CofC Stages at the College of Charleston’s Department of Theatre and Dance commences the second half of its 2023-2024 season on February 2nd, 2024 with The Pages Festival, an evening of staged readings of new work written and performed by students.
Organized by adjunct faculty member of acting and playwriting Michael Smallwood, The Pages Festival features monologues and scenes written, developed, and performed by a group of seventeen students, comprised of Theatre majors along with students studying in other programs. Mr. Smallwood serves as the festival’s director and coordinator, loaning his talents as a playwright and director to the group of student writers and actors.
“The development of new plays and, perhaps more importantly, new playwrights, is some of the most vital work we could possibly be doing in our department,” shares Smallwood. “As a former student playwright, I know just how foundational a skill it can be to a long and successful career in the theatre.”
Readings of The Pages Festival will take place in the Chapel Theatre, beginning Friday, February 2nd at 7:00pm and concluding Monday, February 5th at 7pm. A reading will also occur Saturday, February 3rd at 7:00pm and the series offers a matinee on Sunday, February 4th at 4:00pm. The reading on Monday, February 5th will also feature a talkback with the writers and performers after the performance.
Smallwood continues, “it’s been my great privilege to help shepherd this incredible room of insightful, creative, visionary student playwrights. The work they have created in this process would be remarkable if they were all veteran writers.”
The Department is pleased to announce that select works from The Pages Festival will be presented as part of the Department’s Stelle di Domani series, its annual contribution to the Piccolo Spoleto Festival. Certain works developed as part of the festival will return to Stelle di Domani 2024 as part of Under the Lights, a reading series highlighting work written and presented by College of Charleston students.
“The fact that they are still learning, some of them even presenting words in front of an audience for the first time, makes their accomplishments here truly inspiring,” says Smallwood.
The cast is comprised of Theatre majors as well as non-majors and includes Beau Dolan, Lauren Evans, Kaleigh Montgomery, Emma Piazza, Alexandria Prioleau, Joy Sabet, Eva Voros, and Chris Warzynski. The festival will feature new work written primarily by Theatre majors, including Noah Anderson, William Caretto, Cheyenne Comitz, Amber Dunton, Madelein Hanson, Jaelin LaVanway, Olivia Maness, Jacob Rye, and Riley Taylor. The festival is stage managed by Arts Management major Grace Albertson.
DETAILS: Staged readings of The Pages Festival at the Chapel Theatre (172 Calhoun St.) are Friday, February 2nd through Monday, February 5th. Curtain times are at 7:00pm on Friday, February 2nd, Saturday, February 3rd, and Monday, February 5th, with a 4:00pm matinee on Sunday, February 4th. Please note the earlier curtain time for evening performances of 7:00pm, as opposed to our conventional evening curtain time of 7:30pm.
Individual tickets for The Pages Festival are $10 for adults; $8 for seniors (60+), military/veteran, and youth under 18; and free for CofC students, faculty, and staff. Individual ticket prices for other shows in the CofC Stages season vary by show. Contact the George Street Box Office (gsbo@cofc.edu or by calling 843.953.4726) or purchase your tickets online: