Topanga Actors Company Productions
Short-Play Festival 2023 November 4,5,18.19
List of finalists
Laurie Allen Stealing a Kiss
Katherine Cahill H-O-R-S-E
David Carkeet The Real Househusbands of Vermont
Keiren Carroll Henry Miller, Bloody Marys and Heathrow
Nora Douglass Desert Dreams
Edward Giron 1111
Joe Godfrey Cohn Crosses Over
Susan Hansell Letters to Jeff Bezos
Judy Klass Untethered
Drew Orban Un-Pillow Talk
Deanne Stillman Mister Fireman, Can You Help Me Get Home?
Linda and Mike Teverbaugh 2 BDs 1BA
Amy Tofte The Vagina Read
Many, many thanks to those who submitted; do know that we appreciated the results of your hard work and wish you all success for the future.
past productions:
Fall 2015 Picasso at the Lapin Agile
by Steve Martin
Spring 2016 The Clean House
by Sarah Ruhl
Fall 2016 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
by Simon Stevens
adopted from the novel by Mark Haddon
Spring 2017 A Perfect Ganesh
by Terrence McNally
Fall 2017 The Nether
by Jennifer Haley
Spring 2018 #SuperShinySara
a play for young audiences by
Wesley Middleton
Spring 2018 A Doll’s House, Part 2
by Lucas Hnath
Fall 2018 God of Carnage
by Yasmina Reza
Fall 2018 A Christmas Memory
adopted from the story by
Truman Capote
Spring 2019 How I Learned to Drive
by Paula Vogel
Spring 2019 The Cake
by Bekah Brunstetter
Fall 10 Minute Play Festival
Winter 2019 A Christmas Carol
by Chas. Dickens adapted by Neil Bartlett
March 2020 A House Not Meant to Stand
by Tennessee Williams (Williams' final play)
FALL 2022: The Watsons by Laura Wade
December 2022 A Christmas Memory based on the story by Truman Capote
January-February 2023 Heroes, translated by Tom Stoppard
March-April 2023 Third by Wendy Wasserstein
September: 2023 The Lifespan of a Fact based on the book by John D'Agata and Jim Fingal
October 2023 The Boy Who Saw True, adapted and performed by Harry Hart-Browne
Productions performed as staged readings using the facilities of the
Topanga County Library and Malibu Library
ZOOM productions: April 2020 to June 2021
The Aliens by Joe Godfrey: The Better Half by Noel Coward
Victoria Station and A Kind of Alaska by Harold Pinter:
Frankenstein adapted from the novel by Mary Shelley by Nick Dear
Uncle Vanya by Anton Chekhov translated by Richard Nelson
The Water-Babies by Charles Kingsley adapted by Paula Labrot
Morocco by Allan Havis
Mary Jane by Amy Herzog
The Children by Lucy Kirkwood
Middletown by Will Eno
The Apple Family Plays: What Do We Need to Talk About?*And So We Come Forth*
Incidental Moments of the Day*
The Water-Babies and The Aliens may be seen on TAC Facebook https://www.Facebook.com/TopangaActorsCompany
The Better Half is on YouTube
A Word about Staged Readings
As you know if you have been to one of our library productions, we read and move at the same time. Topanga Actors Company recently asked one of our members, Edward Giron, who has considerable theater experience, to define a staged reading. This is what he says:
A staged reading is an opportunity to provide a theatrical experience audiences might not otherwise be offered. That’s because a staged reading doesn’t require sets, and because of limited rehearsals and special exemptions from Actors Equity Association, allows for more casting opportunities. The actors in a staged reading have limited costumes, and stage movement is more limited than in a full production. Also the actors are” on book” so the lines are not memorized, but when done well, audiences don’t notice this or don’t find it a distraction.
Staged readings are particularly useful in performing plays with large casts, or extensive sets and costumes, or any combination of those requirements. Staged readings can also be done for works for which there are only limited rights available, or new works which are being readied for production.
Although rehearsal is more limited, it remains a focused, intense and committed process to bring any staged reading work to life. Topanga Actors’ Company has found the staged reading a highly rewarding way of realizing theatre for actors and audiences alike.