Silver Linings: The Meganne George Women's Work Short Play Festival 2023

Named after Meganne George, who served as Resident Production Designer at New Perspectives Theatre Company for 19 years and was instrumental in creating its structure and design elements, the festival presents original short plays developed in NPTC's Women's Work LAB which takes writers from their first impulse for their play to a rehearsed and staged performance for live audiences, all within six months. There is no other program of its kind in New York City. The theme of Silver Linings stems from the social and political discourse percolating in the U.S. at the start of a new LAB. The 2023 theme attests to the optimism emerging from the COVID epidemic and what seemed, at the time, like the stirrings of more progressive policies. As always, each writer found her own take on this theme, enabling the creation of plays that are as unique and diverse as the talented writers themselves.

The festival is comprised of six plays separated into two programs. Program A includes: Night Shift by Emma Lefkowitz, directed by My Le; Delphi Falls by Emily Welty, directed by Kaelani Burja; and A Coup Against Resilience by Uzunma Udeh, directed by Jenny Greeman. Program B includes: Automated Response by Deniz Khateri, directed by Dani Ortiz; The Pledge by Daphne Greaves, directed by Kubbi and The Great Bluffer by Ledia Xhoga, directed by Melody Brooks.

Program A begins with Night Shift, an absurdist modern morality play examining how the inexhaustible capitalist system corrupts even our most cherished values. In Delphi Falls, Savannah spends her senior year accepting that her mundane suburban life is unworthy of a college essay, until Mara enlists her help in starting a cult. A Coup Against Resilience questions whether "resilience" is a good thing, when those long oppressed want something better for themselves and their communities.

Program B opens with Automated Response, in which the bounds of humanity and artificial intelligence are blurred when struggling artist, Sara, attempts to get in contact with her employer. In The Pledge, Greaves boldly highlights the American education system’s preservation of systemic oppression and its impact on one African American family. Opposites attract in The Great Bluffer, but when two best friends are confronted with life-changing secrets, both must acknowledge the need for honesty if they wish to maintain their friendship.