The week-long Valdez Theatre Conference is held every June in Valdez, Alaska. It draws a majority of its participants from Alaska, but each year there are also attendees from the rest of the country and beyond.

The Conference essentially consists of three parts:

1.The Play Lab is the heart and soul of the Conference. Each year, submissions from playwrights are solicited, and the writers of the top scripts are invited to present their work in a Play Lab reading. The presentations are responded to by a panel of theatre professionals (Featured Artists) and by the audience. The writers also receive a private consultation with one of their panelists.

2.Each year there are numerous classes and panel discussions. They include discussions of both the craft and business of working in the theatre. There is an emphasis on classes that involve active participation, as opposed to pure lecture format.

3. Five to seven evening performances are presented each year. The shows are produced by companies throughout the state, primarily from Anchorage, Juneau, and Fairbanks. There are also shows imported from outside the state, with prior productions coming from as far away as Australia. These shows feature work by past and present participants in the Conference, both featured artists/teachers and participants in the Play Lab.

Schedule:

Saturday, June 7

11:00 a.m.

Shuttle from the Anchorage Airport to PWSC Student Housing in Valdez (approximate arrival time is 6:00 p.m.)

3:00 p.m.

Shuttle from the Anchorage Airport to PWSC Student Housing in Valdez (approximate arrival time is 9:00 p.m.)

8:00 to 11:00 p.m.

Opening Night Mixer

Sunday, June 8

8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

Room A & C: Play Lab rehearsals throughout the day

9:00 to 10:00 a.m.

Continental Breakfast in the Civic Center Hall

10:00 to 11:00 a.m.

Room B: Orientation with Conference Coordinator Dawson Moore

12:15 to 1:15 p.m.

Lunch

3:00 to 6:00 p.m.

Room B: Theatre: Monologue Workshop with Laura Gardner, Rob Lecrone, Jill Bess, Shane Savage, and Ben Corbett: part one

3:00 to 4:15 p.m.

Room D: New Dramatists’ Executive Director Christie Brown playwrights session

4:30 to 6:00 p.m.

Room D: What’s the Big Idea? with Arthur M. Jolly

8:00 p.m.

Magpie’s: Valdez Theatre Fringe Kick-Off

Monday, June 9

7:30 a.m.

Student Housing: Morning Hike with Tom Moran

8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

Room B and D: Play Lab rehearsals throughout the day

9:00 to 10:30 a.m.

Room A: Play Lab reading

Room C: Play Lab reading are

10:45 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Room A: Play Lab reading of Dante Gianetta’s Fit Together

Room C: Play Lab reading

12:30 to 1:15 p.m.

Lunch

1:15 to 2:30 p.m.

Room A: Play Lab reading of Paul Braverman’s Plan Z

Room C: Play Lab reading of Myles Chandler’s Obligation

2:45 to 4:45 p.m.

Room A: Play Lab reading of Fernando Buzhar Segall’s The World’s Most Boring Murder

Room C: Play Lab reading

5:00 to 6:00 p.m.

Room A: Play Lab reading

Room C: Play Lab reading of DC Cathro’s Lang Noir

8:00 p.m.

City of Valdez Reception at the PWSC Maxine and Jesse Whitney Museum

9:30 p.m.

Magpie’s: Valdez Theatre Fringe

Tuesday, June 10

7:30 a.m.

Student Housing: Morning Hike with Tom Moran

9:00 to 10:30 a.m.

Room B: Play Lab reading of Brianna Allen’s Momologues

Room D: Play Lab reading

10:45 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Room B: Play Lab reading

Room D: Play Lab reading of Cherielyn Ferguson’s A Girl Who Acts Like That

12:30 to 1:15 p.m.

Lunch

1:15 to 2:00 p.m.

Room B: Play Lab reading of Raleigh Van Natta’s The Shepherd, the Ravens, and the Bear

Room D: Play Lab reading of Maximillian Gill’s Corrector

2:15 to 4:15 p.m.

Room B: Play Lab reading of Emma Durbin’s overgrown

Room D: Play Lab reading

4:30 to 6:00 p.m.

Room B: Play Lab reading of Tom Moran’s When To?

Room D: Play Lab reading of Steven J. Satta’s The Raft

8:00 p.m.

Theatre: The Midnight Summit Ensemble presents Kristen Ritter’s Blanche Stuart Scott, directed by Kalli Denali Randall and starring Aaron Bell, Katy Laurance, Danielle Rabinovich, and Martha Robinson

10:00 p.m.

Magpie’s: Valdez Theatre Fringe

Wednesday, June 11

9:00 to 10:00 a.m.

Room A: Play Lab reading of Cassie J. Jeremias’ Take My Advice

Room C: Play Lab reading of John Spellos’ Switcheroo

10:15 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Room A: Play Lab reading of Marjorie Muller’s HypergaMater

Room C: Play Lab reading

12:30 to 1:15 p.m.

Lunch

1:15 to 3:15 p.m.

Room A: Play Lab reading of Rachel Herron’s Reformer

Room C: Play Lab reading Daniel Emlyn-Jones’ Lady Olympia’s Legacy

3:30 to 4:15 p.m.

Room A: Play Lab reading of Sanjit Sengupta’s The Promise

Room C: Play Lab reading of Alison Reeger Cook’s Tower: From the Major Arcana Archives

4:30 to 6:00 p.m.

Room A: Play Lab reading of Shanice Lawton’s What Happened to Angela?

Room C: Play Lab reading of Philip Middleton Williams’ Watercolors

6:45 p.m.

Boarding for a two-hour trip to Shoup Glacier aboard Stan Stephens Cruises, leaving at 7:00 p.m.

9:15 p.m. (immediately following return of the boats)

Magpie’s: Valdez Theatre Fringe

Thursday, June 12

7:30 a.m.

Student Housing: Morning Hike with Tom Moran

9:00 to 9:45 a.m.

Room B: Play Lab reading of Beth Polsky’s LUCY

Room D: Play Lab reading of David Adam Gill’s In the Garden of Hesperides

10:00 to 12:30 p.m.

Room B: Play Lab reading of Heidi Kraay’s Take Me Away

Room D: Play Lab reading

12:30 to 1:15 p.m.

Lunch

1:15 to 2:00 p.m.

Room B: Play Lab reading of John Busser’s Hanging On For Near Life Life

Room D: Play Lab reading of Helen Cheng Mao’s Happy Anniversary, Sweetie!

2:15 to 4:00 p.m.

Room B: Play Lab reading of Dana Schwartz’ The Grotto

Room D: Play Lab reading of John Herbert’s God Sighs

4:15 to 6:00 p.m.

Room B: Play Lab reading of Heidi Franke’s The Menacer

Room D: Play Lab reading

8:00 p.m.

Theatre: A showing of Sometimes I Think About Dying, written by Kevin Armento, based on his play killers, featuring Jill Sowerwine.

10:00 p.m. (immediately following performance)

Magpie’s: Valdez Theatre Fringe
 
Friday, June 13

7:30 a.m.

Student Housing: Morning Hike with Tom Moran

9:00 to 10:15 a.m.

Room A: Play Lab reading

Room C: Play Lab reading

10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Room A: Play Lab reading of Melissa Maney’s HUNGRY WOMEN

Room C: Play Lab reading of Erik Gernand’s Prayer Circle

12:30 to 1:15 p.m.

Lunch

1:15 to 2:00 p.m.

Room A: Play Lab reading

Room C: Play Lab reading

2:15 to 3:15 p.m.

Room A: Play Lab reading of Kristen Ritter’s The Last of Shakespeare

Room C: Play Lab reading

3:30 to 6:00 p.m.

Theatre: Monologue Workshop, Part Two

3:30 to 4:15 p.m.

Room A: Play Lab reading of Tim Crawford’s Faith Lester is Married, comma, Happily

4:30 to 5:15 p.m.

Room A: Play Lab reading of Greg Romero’s Jean Yeets Her Hawaiian Shirt into the Ocean

5:30 to 6:15 p.m.

Room A: Play Lab reading

8:00 p.m.

Magpie’s: Valdez Theatre Fringe

Saturday, June 14

10:30 to Noon

Theatre: Monologue Workshop Tech Rehearsal

11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Lunch

12:30 p.m. to 2:00 p.m.

Theatre: Monologue Workshop Final Presentation

2:30 to 3:45 p.m.

Theatre: Ten-Minute Play Slam Performance

4:00 to 6:00 p.m.

Closing Reception and presentation of the Jerry Harper Service Award to Ted ******

Sunday, June 15

8:00 a.m.

Shuttle from PWSC Student Housing to the Anchorage Airport (approximate arrival time is 3:00 p.m.)

Date: June 7-14, 2025

Almost all events for the Conference happen at the Valdez Civic Center, located up the hill on Clifton Court Road.

Location:

Valdez Convention and Civic Center - 314 Clifton Dr, Valdez, AK 99686
Prince William Sound College - 303 Lowe St, Valdez, AK 99686
Stan Stephens Glacier and Wildlife Cruises - 112 N Harbor Dr, Valdez, AK 99686

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