate student won’t stop making awkward comments about race, class, and family dynamics during her first visit to the home of her professor. An exploration of the relationship between two pairs of sisters living in sister cities a thousand years apart. An Italian grandma unexpectedly goes viral when her grandson secretly quotes her on social media. And a contemporary romance about young thespians that throws the idea that plays need to choose one genre out the window.

Writers Christine Benvenuto, Bill D’Agostino, Erin Proctor, Katherine Vondy, and Maggie Wilson will meet with area students to talk about the craft and business of playwriting. They will also be available for audience feedback sessions after each reading.

Benvenuto has been writing nearly everything for a long time – essays, fiction and newspapers – but she had always wanted to write a play. When she finally wrote one, she found it incredibly exciting to see things on stage coming to life with real actors and staging instead of writing in a room by oneself. She plans to continue all her writing, including plays. Her play is called “Destination Wedding.”

As a teenager, Agostino started writing plays at a summer program and became hooked on playwriting. He got his Master’s in Theater at Villanova and plans a future of doing lots of plays for kids. His play, “@my Italian Grandma,” is a light comedy. He wants to encourage theater aficionados to more readily go to readings – instead of thinking, “It’s just a reading.”

D’Agostino said readings are like a compressed version of the play without all the visuals, kind of a “radio play,” and are extra fun.

Proctor, who started as an actor and still writes plays for her peers in school, started during the pandemic when nearly all their work dried up. They decided to create their work and started writing plays. Most of her peers have returned to acting, but she still is writing plays. Her play, “Overlap,” is a romance/ghost story.

These readings are free and open to the public. Reservations are required due to limited seating. To get the full schedule and reserve a seat, go to Clamour’s event page or call (917) 902-7210.

More details can be found on Clamour’s website: www.clamourtheatre.org.

Clamour Theatre Company is a nonprofit whose mission is to inspire and nurture a love for theatre in northeast Florida, to educate and challenge a diverse community with theatrical productions of new and classic plays and musicals, and to train and support aspiring theatre artists of all ages, genders and ethnicities through exposure to and involvement with theatrical experiences.