New plays, New voices, New Friends
The Distillery 2025 Schedule And play Info:
Schedule:
Thursday June 12th at 7pm - Two Catchers written by Brad Goren-Wilson
Friday June 13th at 7pm. Aviatrix Book and lyrics by Angela Russell Music and lyrics by Dionne McClain-Freeney
Saturday June 14th at 11am. La Tormenta written by Ana Luz Zambrana and Aditya Joshi
Saturday June 14th at 3pm. wild, mysterious forces written by M. K. Wessel
Saturday June 14th at 7:30pm. i never asked for a gofundme written by Jayne Deely
Sunday June 15th at 11am. The Last Rites of Uncle Manny written by Coco Justino
Sunday June 15th at 3pm.God's Favorite By Catherine Crimmins
The Distillery New Works Festival i Co-Produced by Seattle Public Theater & Macha Theater Works
and takes place at Seattle Public Theater on Greenlake.
What is the Distillery?
In 2001 Macha began the Distillery as a once a month new work reading series. This is the 3rd year in the Festival format.
The Distillery festival is a celebration of emerging theater, an opportunity for playwrights to gain valuable developmental feedback. Each play in the series will receive a live reading by a cast of professional actors, allowing it to live and breathe off the page. The readings conclude with a discussion of the play with the playwright, giving writers the chance to receive feedback from Seattle audiences and providing a platform for audiences to help shape new works in process.
This year, we fielded ~750 play submissions from playwrights locally, nationally, and internationally. As we reviewed, we consciously prioritized underrepresented voices, feminist stories, and local writers. We have no doubt that this process has led us to the best possible group of plays/artists this year, representing the kind of gripping, heartfelt, conversation-starting stories that we're all about.
When is Distillery?
This year’s festival will take place June 12-15, 2025.
About the Shows
The weekend will feature seven new works, including:
Two Catchers By Brad Goren-Wilson
Directed by Hattie Claire Andres
A plus-size, conspicuously queer high school softball player seeking an elite athletic scholarship enlists the equally queer altar boy at the local brother school to teach her how to play catcher. As they work on her game, a complicated and ecstatic relationship unexpectedly blossoms, and they find themselves dealing with complications much more serious than sports.
Performs Thursday June 12th at 7pm.
Aviatrix book and lyrics by Angela Russell, Music and lyrics by Dionne McClain-Freeney
Directed by Amy Poisson
Sponsored by The Hansberry Project
Determined to make something of herself, a girl from rural Texas dreams of flying. But it’s 1917 and flight schools don’t accept women, much less one who is Black and Native. Refusing to take no for answer, Bessie Coleman charts a most unique path, making her legacy — aviation legend.
Performs Friday June 13th at 7pm. 2 hours with Intermission
La Tormenta By Ana Luz Zambrana and Aditya Joshi
Directed by Eden Aztlán
In La Tormenta, Zaire and her daughter Estrella travel to Castañer, Puerto Rico, to celebrate Abuela’s 93rd birthday. Estrella resents her older sister Maria for abandoning the family, so when Maria unexpectedly arrives during a hurricane and power outage, the already tense family gathering spirals into a much more corrosive storm of emotions.
Performs Saturday June 14th at 11am.
wild, mysterious forces By M. K. Wessel
Directed by Kayla Walker
Stuck in an elevator—or is it a spaceship?—a Woman and a Man struggle to figure out if they’ve met before, if they’re strangers, if they will meet in the future, and who this Other Woman is who keeps showing up. Swapping places with every blackout, the characters continue conversing as if nothing unusual has occurred. As the three grow agitated by the intimacy of the space, they find themselves caught in a duel of philosophy, sexuality, and power. But when an Alien breaks in, they're forced to confront their purpose in this strange little world—and what it is that has tied them all together.
Performs Saturday June 14th at 3pm.
i never asked for a gofundme By Jayne Deely
Directed by Adrienne Mackey
Millie is back home in Mobile, AL for a prestigious fellowship she couldn’t pass up. Her east coast born and raised Puerto Rican partner, Avery, is recovering from gender affirming top surgery. When quasi-aunt to Millie and righteous woman of God Teresa overhears Millie talking to the pharmacist at CVS, she assumes Avery has breast cancer and puts events in motion that turn everyone’s lives upside down: cue the casseroles, care packages, and checkbooks – a gofundme to SAVE AVERY! "I never asked for a gofundme" is a new queer comedy about gender, family, and religion that asks what it means to be worthy of care.
Performs Saturday June 14th at 7:30pm.
The Last Rites of Uncle Manny By Coco Justino
Directed by Lauren Dong
After years of estrangement, Claudia Dalog's brother shows back up in her and her daughter, Molly's, lives... in a coma. In the chaotic process of coordinating his healthcare, it is up to Claudia, Molly, and the comatose Uncle Manny to carve their respective autonomies out of hand-me-down American Dreams, Catholic Guilt, and a recipe for real Pinoy fried rice.
Performs Sunday June 15th at 11am.
God's Favorite By Catherine Crimmins
Directed by Jacqueline Meyners
When Mary realizes she is pregnant, panic sets in. What is a 14-year-old in Nazareth to do? With limited options, Mary and her cousin, Elizabeth hatch a plan; call it a miracle. Say Mary is a pregnant virgin. Mary goes on a wild journey as her lie spirals out of her control and becomes the basis for a new religion. As the play goes on, Mary seeks her revenge on God and ultimately confronts her rapist in the kingdom of heaven. This dark comedy explores the heartbreak of girlhood in a deliciously dark way.
Performs Sunday June 15th at 3pm.
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Archived:
2024: The Distillery New Works Festival!
Thursday, June 6 - Sunday, June 9, 2024
Held at Seattle Public Theater in Seattle’s Greenlake Neighborhood
The Distillery 2024 Schedule:
Thursday, June 6, 2024
Skin by Anamaria Guerzon, Directed by Zenaida Rose Smith | 7PM
Friday, June 7, 2024
The Park by Lisa Every and Jenn Ruzumna, Directed by Amy Poisson | 7PM
Saturday, June 8, 2024
Possessed by Gloria Majule, Directed by Helen T Mariam | 11AM
Impossible Theories Of Us by John Mabey, Directed by Willa Barnett | 3PM
Funnie by Jessica Moss, Directed by Adrienne Mackey | 7PM
Sunday, June 9, 2024
Li by Wei He, Directed by Divya Rajan | 11AM
Safe Hands by Alara Magritte and Daniel Rosen, Directed by Grace Edgar | 4PM
SHOW DESCRIPTIONs:
Skin
Written By Anamaria Guerzon, Distillery Alum Director 2023 |
Directed By Zenaida Rose Smith, Distillery Alum Actor 2023
Run Time: 2 hours and an Intermission
Zora is a young, non-binary Filipino artist, aspiring to make their way in the Seattle Tattoo industry. When they find a mentor in Judy, Zora enters the world of tattoo, finding the art form’s deep ties to Filipino culture. Judy teaches Zora how to navigate the tense environment of the white-dominated tattoo industry, while pressures intensify thanks to Carl, the authoritarian shop owner. As the painful history of Filipino colonization begins to crash into the present, Zora finds themself caught at the convergence point of tattoo now and then– discovering what it means to live in a marginalized body.
The Park
Written By Jenn Ruzumna And Lisa Every, Resident Playwrights|
Directed By Amy Poisson, Macha Artistic Director
90 minutes; No Intermission
Bev and Libby meet every week under the same tree, at the same park bench. But they are not the only ones. Over a century--or maybe an eternity--friends, strangers, family, two dogs and some ghosts struggle to make some sense of their lives and search for meaning under the tree. A whimsical journey through the rollercoaster of eternal life.
Possessed
Written By Gloria Majule | Directed By Helen T. Mariam, Macha Directing Associate
90 minutes; No Intermission
When Furaha returns home to Tanzania on a medical leave, her brother Angaza is waiting at the airport to pick her up. Unfortunately for her, he believes her mental illness is in fact a demon possession, and swiftly concocts a plan to sort it out. As the siblings road trip from Dar Es Salaam to Singida, they encounter a variety of colorful characters and testing challenges along the way. They also seize the opportunity to air out their differing opinions…which turn out to be on pretty much everything, from religion, to money, to America. Possessed is a fast-paced dramedy that explores the toll it takes to leave home, and the toll it takes to be back.
Impossible Theories Of Us
Written By John Mabey | Directed By Willa Barnett
80 minutes; No Intermission
Two people unite against a crisis and divide on how to break through, revealing that sometimes fantasy is the perfect reality for impossible futures. Gina, a transgender woman, and Keith, a cisgender man, navigate the joys and complexities of life over the course of their relationship. As emerging technologies offer a chance to connect with those who’ve passed away, both must decide what being alive actually means. Impossible Theories Of Us is a play full of complicated hope, unfolding spirituality, and the dynamic ways one couple navigates mortality. Exploring both the possibilities and responsibilities of artificial intelligence, it challenges our expectations of what truly makes us human.
Funnie
Written By Jessica Moss, Distillery Alum (Writer 2023)
| Directed By Adrienne Mackey
100 minutes; No Intermission
All Jane wants is to perform comedy. But she is struggling even to get stage time in the court of King Henry VIII. Despite the support of her friend Anne Boleyn, Jane can’t break into the boys’ club of Tudor nightly entertainment – King Henry would rather see acts like Carl the Funny One, who makes wry observations about contemporary life, but who also is known to publicly masturbate. But Carl the Funny One has a degree of power, and an interest in Jane: which he uses to put her in a humiliating and upsetting situation. When the event goes public, the court is divided, and as Carl makes half-hearted non-apologies, Jane still can’t get onstage – until she and Anne have finally had enough. Inspired by the very short Wikipedia entry about Jane Foole, or Jane the Foole, the only female court jester ever depicted, and current events.
Li
Written By Wei He | Directed By Divya Rajan
2 hours Including Intermission
Li, a mid-career thief, suddenly finds herself taking on too much responsibility. She breaks into an apartment and ends up emptying her pockets to feed its old, blind and starving resident. She gets a phone call from her estranged brother who tells her that he’s dying from cancer and now it’s her job to take care of their mother. With three mouths to feed, Li has to reconsider her career choice. Can her street smarts help her survive? A play with a radio, a hen, and a really good fart joke.
Safe Hands
Written by Alara Magritte and Daniel Rosen | Directed By Grace Edgar
2 hours, 15 minutes and an Intermission
An original folk rock ensemble musical about five women in 1950s New Jersey who are all bound by the secret of Frankie’s House, a secret abortion clinic on the edge of town. Newlywed Lydia moves to the suburbs, ready to become a perfect happy housewife like her neighbor Bunnie. But when Lydia learns that Bunnie received an abortion at an underground clinic on the far side of town, she is pulled into a secret that threatens to shatter her carefully crafted life. Once the ladies running the clinic ask Lydia for help, she must step outside her prescribed role and see how far she will go to help someone in need. Safe Hands examines the hidden lives of women and the communities they forge behind closed doors.
What is the Distillery series?
The Macha Distillery series is a celebration of emerging theater and an opportunity for playwrights to gain valuable feedback on new work. Each play in the series receives a live reading by a cast of professional actors, allowing it to live and breathe off the page. The readings conclude with a discussion of the play with the playwright, giving writers the chance to receive feedback from Seattle audiences and providing a platform for audiences to help shape new works in process.
Distillery Goals
Traditionally, the distillery process involves heating a liquid, then allowing it to condense into a new product. Here at Macha's play Distillery, we do the same thing with stories, allowing them to rise, change, and settle into something new. This is part of how Macha cultivates new plays that feature strong feminist themes. Whether playwrights are interested in testing out bold new ideas or putting the final touches on a nearly-finished script, the Distillery is here to help.
Get Involved
Do you have a script that might benefit from a workshop? Play submissions can be sent to literary@seattlepublictheater.org. Before submitting, please familiarize yourself with the Macha Test to ensure your script aligns with our criteria to fulfill our mission of producing fearless feminist theatre.
After our script selection process, we enjoy connecting with talented directors and actors to help bring these new scripts to life. If you're interested in getting involved, feel free to contact us at MachaLiterary@gmail.com to learn what openings are available this year.
Support Distillery
The Distillery series makes it possible for writers to take risks and discover their voices. Donate here to support the development of new work!
Banner photo: Amy Poisson and Maggie Lee