In 2012, The Rep created a venue for some of the theatre world's most celebrated playwrights to workshop their new scripts. The Ignite! Festival of New Plays has served as a launching pad for numerous fresh and exciting works, nearly all of which have gone on to enjoy full productions at The Rep and companies throughout the country.
St. Louis audiences got to see these plays before just about anyone else, at staged readings featuring professional actors. Their feedback to the playwrights at post-show talkbacks helped these scripts to further grow and mature.
Take a look below at what our Ignite! alums have gone on to achieve. Interested in submitting a script for a future Ignite! festival? Check out our play submission guidelines.
Playwright: Tammy Ryan
World premiere: Premiere Stages at Kean University (Union, NJ) – July 2019
The story: Six months after their sister Colleen has died of cancer, two women rent a beach house in Melbourne, Fla., to scatter her ashes. But when a tropical depression suddenly turns into a hurricane and strange encounters with wildlife occur, the sisters struggle to ride out the storms both outside and inside.
Playwright: Scott C. Sickles
World premiere: The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis – March 2019
The story: In 1930, the writer E.M. Forster met and fell in love with a policeman 23 years his junior. Their relationship, very risky for its time, evolved into a 40-year love triangle that was both turbulent and unique. Based on a true story, Nonsense and Beauty captures the wit and wisdom of one of the last century’s great writers.
Playwright: Mike Lew
World premiere: Ma-Yi Theater Company (New York City) – June 2018
The story: This brilliantly hilarious take on Shakespeare’s Richard III reimagines the most famous disabled character of all time as a 16-year-old outsider in the deepest winter of his discontent: his junior year of high school. Picked on because of his cerebral palsy, Richard is determined to have his revenge and make his name by becoming senior class president.
Playwright: Dael Orlandersmith
World premiere: The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis – October 2016
The story: In 2015, Dael Orlandersmith spent a week in St. Louis interviewing people from throughout the region about their reactions to the social unrest in Ferguson. From these conversations, she crafted a one-woman piece that examines the St. Louis area through a diverse tapestry of community voices.
Playwright: Mona Mansour
World premiere: The Gift Theatre (Chicago, IL) – February 2017
The story: Conflict photographer Mia wakes up in an Istanbul apartment after being found unconscious at the scene of a massacre she was photographing. Mia, her girlfriend and mother attempt to unravel what happened.
Playwright: Mickey Fisher
World premiere: Stages Repertory Theatre (Houston, TX) – May 2018
The story: In the near future, a terminally ill woman volunteers for an experimental procedure that will allow her memories and personality to live on in her clone. Replica explores the question, "What does it mean to be human?"
Playwright: Tammy Ryan
World premiere: The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis – March 2016
The story: In 1980, Pittsburgh housewife Molly Rush walked into a General Electric plant and took a hammer to a nuclear warhead to protest the buildup of America’s nuclear arsenal. Molly's Hammer is the account of one woman’s unwavering beliefs and her family’s desperate attempts to protect her from infamy.
Playwright: Michael Weller
World premiere: Contemporary American Theatre Festival (Shepherdstown, WV) – July 2015
The story: Dr. Jeremy Cook has a problem. While he is a linguist (of moderate renown), he is also unemployed, broke, and haunted by the words of an old friend who says that basically, ‘his timing sucks majorly.’ In desperation, Cook accepts an offer from the enigmatic Roy Pillow to serve as part of a research experiment, living with a married couple as their relationship counselor.
Playwrights: West Hyler and Matt Schatz
World premiere: The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis – January 2016
The story: In the mid-1800s, John Banvard created the first georama, a three-mile long scrolled painting celebrating the majesty of the Mighty Mississippi. Once a starving sketch artist, his creation catapulted him to a life of luxury and notoriety, but also brought competition and deception that threatened to push his passion to the wayside.
Playwright: Stephen Massicotte
World premiere: Next Act Theatre (Milwaukee, WI) – April 2015
The story: A biology teacher and her devoutly religious student go toe-to-toe on the nature of evolution in a fascinating, often humorous take on the faith vs. science debate.
Playwright: Rebecca Gilman
World premiere: The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis – March 2014
The story: When the main employer in Monroe, Wisconsin is acquired by a major manufacturer, a once peaceful small town turns into a battleground as families struggle to retain their independence, identity and livelihoods. While new opportunities develop for some, difficult choices must be made, putting loyalties and relationships to the test.
Playwright: Ayad Akhtar
World premiere: The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis – March 2012
The story: In remote Pakistan, Nick Bright awaits his fate. A highly successful player at a major investment bank, Nick is kidnapped by an Islamic militant group, but with no one negotiating for his release, the prisoner must take matters into his own hands.
Playwright: Johnna Adams
World premiere: Contemporary American Theatre Festival (Shepherdstown, WV) – July 2012
The story: Over the course of a 90-minute parent/teacher conference, a grieving mother and an emotionally overwhelmed primary school teacher have a fraught conversation about the tragic suicide of the mother's son – and the teacher's student – Gidion.
