About
Theater Book Club is a play reading series performed by well-seasoned Triangle actors, with minimal staging, free admission & limited performances.
Readings are followed by casual discussion among attendees and performers about themes, questions, and points of interest that surfaced during the performance.
QUESTIONS?
Contact artistsoapbox@gmail.com
We're back in Raleigh!! Join us for our seventh Theater Book Club offering!
A reading of Red Speedo written by Lucas Hnath
August 9 at 3:00 PM
at Theatre Raleigh's new cafe The Green Room, 3031 Barrow Dr, Raleigh, NC 27616
Approx. run time: 80 mins
Questions: artistsoapbox@gmail.com
The reading will be followed by a casual discussion among attendees and performers about themes, questions, and points of interest that surfaced during the performance.
Audience members are encouraged to purchase a beverage or snack at The Green Room.
ABOUT RED SPEEDO
CAST
Ray -- Van Pierson
Peter -- Matthew Salas
Lydia -- Lily Kays
Coach -- Mark Filiaci
Director: Jules Odendahl-James
We're back and we're venturing into Raleigh!!
Join us for our sixth Theater Book Club offering!
A reading of The Book Club Play written by Karen Zacarías
June 14 at 3:00 PM
at Theatre Raleigh's new cafe The Green Room, 3031 Barrow Dr, Raleigh, NC 27616
Approx. run time: 100 mins
Questions: artistsoapbox@gmail.com
The reading will be followed by a casual discussion among attendees and performers about themes, questions, and points of interest that surfaced during the performance.
Audience members are encouraged to purchase a beverage or snack at The Green Room.
ABOUT THE BOOK CLUB PLAY
We couldn't resist the obvious connection between this play about book clubs for our "book club" about plays! The story follows Ana, a bookclub founder with what she believes is a letter-perfect life: adoring husband, the perfect job, and a cherished group of devoted readers. But when her bookclub becomes the focus of a documentary filmmaker, the members' life plots take unexpected and hilarious twists and turns under the inescapable camera lens when friends start to read between the lines.
Zacarías' script is a love-letter to readers with references to classic literature such as Moby Dick, The Age of Innocence, YA hits like Twilight, and thrillers like The Da Vinci Code. There's also plenty for fans of theater and documentary film to recognize.
The Book Club Play reminds us of how much the art we seek and the communities we seek it with help us navigate our lives, loves, and longings. So grab your favorite fellow book, theater, film lovers and join us!
CAST
Ana Smith: Emily Levinstone
Robert Novum Smith Jr: Chip Carey
William Lee Nothnagel: Daniel Ryder
Lily Louise Jackson: Davi Cunningham
Jennifer McClintock: Sarah Koop
Alex: Andrew Goins
Pundits (Wal-Mart guy, Secret Service agent, literary agent, sky diver, book dealer): Tamara Kissane
Director: Jules Odendahl-James
OUR FIFTH READING: DECEMBER 2025
Offering our fifth reading Saturday, December 20 at 11:00 am & 3:00 pm.
Theater Book Club. We Read. You Discuss.
Questions: artistsoapbox@gmail.com
Tickets are limited to 30 seats per performance.
Parking is also limited, so please consider car pooling if you are able.
The reading will be followed by a casual discussion among attendees and performers about themes, questions, and points of interest that surfaced during the performance.
Tickets to this event are free, but require reservations in advance. Donations are happily accepted onsite via cash, Venmo, or PayPal
Humbug: Putting the Festive in Infestation!
Humbug is a refreshing new adventure story featuring a creature from that old holiday chestnut, A Christmas Carol. That fateful Christmas Eve, sweet and sleepy Humbug is dislodged from its slumber in Scrooge’s bed and launched on a voyage of self-discovery.
Please join us at Theater Book Club and journey with the brave trio – Humbug, Roché, and Byx - and the many members of the phylum Arthropoda they encounter (silkworms, grasshoppers, crickets, stickbugs, dung beetles, flies, praying mantis, lady bugs, lice, grubs, rolypolys, ants, etc), plus a few pigeons, two narrators, and the rare Scrooge.
A comedy and fairytale rolled into one, Humbug affirms our ability to create our own reality through courage, friendship, and the belief in ourselves.
A SPECIAL EVENT:
BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU!
Artist Soapbox and June Guralnick/Creative Acts of Resistance, in partnership with PEN America, will be presenting a virtual live reading of an exciting recreation of a 1949 radio dramatization of George Orwell’s haunting novel, 1984.
In recognition of World Press Freedom Day (on May 3rd), the reading, open to the public via Zoom, will take place Monday, May 5th, from 7:30-9:30 p.m. (E.S.T.).
Performed by distinguished actors from the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill area (with sound design by Chandler “ARSENiK” Solomon), the reading will be followed by an in(cite)ful conversation led by prominent North Carolina author Joseph Bathanti, exploring artists speaking truth to power under authoritarian regimes.
Featured performers participating in the reading include (in alphabetical order): J Chachula, Thaddaeus Edwards, Mark Filiaci, David Henderson, Derrick Ivey, Tamara Kissane, Norah Myer, Ray Owen, Juliana Valente, and Banu Valladares.
For more information about BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU, please contact Tamara Kissane at artistsoapbox@gmail.com.
“There was truth and there was untruth, and if you clung to the truth even against the whole world, you were not mad.” (1984)
Questions: artistsoapbox@gmail.com
Tickets to this event are free, but please complete reservation form or email artistsoapbox@gmail.com in advance.
OUR FOURTH READING: DECEMBER 2024
Offering our fourth reading Saturday, December 14 at 3:00pm & 7:00pm
Theater Book Club. We Read. You Discuss.
Offering our fourth reading Saturday, December 14 at 3:00 pm & 7:00 pm
Questions: artistsoapbox@gmail.com
The reading will be followed by a casual discussion among attendees and performers about themes, questions, and points of interest that surfaced during the performance.
Tickets to this event are free, but require reservations in advance. Donations are happily accepted onsite via cash, Venmo, or PayPal
Tickets are limited to 30 seats per evening.
Humbug: Putting the Festive in Infestation!
Humbug is a refreshing new adventure story featuring a creature from that old holiday chestnut, A Christmas Carol. That fateful Christmas Eve, sweet and sleepy Humbug is dislodged from its slumber in Scrooge’s bed and launched on a voyage of self-discovery.
Please join us at Theater Book Club and journey with the brave trio – Humbug, Roché, and Byx - and the many members of the phylum Arthropoda they encounter (silkworms, grasshoppers, crickets, stickbugs, dung beetles, flies, praying mantis, lady bugs, lice, grubs, rolypolys, ants, etc), plus a few pigeons, two narrators, and the rare Scrooge.
A comedy and fairytale rolled into one, Humbug affirms our ability to create our own reality through courage, friendship, and the belief in ourselves.
OUR THIRD READING: JUNE 2024
Offering our third reading Friday, June 21 & Saturday, June 22 at 7pm
At Lanza's Cafe 601 W Main Street, Suite C, Carrboro NC 27510 *OUTSIDE ON THE SHADED PATIO*
PLAYBILL (Program for Dr. Ride's American Beach House)
The reading will be followed by a casual discussion among attendees and performers about themes, questions, and points of interest that surfaced during the performance.
Tickets to this event are free, but require reservations in advance. Donations are happily accepted onsite via cash, Venmo, or PayPal.
*We encourage audience members to purchase a beverage from our host, before the reading.*
Tickets are limited to 30 seats per evening.
Questions: theaterbookclubtriangle@gmail.com or artistsoapbox@gmail.com
About Dr. Ride's American Beach House: It’s 1983, the evening before Dr. Sally Ride’s historic space flight. Hundreds of miles from the launch, a group of women with passionate opinions and no opportunities sit on a sweltering St. Louis rooftop watching life pass them by. Their uncharted desires bump up against American norms of sex and power in this intimate snapshot of queer anti-heroines
“A revelation… I couldn’t stop grinning, partly because Liza Birkenmeier’s play is so witty and partly because it’s so weird. Both are welcome these days…” – Jesse Green, The New York Times
“A specific and evocative depiction of identity and power at a crossroads – of who can reach for the sky, and who gets left behind.” – Adam Feldman, Time Out NY
“Dr. Ride's American Beach House” is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals on behalf of Samuel French, Inc. www.concordtheatricals.com
OUR SECOND READING: APRIL 2024
Offering our second reading Saturday, April 27 & Sunday, April 28 at 3:00pm
Questions: theaterbookclubtriangle@gmail.com
The reading, co-hosted by The School for Living Futures, will be followed by a casual discussion among attendees and performers about themes, questions, and points of interest that surfaced during the performance
Tickets to this event are free, but require reservations in advance. Donations are happily accepted onsite via cash, Venmo, or PayPal.
*We encourage audience members to purchase a coffee from our host, before or after the reading.*
Tickets are limited to 30 seats per evening.
The School for Living Futures: The School for Living Futures is an interdisciplinary, experimental school in Durham, NC dedicated to creating new knowledge and possibility for our climate-changed future.
About The Children: Two retired nuclear scientists reside in an isolated cottage by the sea as the world around them crumbles. Together they are going to live forever on yogurt and yoga, until an old friend arrives with a frightening request.
“…a richly suggestive and beautifully written piece of work…Kirkwood is the most rewarding dramatist of her generation.” —The Independent (UK).
"THE CHILDREN is presented by special arrangement with Dramatists Play Service, Inc., New York."
OUR FIRST READING: JANUARY 2024
Offering our first reading Friday, January 26 & Saturday, January 27 at 7:00pm
At Night School Bar, 719 N. Mangum St, Durham, NC 27701.
The reading, which reunites the 2018 Manbites Dog production cast of The Moors, will be followed by a casual discussion among attendees and performers about themes, questions, and points of interest that surfaced during the performance.
Patrons must be 21+.
Tickets to this event are free but require registration in advance.
Donations are happily accepted onsite via cash, Venmo, or PayPal
*We encourage audience members to purchase a fortifying beverage from our host, NightSchool Bar, before or after the reading.*
Tickets are limited to 25 seats per evening.
“The Moors” is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals on behalf of Samuel French, Inc. www.concordtheatricals.com