“Book of Plays” playwright Barrett Rhoads (left) is joined by James Casey and Jemar Sweets at a recent PAPA performance.
One way to move a play from the page to the stage is to publish it.
That was one rationale behind the decision of the Playwrights Alliance of Pennsylvania, or PAPA for short, to publish the collective works of its members in one volume.
Entitled “A Book of Plays,” the anthology was issued in 2024 by Sunbury Press, a Mechanicsburg-based publisher. The collection of 15 plays marked the first such venture by PAPA, which is based in central Pennsylvania but welcomes all Keystone State playwrights.
PAPA was spearheaded by the late Marjorie Bicknell—a playwright, actor and director—and incorporated in June 2008. The group holds regular monthly meetings during which playwrights read and discuss each other’s works under the guidance of Kevin Pry. A retired English professor at Lebanon Valley College and long-time theater professional, Pry is PAPA’s chair.
“We hope the anthology will attract more playwrights, especially students and new playwrights,” said Barrett Rhoads, PAPA vice-chair. “We are also looking for new ways to connect our playwrights with theaters and production sites near and far.”
For example, the group takes part in the Cicada Festival at Mt. Gretna every August. The festival presents 10-minute plays by PAPA members who choose to submit. Cicada showcases the talents not only of local playwrights but local actors.
Beyond “A Book of Plays,” PAPA fosters the development of new plays through workshops, readings and other events, as well as greater access to actors, directors and producers of the Dramatists Guild of America and similar organizations.
Kimberly Barger, a Hampden Township resident, joined PAPA in 2019 at the invitation of Bicknell. The education supervisor at Hershey Theatre, Barger organizes educational programs at the theater and produces the annual Apollo Awards event for high school theater students.
“I was blown away by how much talent we have here in little old central PA,” said Barger, after joining PAPA. “I love meeting and getting to know the other playwrights. The networking community and opportunities the group provides have been wonderful.”
Barger had published three plays before submitting “Pizza Boy” to “A Book of Plays.” What was particularly exciting about this anthology is its local group approach.
She chose that particular play for “numerous reasons.”
“It was fun to write and fun to see it staged at a PAPA event,” Barger said. “I also thought the play would work well in written form—and not just on stage.”
And since the majority of her plays are “entertaining,” as opposed to tackling larger issues, “Pizza Boy” was a good representation, she said.
Another PAPA member included in the anthology is Bill Savage of Lower Allen Township. After a journalism career, he has been—since 2022—teaching writing as an adjunct professor at a number of colleges and universities.
Although Savage originally downplayed his playwriting efforts, he delved into the field more seriously after involvement with the Dramatists Guild and Lancaster Playwriting Dramatists.
His submission to “A Book of Plays” is “Say He Was a Soldier,” a one-act play set right after the Civil War. An admirer of the Western genre with serious themes, Savage was also influenced by a contemporary documentary he saw. It concerned the 1980s band, Culture Club, and the relationship between the singer, Boy George, and the drummer. The drummer, who later married a woman, denied the two had a relationship.
“That’s what ‘Say He Was a Soldier’ is about and why I chose it for the anthology,” Savage said. “It was performed in Philadelphia a year after I wrote it, literally before the COVID pandemic hit, and the audience thought it was powerful. I hope it will be performed again soon.”
Gale Sherrid of Susquehanna Township, a retired social worker, worked as a stage manager in local theaters. A member of PAPA since its inception, she said she joined the group to learn from veteran writers, while she could share her knowledge of and contacts in the local theater community.
“A lot of writers at the time didn’t have many or any real-life contacts,” Sherrid said. “But a number of them had training and/or background in producing plays, so mostly everyone would be able to contribute something.”
Inspired by Bicknell, she began to write plays. Among them was “Telling Stories,” her contribution to the anthology that she had shared earlier with PAPA.
“The feedback and input I received from others helped refine and clarify what I was trying to say,” Sherrid said. “It connected me with someone I cared about but had lost. It helped me express a lot of the emotions I’d experienced during that loss but had never really processed.”
For information about PAPA, contact [email protected]. For more information about Sunbury Press, visit www.sunburypress.com.
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