Starting at 7 pm tonight are callbacks for the new play Consent at Spotlighters Theatre at 817 St Paul Street in Baltimore. Directed by Andre Tittle and produced by the Baltimore Playwrights Festival, the play will run August 16, 17, 18, 19 and 23, 24, 25, 26.

In a near, yet very changed, future, where civilians volunteer to undergo traumatic medical testing in exchange for “favors” from the government, two doctors find themselves on lockdown with their belligerent patient and are forced to confront the very nature of their work. Does the given consent absolve them of the horrors of their work? Is informed consent still consent if all you’ve done is make it impossible to say no?

The deadline for submitting new plays to the Baltimore Playwrights Festival is approaching. A limit of 60 plays will be accepted for the 38th Season through May 31, 2018.

Any playwright currently living or working in Maryland or the District of Columbia, or who has previously lived or worked within Maryland or D.C., is eligible to submit. Plays must not have received a staged production (lines memorized and tickets sold) at any time prior to or at the time of submission. Only electronic submissions of plays via the BPF website will be accepted. There is a $10 submission fee for each script submitted, and each playwright may only submit one script each season. Complete submission guidelines are at www.baltplayfest.org.

The Baltimore Playwrights Festival will seek productions of several plays through local community theaters during 2019. Theaters choose which plays they want to produce. Some of the submitted scripts will be recommended by the reading committee for public readings and receive them.

During the last thirty-seven years, The Baltimore Playwrights Festival has presented over 299 productions by 193 playwrights at 30 different theaters. We have read and evaluated over 2,950 plays. The BPF nurtures the talents of Maryland and DC playwrights through public readings, discussions, critiques and workshopping of new plays. Participating local theaters offer productions of some of the submitted scripts during our season. Further information can be found on the BPF website, www.baltplayfest.org.

On March 24, Small House, No Secrets, a new musical by Jody Nusholtz and SONiA disappear fear (Sonia Rutstein) will be read at 10:30 am at the Fells Point Corner Theatre. 251 S. Ann Street, as part of The Baltimore Playwrights Festival Season 37 Play Development Readings. There will be a talk-back after the reading. Readings are free and all are welcome. Street parking is available as well as a nearby paid parking lot at Pratt and S. Ann.

Liz is already unraveling when she and her boyfriend Harry arrive at her cousin Eric’s for Thanksgiving dinner. Expecting a marriage proposal, Liz enlists Eric’s help in deflecting the question, but bigger questions arise when a stranger stopping by turns out to be the lesbian ex-lover Liz wasn’t ready for in her freshman year of college. The past comes crashing back, the truth comes tumbling in, and secrets are served instead of dinner. Characters face issues of sexuality, loyalty, family, religion, and the inescapable self.

Jody Nusholtz is a writer and communication arts professor at Carroll Community College, where she is also the lead coach for the college’s inFocus Success Coaching. Her ten-minute play Saving Mrs. Goldfarb was produced as part of the Baltimore 10×10 Festival in 2011. Her play Back to Baltimore was given a directed reading as part of the Baltimore Playwrights Festival in 2006. She has also published poetry in The Whirlwind Review, Maryland Poetry Review, Kalliope, and Sojourner. Jody has a PhD in Interdisciplinary Studies: Creative Writing and Psychology of Transformation, from Union Institute and University, and a Master of Arts in Creative Writing from Emerson College.

SONiA disappear fear (Sonia Rutstein) is a world class composer and artist. She is the recipient of the Coin of Honor from a joint coalition of United States military for her humanitarian music. She received the GLAMA (Gay and Lesbian Music Awards) for Female Artist of the year and the GLAAD (Gay and Lesbian American Anti-Defamation) Award for Best Album. Writing songs in Spanish, Hebrew, Arabic, German and in multiple genres from blues to Middle Eastern to country-western and folk, she reaches song lovers around the globe. She received the Spirit of Folk Music Award 2017 by the Folk Alliance International. SONiA’s latest double CD LIVE at MAXiMAL was in the first round running Grammy for Folk Album of the year and received the nomination for Best Live Album by the IMA Independent Music Awards (USA). She resides in Baltimore, Maryland with her partner and wife, Terry Irons.

Arnold Moves In by Andrea Fine Carey, directed by George Andre Tittle, will be read on Saturday, February 24, 12:00 noon at The Audrey Herman Spotlighters Theatre, 817 St. Paul Street, as part of The Baltimore Playwrights Festival Season 37 Play Development Readings. There will be a talk-back after the reading. Readings are free and all are welcome. Some street parking is available as well as metered parking and parking lots in the Charles Street/ St. Paul Street Corridor.

What do you do when your father comes to visit for a few days and won’t leave? When her mother dies, Sarah opens her home to her beloved widowed father Arnold. But his visit wears thin as he takes over her house–and her life. The more she gets to know him, the more she realizes that he’s not such a great guy after all; in fact, he’s driving her crazy. Then Sarah’s mother turns up as a very unwelcome ghost. How is Sarah going to get rid of them?

Andrea Fine Carey developed project management training for the Departments of Defense and Homeland Security.  After leaving federal service, she started her own consulting company and worked with some really horrible and some really wonderful people. Lately she’s been creating training for lawyers to help veterans get their full benefits but her real passion is theater and playwriting. Her first play Happy Family with Mushroom was selected by the Baltimore Playwrights Festival for a staged reading. Her last production JUMP won first prize at Fells Point Corner Theatre’s 10 x 10 competition. Andrea is a proud member of the Dramatists Guild.