Be Part of the Process with Play Readings!
In partnership with the Chelsea District Library, the Purple Rose offers free concert readings of new plays as well as occasional lectures and panel discussions with playwrights, directors, designers and actors.
Zoom readings offer advance looks at plays under consideration for upcoming seasons. These special events are free of charge and feature open forum discussion with the playwright and director. Audience feedback helps shape the script as it moves toward full production and gives us valuable insight into what you are interested in seeing on our stage.
Our panel discussions provide Purple Rose artists an opportunity to share their stories with you, stories about the production behind every great production.
Upcoming CDL Reading:
September 13th at 10:30a
Demolition by Matt Letscher
Doug, a blue collar laborer (and self-proclaimed “best shovel man in SE Michigan”) is the jovial foreman for a family owned construction company. Currently engaged in the demolition phase on a house remodel, Doug has been charged with training Paul, the boss’ college bound son, over the course of the summer project. Doug’s connections to Paul and his parents are complex and long held, thus he feels a responsibility to help Paul get ready for life away from home. While their exchanges begin in hilariously awkward fashion and Doug’s bawdy advice is often comically at odds with Paul’s more gentle nature, the two soon develop a bond, one that Doug values highly. However, it quickly becomes apparent that Paul is struggling with a problem far beyond Doug’s purview or expertise, one that could derail Paul’s future plans and worse. Unable to leave Paul completely at the mercy of adults who don’t seem to have the young man’s best interests at heart, Doug makes a choice that will dramatically change the trajectories of their lives. DEMOLITION is a tragicomedy about identity, the complexity of modern masculinity and the choices we allow to define us.
Directed by: David Bendena
Featuring: John Bernos*, Ryan Carlson*, Mark Colson*, Susan Craves*, John Seibert*, Meghan VanArsdalen*
Stage Directions: Hope Shangle*
*Denotes member of Actors’ Equity Association
2025-2026 Season CDL Readings via Zoom:
Dates TBA
——–
Special thanks to Equity and SAG-AFTRA.
Previous 2020-2024 Purple Rose Zoom Readings:
Under Ceege by Jeffry Chastang
Human Error by Eric Pfeffinger
Cloud Tectonics by José Rivera
The Purple Rose Theatre 10-min Play Festival by Various Artists
“Deactivated” by Jeffry Chastang
“A Rose by Any Other Name” by Ann E. Eskridge
“Happy Born Day” by Shawntai Brown
“The Date Conflict” by Kia T. Barbee
“First-come, First-served” by Cam Blackwell
“The Guardian” by Jay Walker II
“Clubbing” by Charity Clark-Anderson
“One More Day at at Time” by Rhonda English
“Boedie and Carrie” by Angela G. King
“Where Are You?” by Alvaro Saar Rios
“When You Know You Know” by Jeff Daniels
Sherlock Holmes and the Adventure of the Ghost Machine by David MacGregor
Deadline by Marcia Kash and Douglas E. Hughes
Piggsville by Alvaro Saar Rios
Light by Jarrin Davis
The Islanders by Carey Crim
The Fisherman by Jayme McGhan
In Common by Quinn D. Eli
Ichabod by Joseph Zettelmaier
if nobody does remarkable things by Emma Gibson
Stick Fly by Lydia R. Diamond
Our Daughters, Like Pillars by Kirsten Greenidge
Forget About Me (The Breakfast Club Play) by David Hansen
A Lovely Day To Kill Your Spouse by Lindsey Brown
Dirty Legal Secrets by Sarah Feingold
Fourteen Funerals by Eric Pfeffinger
The Antichrist Cometh by David MacGregor
The Tropical Pickle by Jeff Daniels
Last Call at the Aardvark by Paul Stroili
What Springs Forth by Carey Crim
Mildred Whiskey by David MacGregor
Office Christmas Party Grinch in Fight with Rudolph Police Called by Jeff Daniels
Always Come Back by Matt Letscher
Dinner Party by Pardeep Toor
My Mother and the Michigan/Ohio War by Paul Stroili
Murder On The Links by Steven Dietz
Surrogate by Lauren Knox Mounsey
Apartment 3A by Jeff Daniels
Norma & Wanda by Jeff Daniels
Vineland Place by Steven Dietz
The Classic King by Richard Johnson