PAST PRODUCTIONS
BUCKEYE (August 2014)
In this new play Anna, an army medic who served in Iraq, struggles to connect with her daughter, Lucy, as she manages severe symptoms of PTSD and fights for a normal life in the aftermath of war. Written & directed by Elizabeth a. Harris. Starring: Leah Strasser, Brian Berendts, Robert Allen, and Kaleigh Howland.
IDENTITY (August 2015)
In it's second year Cincinnati LAB Theatre’s challenge was to assemble three different creative teams to each produce a twenty-minute original play. Each team was directed to incorporate “Identity” as a theme and to use the recent US Supreme Court ruling on gay marriage as a major event in the story. Each creative team consisted of a playwright, director, and cast of up to three actors (all local). Some of Cincinnati’s finest talent was assembled for this workshop.
AN EVENING WITH STEPHEN CRANE (February 2016)
A one man show written by Phil Paradis exploring the life of the literary figure Stephen Crane. Directed by Robert Allen. Starring: Stephen Marck.
NEW WORKS FESTIVAL (August 2016)
The New Works Festival Workshop, Discovery, and Play Reading Series presented two brand-new worskhop productions written by local playwrights entitled Chase the Dragon by Kirk Sheppard and Judas by Elizabeth e. Harris, held two lectures with guest speakers Dr. Connie Boehner and Daryl Harris focused on social themes and current topics related to the workshop productions, and presented two new short plays called 3some by Brian Griffin and Medusa In You by Valetta Anderson.
IS THAT ALL THERE IS? (June 2017)
"Is That All There Is?" by Sara Mackie with original music by Sean Michael Flowers a Cincy Fringe show from Cincinnati LAB Theatre. Spotlights fade, music sours, wigs fray…so let’s keep dancing? Ronald Ryan, known professionally as cabaret star “Rita,” prepares for one final performance. Amidst the wigs and gowns are also regrets, booze, and broken relationships. Will this finale – and an encounter with his sister and former duet partner – provide the closure he’s looking for? Or will Ronald leave the stage wondering “Is That All There Is?” Starring: Jared Doren, Danielle Muething, and Sean Michael Flowers.
NEW WORKS FESTIVAL (August 2017)
The New Works Festival Workshop, Discovery, and Play Reading Series presented two brand-new workshop productions written by local play wrights entitled LED Thespian by Jason Podplesky, Lyrics and Music by Jason Podplesky, Eric Kilpatrick, and Aaron Almashy and 3Some by Brian Griffin, held two lectures with guest speakers Nathan Gabriel and Gwynn Lamm focused on social themes and current topics related to the workshop productions, and presented two new short play readings called North Country Holiday by Phil Paradis, and Paris Is Vernon by Robert Macke.
NEW WORKS FESTIVAL (July 2018)
The New Works Festival Workshop and Play Reading Series presented two brand-new workshop productions entitled Medusa In You by Valetta Anderson and The Hired Man by Heather Meyer and presented two new play readings called Four Horses by Mary Beringer and When The Son Is Shining by Jeffrey Fischer Smith.
LED THESPIAN (Edinburgh Festival Fringe August 2018)
LAB took the previously New Works Festival 2017 production of LED Thespian by Jason Podplesky, Lyrics and Music by Jason Podplesky, Eric Kilpatrick, and Aaron Almashy to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in Edinburgh, Scotland.
NEW WORKS FESTIVAL (July 2019)
The New Works Festival Workshop and Play Reading Series presented two brand-new workshop productions entitled The Color Of The Leaves by Isaiah Reaves and A Funny Play For Troubled Times by Charlie Schulman and presented two new play readings called The Apartment On Yucca by Stephen Jared and The Secret Life Of Bros by Nathan Top.
NEW WORKS FESTIVAL (August 2020)
The Remote New Works Festival presented three live-streamed stage readings of new productions entitled Five Branches by Ron Burch, Pirouette by Chris Holbrook and Shirt.Brown.Honesty. by Jason Podplesky.
DOG (October 2020)
In October of 2020 Dog by Brian David Walker was presented as a live-streamed Stage Reading. The show was directed by Jeffrey K. Miller. Bailey has lost her dog. She’s searched for it for over a year. One day, she’s walking in the park and sees him, and he’s being walked by someone else. This is a play about four people whose lives intersect over a dog. It’s about trying to get back what’s lost and examines how sometimes people can act like dogs and dogs can act like people.
THE PHILOSOPHY OF CAVEMEN (December 2020)
In December of 2020 The Philosophy Of Cavemen by CL Byrd was presented as a live-streamed Stage Reading. The show was directed by Torie Pate. Three cavemen debate the nature of life while trying to survive. When one invents the wheel, they enjoy a new found "prosperity."
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PARALLEL WALLS (February 2021)
In February of 2021 Parallel Walls by Jeffrey K. Miller was presented as a live-streamed Stage Reading. The show was directed by Elizabeth a. Harris. A vicious hate crime involving three young men quickly casts victim and predator, but is there a greater shared victimhood? What is the media's responsibility in skewing the narrative to fit a mold? Parallel Walls illuminates the complicated motivations of these men through the framework of contrasting family histories. It's an exploration of masculinity, love, sexual stigma, and a great psychological paradox: do we build walls to keep others out, or to keep something in?
NEW WORKS FESTIVAL 2021 (July 2021)
Our ninth season kicked off with the New Works Festival 2021 featuring the Workshop Series productions of Married Life by Charlie Schulman, The Secret Life Of Bros by Nathan Top, and Shirt.Brown.Honesty. by Jason Podplesky and the Play Reading Series productions of A Ghost Of A Chance by Kimberly Shimer, Slay by Ron Nelson, and Breakz by Cris Eli Blak. The festival ran from July 22-31, 2021.
FOUR HORSES (August 2021)
The eighth season continued virtually at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival! Our virtual submission of Four Horses by Mary Beringer Directed by Greg Procaccino will be streaming August 6th-30th, 2021. Synopsis: A blasphemous dark comedy about the end of the world. When Pestilence accidentally kills Death, the whole world stops. The people of Earth become immortal and it is up to the remaining three horsemen to track down a replacement Death. They think they have found one when they discover the last person on Death's list, but training a new Death is more difficult than it sounds.
DAUGHTER OF WAR (October 2021)
Daughter Of War by Elizabeth a. Harris was next in the line-up of our eighth season. Directed by Rachel Mock the play was presented October 28th-30th and November 4th-6th, 2021. Synopsis: Anna wants a normal life with her daughter and, Jack, the man she loves. But war changes a person, as she discovers upon her return from serving in Iraq. As she manages her civilian life she must face the demons that haunt her and threaten to tear her world apart. Daughter Of War by Elizabeth a. Harris is a one woman's journey through war, love, and the hope for a better tomorrow.
WHY GOOD THINGS HAPPEN TO BAD PEOPLE (February 2021)
A reading of Why Good Things Happen to Bad People a farce by Hope Hommersand Directed by Robert Allen was next up in our season. The reading was presented February 18th & 19th, 2022 at 8PM. Synopsis: A witch becomes a celebrity chef and a minister discovers she has been leading an inauthentic life. The action takes place in a vacation cottage owned by Mavis, a witch and master chef. Guests include Vivian, a minister, who is having an emotional meltdown because of a sermon she has to give next Sunday. Viv’s two friends are there to celebrate their wedding anniversary. What should have been a joyful evening turns into a manic episode of accusations, confessions and mistaken identities, all due to the machinations of Mavis, her jealous boyfriend and the interference of a local ghost.
DOG (May 2021)
Dog by Brian David Walker took the stage as our last show of our eighth season! Directed by Torie Pate. The world staged premier of this play was presented May 5-7, 12-14, 2022 at 8PM. Synopsis: Bailey has lost her dog. She’s searched for it for over a year. One day, she’s walking in the park and sees him, and he’s being walked by someone else. This is a play about four people whose lives intersect over a dog. It’s about trying to get back what’s lost and examines how sometimes people can act like dogs and dogs can act like people.
NEW WORKS FESTIVAL 2022 (JULY 2022)
Our ninth season is kicked off with the New Works Festival 2022 featuring the Workshop Series productions Preggers, Or Parenthood For Virgins by Rebecca Dzida, Finding Neil Patrick Harris by Donna Hoke, and Burning Down The House by Pamela Weiler Grayson as well as the Play Reading Series productions Akrasia by Kate McMorran, Of Dudes And Nudes by Nathan Top, and in a stand of dying trees by Shannon TL Kearns, with a special Edinburgh Festival Fringe Preview of The Philosophy Of Cavemen by CL Byrd. The festival ran July 22nd through July 30th, 2022.
EDINBURGH FESTIVAL FRINGE (AUGUST 2022)
Cincinnati LAB Theatre will be taking The Philosophy Of Cavemen by CL Byrd to the Edinburgh Festival Fringes 75th year. Directed by Torie Pate. Three cavemen debate the nature of life while trying to survive. When one invents the wheel, they enjoy a new found "prosperity." Performances August 7-11 at 19:40 at Paradise Green In The Vault.
NEW WORKS FESTIVAL 2023 (JULY 2023)
LAB kicked off its tenth producing season with its annual New Works Festival 2023. The workshop pieces were The Relationship Plays by Charlie Schulman, The Springvale Aramadillo by Donald Loftus, and A Ghost Of A Chance by Kimberly Shimer. The Play Reading Series pieces were Love's Labour's Lost & Found by Kathleen Maule Holen, Higher Ground by Kyle Cherry, and Hypotheticals by Rebecca Anne Nguyen. The festival took place July 20-29 at the Bell Tower Arts Pavillion.
EDINBURGH FESTIVAL FRINGE (AUGUST 2023)
Cincinnati LAB Theatre will took THE RELATIONSHIP PLAY(S) by Charlie Schulman to the 76th annual Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Two interconnected three-character plays written for the same cast and set. MARRIED LIFE: A couple attempts to revive their relationship by spicing up their sex life only to discover that nothing about their marriage is what it seems. SIBLING RIVALRY: Three estranged writers meet for one last time to settle their recently deceased mother's estate. A long the way scores are settled, reconciliations considered and a bombshell secret redefines the past. Performed August 5-12 at Paradise Green In The Vault.