@ theREP *

New play development continues at Capital Repertory Theatre

Join NEXT ACT! New Play Summit to be a part of the magic and discovery

Audience members offer valuable feedback to theatre, playwrights

ALBANY—Capital Repertory Theatre has long been known for its commitment to developing new plays and playwrights. As evidence of that commitment, this season theREP is premiering NEXT ACT! play “Three Mothers,” by Ajene D. Washington and will debut “Rosie is Red And Everyone is Blue” by John Spellos in 2025.

Leading up to the debut of “Three Mothers,” developed and produced by theREP’s creative team, theREP will host the 13th NEXT ACT! New Play Summit, four days packed with a variety of events including workshops, screenings and slam poetry.

“This summit finalist might go on to have a world premiere in the 2026 season,” Associate Artistic Director Margaret Hall said.

This is the first time the summit will coincide with the premiere from a past summit finalist. Audience members have the opportunity to truly witness a script come to life. Only two years ago, NEXT ACT! attendees were a part of a “Three Mothers” reading.

“In the last couple of years, we had been talking about how cool it would be to tie the two together. People could take part as an audience member in a summit reading and see where a play sort of begins and then go right into a world premiere production that came through a previous summit,” Hall said.

NEXT ACT kicks off Monday, April 15 with a staged reading of, “All the Emilies in All the Universes” by award-winning playwright Ian August, the top script from over 400 submissions, and continues through April 20. “Three Mothers” will debut the following week, Friday, April 26.  

During events­ audience members provide written feedback for the playwrights and the creative team at theREP. At the Main Reading, attendees are asked to fill out feedback forms based on their experience. Submissions from both the Main Reading and First 15 have gone on to productions and premieres, making the community a part of the process from start to finish.

In 2023, “Rosie is Red And Everything is Blue” came through as a First 15 submission. At this popular event, the audience acts as literary managers to assess submissions using the same criteria theREP’s reading committee uses.

“One thing that I wish more of our subscriber base and patrons understood is that their feedback actually helps theREP, and the playwright,” Hall said.

Hall added, “You can’t find the next great Tony Kushner or Lynn Nottage if you’re not willing to take chances on new scripts. And that’s part of theREP’s history.”

Join the journey today and be a part of the discovery. Tickets for the 13th NEXT ACT! New Play Summit are available through the Box Office at Proctors in-person, via phone at (518) 346-6204 Monday-Saturday 10 a.m.-6 p.m. or visiting attherep.org.

For a full schedule visit attherep.org/next-act. NEXT ACT! New Play Summit and theREP are a part of Proctors Collaborative.