Words Cubed

Words Cubed is part of the Festival’s new play program that seeks to nurture and develop openly submitted, solicited, and commissioned plays by providing a professionally supported platform for readings, workshops, and fully realized productions as part of an ongoing commitment to create a diverse body of work.

Playwrights spend a week at the Festival during our summer season 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 or workshops, followed by a lively, interactive discussion between the playwright, actors, and audience.

Play A: Crisis Goalie
by Tom Lavagnino
August 9, 10, 21, and 23, 2024
Eileen and Allen Anes Theatre

Carl has come up with the perfect solution to help him and his half-sister, Peg, care for their aging mother, Diane: an artificial intelligence robot named “Joanie” that will attend to their mother’s every need. A modern solution to a very current and future problem, right? But what happens when Peg hates the idea and questions why “Joanie” looks too much like Carl’s late wife. Or when Diane bonds with the robot while, at times, forgetting that Carl is her son. Or when “Joanie’s” perfect memory spills confidences and secrets that fuel sibling rivalry. Crisis Goalie is a play of today…and of tomorrow.

Tom Lavagnino is a native of Indianapolis, a graduate of NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts and AFI’s Center For Advanced Film Studies, and currently resides in Los Angeles. He is an award-winning playwright, editor, film writer, and consulting producer.

Play B: Six Men Dressed Like Joseph Stalin
by Dianne Nora
August 16, 17, 22, and 24, 2024
Eileen and Allen Anes Theatre

When Soso is left for dead on the Eastern Front, he’s taken in by the Kremlin due to his shocking resemblance to a certain someone. Koba is tasked with training him to perform the role of a lifetime: Stalin’s body double. While Soso is a performer—trained to dance, juggle, and tour the countryside entertaining peasants, Koba is an Actor’s Actor, a student of Stanislavski himself (maybe you’ve heard of his System?), committed to the pursuit of perezhivanie, or experiencing a character’s reality. Based on true events, the doubles prepare for the Conference at Tehran, when three so-called Great Men (or were they merely players?) decided the fate of the 20th century.

Dianne Nora is a playwright, dramaturg, and comedy writer. Besides theatre works, she has contributed to The Onion, Funny Or Die, and The Hard Times. She holds degrees from Columbia University, Trinity College Dublin, and New York University.

Tickets are $10 at the Ticket Office, online, or by calling 800-PLAYTIX.

Submissions for 2025

Submissions for our 2025 Words Cubed program are not being accepted yet. Stay tuned for more more information and deadlines in the fall of 2024.