The Festival’s Words Cubed Program Welcomes Two Playwrights

The Utah Shakespeare Festival is thrilled to announce the selection of two new plays and welcome their playwrights for the annual Words Cubed new play program. Affairs of State by Tony Manzo and Muse of Fire by Lauren M. Gunderson will be presented on select dates August 8 through 23 in the Anes Studio Theatre. 

Words Cubed seeks to nurture and develop openly submitted and selected plays by providing a professionally supported platform to receive readings and workshops. Playwrights spend a week at the Festival in rehearsals with directors, actors, and stage managers as they refine and rework their plays. At the end of the week, the revised plays are presented as staged readings, followed by a lively, interactive discussion between the playwright, actors, and audience. 

“The selection process begins about a year in advance,” says Festival Artistic Director John DiAntonio. “This year, we received 275 play submissions, which were thoughtfully reviewed and narrowed down by our dedicated team of twenty play readers, ultimately leading us to the final two selections.”

DiAntonio continues: “At the Festival, we’re often immersed in the classics, but it’s important to remember that even Shakespeare’s plays were once world premieres. They had a first audience. They were tested. Characters were cut, scenes revised, and improvements made. Supporting new work honors that same spirit of discovery and evolution in the theatre.”

Join us this summer for these two new works, and contribute to their development. In general, the plays in this series are written for contemporary adult audiences, and may contain themes and language not appropriate for children and that some may find offensive.

AFFAIRS OF STATE
by Tony Manzo
August 8, 9, 20, and 22, 2025
9:30am

Affairs of State is a sharp, fast-paced dramatic comedy about a scandal-hit Congressman and the reporter who could save—or ruin—his career. With just weeks left in his re-election campaign, he’s facing criminal accusations, and she’s chasing the story that could launch her career. But as tensions escalate, their tangled past resurfaces, forcing them to decide how much they’re willing to risk—for the truth, for power, and maybe for each other.

“What drew us to Affairs of State is its razor-sharp dialogue, rich characters, and the way it captures the urgency and complexity of our current moment. It’s a play that’s both entertaining and unflinchingly honest, asking big questions about integrity, ambition, and the personal cost of public life,” explains DiAntonio. “As a Festival committed to both classical and contemporary voices, we’re thrilled to champion a piece that feels this fresh, relevant, and theatrically electric. I cannot wait to see actors Walter Kmiec and Kathryn Tkel bring this two-person play to life.” 

Kmiec can be seen as Macbeth in this season’s Macbeth, as well as roles in Antony and Cleopatra and As You Like It. Tkel is playing Cleopatra in Antony and Cleopatra and roles in both Macbeth and As You Like It, as well. Stage directions will be read by actor Evelyn Carol Case, who is performing as one of the Weird Sisters in Macbeth and Ouiser in Steel Magnolias.

Tony Manzo is a freelance writer for full-service advertising agencies in New York City. His comedies have been performed at regional theatres across the country. His theatrical credits include On the Treetop, produced by The American Theater of Actors; Saving Allison, optioned by Miracle Entertainment; The Wedding, directed and produced by Sherwood Arthur; and Waiting in the Wings. His one-act play, Flight to Paris, has been staged by Know Theatre, The Lakeshore Players, Women in Theatre, and the Acme New Works Winter Festival. The Lifeguard was presented at the William Inge Festival, and Status of Forces was featured at the Cimientos Festival of New Plays. Most recently, A Heart-Warming Story was produced by the Barn Theatre.

MUSE OF FIRE
by Lauren M. Gunderson
August 15, 16, 21, and 23, 2025
9:30am

Muse of Fire is an intimate two-hander diving into the life and love of William Shakespeare and his wife, Anne Hathaway, at the volatile moment of Will’s retirement from London and a life on the boards. Exploring art, ambition, and the searing emotional and creative fuel behind the world’s greatest playwright, Muse of Fire grapples with the sacrifices, joys, losses and loves of a life in the theatre, while excavating the muscular heart of a storyteller and his muse.

Lauren M. Gunderson has been one of the most produced playwrights in America since 2015, topping the list three times. Her play Silent Sky was produced at the Festival during the 2024 season, as was her play The Book of Will during the 2019 season. She will also be acting in the readings of Muse of Fire on August 15 and 16.

“We’re beyond excited that Ms. Gunderson herself will be joining us to read the role of Anne Hathaway during the first two performances of Muse of Fire. To have the playwright embody this richly-drawn character adds an extraordinary layer of intimacy and insight to the experience,” says DiAntonio. She will be joined by actors Casey Murphy as Will and Nic Sommerfeld for stage directions.

For its last two readings, Festival company members Melinda Parrett and Geoffrey Kent will step into the roles, with Gabriel W. Elmore reading the stage directions. Parrett is performing in this season’s A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder and The Importance of Being Earnest. Kent can be seen as Antony in Antony and Cleopatra, and roles in As You Like It and Macbeth. Elmore is Orlando in As You Like It, as well as roles in Antony and Cleopatra and Macbeth.

Gunderson is a two-time winner of the Steinberg/ATCA New Play Award for I and You and The Book of Will, the William Inge Distinguished Achievement in Theater Award, the Lanford Wilson Award, the Otis Guernsey New Voices Award, and was a finalist for the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize, the Arthur L. Weissberger Award, and John Gassner Award for Playwriting.

Her musical adaptation of The Time Traveller’s Wife premiered in London in 2023 and her new play Billie Jean about tennis icon Billie Jean King is Broadway bound after premiering at Chicago Shakespeare this summer. Revolutionary Women, her new anthology of five plays, was published by Bloomsbury in 2023.

Her play The Catastrophist, about her husband virologist Nathan Wolfe, premiered digitally in January 2021 and is now in The COVID Art Capsule in the Library of Congress. She co-authored the Miss Bennet trilogy with Margot Melcon. The Half-Life of Marie Curie premiered off-Broadway and at Audible.com.

Her picture book Dr. Wonderful: Blast Off to the Moon is available from Two Lions/Amazon. She is the book writer for musicals with Dave Stewart and Joss Stone (The Time Traveler’s Wife), Ari Afsar (Jeannette and I and You), Joriah Kwamé (Lady M), Kira Stone (Built for This) and Kait Kerrigan and Bree Lowdermilk (Justice and Earthrise).

For more information or to purchase tickets for Words Cubed or for the 2025 season at the Festival, please visit the Festival Ticket Office, bard.org, or call 800-PLAYTIX.