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January 2026 Read and Rant
Athena Project’s Read & Rant program seeks to combine the sharing of theatrical work with the wider public and the new play development aspects of our former Plays In Progress Series while also fostering collaboration between playwrights and dramaturgs. Think book club for plays! Learn what makes a good script, discuss how it affects us, and explore the ways it links to the larger world. This monthly free offering to the community aims to raise awareness of the under-representation of women’s stories on stage.
Each month, we read two new and unproduced scripts selected from a nationwide call for submissions and typically meet every third Monday online via Zoom to discuss the works. Join us to converse with invited playwrights who bring an in-depth knowledge of the works and theatrical writing at large. Guided by a dramaturg, we also invite you to share your constructive comments, thoughts, and affirmations in order to aid in the development process of the pieces.
This month we will be featuring:
Libbe HaLevy
Libbe HaLevy is producer and host of Nuclear Hotseat, a weekly podcast on nuclear issues, now in its 15th year (NuclearHotseat.com). She is U.S. Ambassador for the International Uranium Film Festival and winner of the 2022 Nuclear Free Future Award. A staged reading of ATOMIC BILL AND THE PAYMENT DUE was a featured presentation of the Wilmington College Peace Resource Center’s 50th anniversary in September, 2025. Her other plays and musicals have received more than 50 productions.
Mary Anzalone
Mary Anzalone is an American actor from Central Texas. She is best known for her poetic monologue turned short film Smoke & Mirrors and her stage play Mourning Doves which was a Second Rounder at AFF in 2019. She was also accepted into The Playwrights Welcome Program in 2019 launched by Marsha Norman. Mary is a member of The Dramatists Guild and received her formal drama training at The Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theater in New York, New York.
Evening hosted by Athena Project’s Literary Manager, Reilly Conlon, and we are joined by Read & Rant’s Resident Dramaturg, Samara Siskind.
After you register for a session, you will receive a confirmation email that includes information on how to access our featured scripts. You must click the link in this email, and it will take you to the scripts. We want everyone to participate who would like to learn more about these talented playwrights and their plays.
When you register for the event on Eventbrite, you should receive a confirmation email.
- Email subject line will say “Order Confirmation for Athena Project: Read & Rant [month, year]”. This initial email has a synopsis and the links to both scripts.
- Two days prior to the event, you should receive another email with the subject line “Reminder for Athena Project: Read & Rant [month, year].” This email also includes the synopsis and links to both scripts.
- Plan to read scripts well in advance before the Zoom meeting
Please note that the scripts don’t come as attachments, they are .pdf links. So the body of the email will contain two paragraphs with the details of that month’s scripts.
For example:
Mak Shealy’ s Victorian Psychedelic Sleepover Play
On the eve of a 16th birthday, four teens meet after their writing is rejected by the school lit mag to create a Literary Zine of their own. Seeking editorial guidance, they conjure the ghosts of writers past and find themselves possessed by the spirit, chaos and conflict of the Victorian Era radicals they have long admired.
Content Warning: bullying, blood/bodily fluids, discussion of IVF, birth, substance use, disordered eating implied
You must click the link, and it will take you to the script.
If there are any questions or concerns please contact [email protected]
