On Friday and Saturday, June 2-3, the third annual Art Speaks Play Festival premiers 19 new plays on Creative 360’s Bayliss Street Stage. The free event will showcase the directing and performing talents of over 75 artists from the Great Lakes Bay Region. 

The fun begins on Friday June 2^nd, at 5:30, with an evening of Ten Minute Plays performed in staged reading style, followed by a reception to announce the Best Ten Minute Play Award. Art Speaks Performances continue on Saturday, June 3^rd at 2:00 pm with One Act Plays and a 6 pm award ceremony including the Tucker Polito Best Overall Award. The festival concludes with a performance of the winning full length play. 

“The plays that will be showcased this year are electric!” said Art Speaks originator and director Laura Brigham. “Each story brings something fresh and unexpected: from a hilarious take on a well-known classic movie to a look at censorship; a genie who takes a wish too literally to a story told from the perspective of a sweater.” 

This is the third year for the festival which provides a unique celebration of the work of the playwright. The focus is on the author and giving them a chance to see their written words performed live. The first two years of Arts Speaks included a poetry competition, however the number of submissions has grown so significantly that the poetry portion had to be spun off as a separate event that will take place this fall. 

“It is amazing how this spoken word festival has grown,” remarked Creative 360 director, Laura Vosejpka. “This year we had twice as many submissions as we had space to showcase – the jurists had a lot of work to select which pieces would be included. We also love that this happens during the Art Fair weekend – visitors to Midland have a chance to enjoy visual arts in the day and performing arts in the evening!” 

Art Speaks is supported, in part, by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts Arts Engagement in American Communities program. There will be food available for purchase on site and the event is BYOB. The event is free, donations are gratefully accepted in support of the program. Please call the arts center at 989-837-1885 if you have questions.