Fifth Annual Play Reading Series
Palm Springs' Premier Festival of New Plays

April 12-13, 19-20 @ 7:30 PM
Downtown Palm Springs at 314 S Cahuilla Road (Palm Springs Woman's Club)

THE DESERT'S ONLY NEW PLAY FESTIVAL WHERE YOU, THE AUDIENCE, CAST YOUR VOTE FOR THE SERIES FAVORITE! Selected from over 50 nationwide submissions, you will experience original works for the stage, never-before-seen in the Coachella Valley, and then vote for your favorite. The "Series Favorite" will then be honored with a fully-staged production during Dezart Performs' 2013-14 Season.

Not to be missed, the Fifth Annual Play Reading Series features the talent of actors and directors from all over the Coachella Valley and Los Angeles.

Watch our NEW promo video below!



Synopses and Series Schedule*

  • Evening One - Friday, April 12 @ 7:30 PM
  • THE GREAT TIT - A 10-minute Comedy
  • by Gretchen O'Halloran
  • Bird zoologist Verne and psychiatric nurse Flo have just arrived for their romantic honeymoon. Both are passionate about their careers but have promised they will not talk about feathered creatures or psychotic patients. However, one of Flo's patients has just escaped from a nearby mental hospital, wearing only red ballet slippers. In a matter of moments, this honeymoon quickly turns into something more than romantic!


  • AN IGNORANT MAN - A Comedy in two acts
  • by Richard Manley
  • Ending years of isolation following the death of his wife, poet Derby Wright quietly takes up residence in a Manhattan condo owned by an absent friend. Wanting to inconspicuously slip back into society at his own pace, Derby is repeatedly aggravated by a perky, inquisitive female neighbor, her pushy mother, snobby members of the condo board, and a lawyer determined to have him thrown out. His hopes for privacy fail miserably and humorously, but one possibly romantic exception forces the overly intellectual Derby to recognize that, when it comes to understanding happiness, he truly is AN IGNORANT MAN.
  • Evening Two - Saturday, April 13 @ 7:30 PM
  • INVASION OF PRIVACY - A Drama based on a true story
  • by Larry Parr
  • The U.S. Constitution guarantees the right to free speech and a right to privacy, but conflicts between the two are inevitable. Such is the case at the heart of INVASION OF PRIVACY, based on the true story of the lawsuit filed against Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings (Pulitzer Prize-winning writer of "The Yearling") by her friend Zelma Cason for libel and the right to privacy. The play dramatizes the highly charged atmosphere of the 1946 trial, which was the first in Florida to explore an invasion of privacy claim.
  • Evening Three - Friday, April 19 @ 7:30 PM
  • EXQUISITE POTENTIAL - A Comedy-Drama
  • by Stephen Kaplan
  • All parents think their children are great. Alan Zuckerman just happens to think his young son is exceptionally great. It's 1979. Alan and his pregnant wife, Laura, are visiting their Rabbi to discuss the naming service for the new baby they're expecting. However, Alan announces that he believes their 3-year-old son, David, is the Messiah. Yes, THAT Messiah. With a list of 997 miracles that he believes proves his conviction, Alan looks to his Rabbi for verification. Skepticism abounds in this new play that explores the expectation we put on others and ourselves to "do good."
  • Evening Four - Saturday, April 20 @ 7:30 PM
  • FIFTEEN MEN IN A SMOKE-FILLED ROOM - A Tragedy in six scenes
  • by Colin Speer Crowley
  • It's 1920 in Chicago, Illinois and the Republican National Convention is in full swing. Senator Warren G. Harding of Ohio stands cowed by the thought of being the party's nominee for president. Hounded by an ambitious campaign manager, a paralyzingly superstitious wife, a star-struck young mistress, and the frightening pull of inevitability, Harding appears doomed to be president - or is he? FIFTEEN MEN IN A SMOKE-FILLED ROOM explores the extent to which fate controls our lives - and, indeed, the very meaning of fate itself.
  • *Schedule subject to change.