We just can't believe it! Playroom: Attic opens TONIGHT! Where has the time gone?! Well... if you want that question answered, you should see "Talk the Night" by Matthew S. Hinton, one of the seven plays premiering in this year's Playroom!

Our company of Gaslight board members, directors, and actors alike have done some amazing work over these past few weeks. It's quite incredible to see a group of artists work so meticulously and pull together to create what really culminates into a large production; we're putting seven one acts together on one set, we have light and sound cues for seven shows, we have actors running tech and writers acting. 

If you're even remotely a fan of video games, you will instantly fall in love with Jennifer Hill's "World of Wonderment." If you enjoy laughing until you cry, you will certainly find yourself holding your stomach during B. Garret Rogan's uproarious "Anyway" and Lukas R. Tomasacci's "This isn't a Play." Prefer the drama? Guess what! We have some of those heart-string tuggers, too with the carefully crafted "The Man Upstairs" and "Monsters in the Attic."

We've secured this brand new pop-up space on the Ave in Kingston, which has also been an exciting experience. We've had people walk by and ask questions about what we're doing. We've had heads peak through the glass to watch a second or two of rehearsal. How awesome is that?! Playroom: Attic is the word on the street!

We're still in awe of the plays we have this year. There are truly some outstanding pieces that have been directed and performed with such dedication, and it really is all thanks to our great writers who contribute these dynamic pieces.

You'll have SEVEN chances to catch Playroom: Attic! Check the details below, because you won't want to miss it!

PLAYROOM: ATTIC
July 10, 11, 12 @ 8:00 PM
July 17, 18, 19 @ 8:00 PM
July 20 @ 2:00 PM

251 Wyoming Avenue, Kingston PA
(On-street parking available. Parking also available in the Fidelity Bank lot after hours).

$12 General Admission / $10 Students & Seniors

Questions???? Email [email protected]

This past Monday, Gaslight Theatre hosted their first open read through for this year's Playroom scripts! Various Board members and past Playroom actors gathered at Misericorida University for the staged reading of nine play submissions for the attic. Following each play, readers and audience alike contributed constructive feedback regarding content, story, characters, etc.

Although the Board reads through the scripts every year, this open format provided a great opportunity for additional feedback, and for the first time ever, some of the playwrights themselves heard their drafted work.

Matthew S. Hinton, writer and Playroom creator mentioned, "Sometimes we get too 'inside' our own works to hear the sour notes or revel in the sweet ones, so a read-through by new voices and a talk back from some early audiences is, I feel, and important part of the process." Lukas Tomasacci, a third time contributor, also added, "You really can get a sense of what works and what doesn't."

This year's line up certainly promises excitement, and to our surprise, the Attic has inspired a universal theme, which other Playroom rooms have yet to do. 

It's not just the memories that exist in the room upstairs, but the deep emotional attachment to the past. It's an experience; it's nostalgia. Of our families. Our history. Where we've come from and what we can hope for. Nostalgia can be a happy experience, but sometimes it can be painful. The Attic preserves and commemorates our past in a way that transcends time and space again and again. Whether it be an old bedroom or poker den, a room for storage, a place to seek refuge, or a place to simply hide Christmas gifts; the attic is the portal to those material memories. A dusty snow-cone machine. An old pirate radio station. Knowledge and wisdom gained. It's the gateway to a time that was before. A place where we can remember what it means to feel. To find our inspirations, to give up ourselves, or to lose others. To be human. 

The attic is a magical place and we are more than thrilled to being moving forward on what is already a truly inspiring room.

--Brandi George

Whew!!! What a whirlwind of a production! We only have one - JUST ONE -  performance left of Playroom: Bathroom, and boy has this run been spectacular.

Tonight we had our largest crowd yet: 39 awesome patrons, and was it warm in there or what?! The crowds have also been very consistant, which tells us the word on the street is positive and that our advertising has been working.

And speaking of advertising… Did anyone stop by Circles on the Square this week?!?!!

Gaslight Theatre sure did! How incredible is this – upon inquiring to Circles about featuring the Rich’s Well Made sandwich (said sammie that appears in Matthew S. Hinton’s piece of the same title), we were greeted with not one, not two, not even three…

BUT TWELVE TOTAL SANDWICH SPECIALS.

Now, this was beyond cool and I’ve got to say…. these sandwiches were delightful. Yesterday’s special titled “Circles Customer Writes Play” was quite possibly the best sandwich I’ve ever had in my entire life. Pork, aged Vermont cheddar, and champagne mustard on wheat with lettuce and mayo. Oh, omnipresent Jesus, how delicious! Gaslight Board members and goers alike flocked down to the Public Square Monday and Thursday to grab a special. We even offered half off admission if you brought your receipt!

But all sammies aside, the fact that Circles did this for us was overwhelmingly supportive of Gaslight Theatre Co. and the arts in general! For two days this week, one little business helped one little theatre company and together – it was a beautiful (and tasty) thing.

We have one night left. One more chance to wow the crowd. One more chance to bring eight original pieces to the stage, but not our last chance to bring more awesome theatre to NEPA. It’s been another great year of Playroom and I’ve enjoyed every second and every sandwich.

-Brandi George

Last night we re-opened our Playroom:Bathroom series to a wonderful little crowd! We were lucky enough to have Kait Burrier in the audience, author of one of my directing pieces, Spill, and on Sunday we also had Jennifer Hill, author of another of my pieces, The Inside of a Watermelon Seed. Slowly but surely the playwrights have been trickling in to witness their works be mounted for the first time. As a director, it’s certainly daunting to know, “This night could be the night they love or hate what they wrote… and that could be because of me.” There’s an undeniable pressure and anxiety when the lights go up and it’s out of your hands. But at the same time, that’s what makes Playroom so exciting. How often can you say you directed an original work that the playwright came to see? How often can you watch their very first reactions to their own dialogue from stage right? And as an audience member, you could very well be sitting right next to that playwright as they hear their own words for that very first time; their giggles and gasps as they revisit their play for the first time in months – how exciting!

This is why the Playroom series is so special and hopefully this is one of the reasons why we’ve been getting some awesome houses… it’s just too interesting of an experience to miss. It’s such a great feeling to be able to talk to your playwright following the show and then feel their gratitude for taking their play and bringing it to life. It’s a wonderful feeling and I thank Kait, Jenny, and all the other playwrights for being a part of this type of theatre.

Now that we’re in our second week we’ve had some MAJOR developments and changes. The directors never stop working, the company is becoming more of a family every day, and we’re getting some wonderful feedback. What’s not to like? One weekend down, one in progress, one to go! Go Gaslight!

-Brandi George