The Firehouse is committed to the development of new work. Over the past 22 years, more than 250 have been performed on our stage first-through our annual Firehouse New Works Festival. This festival fosters the growth of New England playwrights while showcasing the talent of local and regional actors and directors. Playwrights from across New England submit their 10-minute shorts, one-act, and full-length plays to an independent panel who select the festival’s shows in anonymous readings. Directors and their casts then work with selected playwrights to produce two weekends of original theater.

Schedule

January 19, 2024

8:00 pm : The Sixth or The Eighth By Andy Reynolds Directed by Jocelyn Duford

When gay, liberal Patrick James McDonough the sixth (or the eighth) uncovers a secret about his conservative Irish father’s background, it has an echoing effect on his family for generations – both past and present. A multigenerational story told in three parts set in three different eras, The Sixth or The Eighth humorously and compassionately explores ancestry, political affiliations, gender identity, and all of the things that bring families together and ultimately drive them apart.

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January 20 & 27, 2024

Meeting Fingerman By Mark Evan Chimsky Directed by Pam Battin-Sacks

When novice writer Nate Crane shows his new short story to his idol–the literary lion Saul Fingerman–things take an unexpected, disastrous turn.

Pending Pickup by Glenn Arthur Pierce Directed by Eden Tomaszewski

Two men meet to transfer a microwave oven, as arranged through a social-media giveaway site. One has a suspicious confidence and the other is amidst a personal crisis. And he’s about to learn the true price of free appliances.

Roots by James McLindon Directed by Arlene Barnard

A man and a woman are hunting something in the woods … hoping they’re not being hunted as well.

Tommy and Mary Spell Canajoharie by John Minigan Directed by Suzanne Hitchcock-Bryan

Mary, claiming she’s had a vision, has pulled the car off the highway in the middle of the night. Her brother Tommy has to convince her to get back on the road if they’re going to get to their destination in time to say good-bye to their father.

Sea Change by L.W. Lucas Hasten Directed by Tim Diering

Two male clownfish must come to grips with the fact that one of them is becoming biologically female.

Dog Park by Julie Amery Directed by Bruce Menin

Two dogs communicate with each other and try to figure out their humans as they all engage in separate conversations. When Ryan figures out how he knows Pam, he unwittingly helps her by giving her advice she once gave him.

The Collegians by Tim Lehnert Directed by Corinne Hickey

To gain admission to The College, you have to really want it, and that means defeating the competition; otherwise, it’s hello safety school!

So Long, Stuart John Mill by R.D. Murphy Directed by David Houlden

 Actions are right in the proportion as they tend to promote happiness, wrong as they tend to produce the reverse of happiness, and always remember to take the cannoli.

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January 26, 2024

8:00 pm : Arthur, Reading by Elaine Brousseau

What does it mean to be your brother’s keeper? In Arthur, Reading, a play about mental illness, Carol struggles to balance the needs of her brother, Arthur, who suffers from schizophrenia, with her own. With compassion and humor, the play explores Arthur’s relationships with his sister and with Michael, his case manager and friend.

8:00 pm : Indian Summer by Mitchell Ganem Directed by Robyn Couture

Kate and Terry are best friends. Terry is dying and retreated from the city to a rural lake side community. Kate has come from the city to bring him pills in case he wants to end his suffering – and also to remind him of the importance of life, love and hope.

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Date : January 19 - 27, 2024

Time : 8:00 pm

Location : Firehouse Center For The Arts - 1 Market Square,Newburyport, MA 01950.

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