Theater & Dance
Full program details are available on this website. Please view both the May and June issues of the festival program guide on the home page. The most up-to-date calendar can always be found HERE.
Art Forms & Theatre Concepts presents Dot by Colman Domingo and directed by Miriam Crawford Grant. The Shealys, a West Philadelphia family, gather for the holidays in this hilarious and heartfelt comedy-drama. Dotty’s memory is slipping as her three adult children – an overwhelmed attorney, a gay musicologist with marital problems, and an aspiring actress hoping to appear on Celebrity Mud Fight – clash over how best to care for their proud, lovable matriarch as well as for themselves. Memory is a funny thing; losing your memory and losing your mind are two completely different things!
Stelle di Domani at College of Charleston
Annex Dance Company presents Beautifully Weathered. The College of Charleston Department of Theatre and Dance proudly supports the annual residency concert with Annex Dance Company. Beautifully Weathered presents students and professionals sharing the stage in modern dance works that celebrate the resilience of human connection.
Center Stage presents The Swing of the Sea by Molly Hagan. Boots, a girl who wears yellow rain boots even when it isn’t raining, and a boy called Eggs grieve the death of their best friend Peter. A play about growing old without aging that examines the way fantasy and memory converge when we lose someone we love.
Over the Rainbow: A Coming Out Story. A one-person show written and performed by AP Hart. This one-person show tells the story of AP Hart’s 18-year coming out journey in just 45 minutes! From heartbreak and friendships to finding a way over the rainbow, Hart will accompany these anecdotes with well known classics, as well as an original piece composed by AP Hart.
Staged Readings from the Todd McNerney Playwriting Contest. Free staged readings of the 2020 Todd McNerney National Playwriting contest winner and runner-up. Join us for our first staged readings in three years! Previous winning plays have come from such notable playwrights as Caridad Svich (lifetime Obie award winner), Sheila Cowley, Arthur M. Jolly, James Still, William Missouri Downs, and Donnetta Lavinia Grays.
- Calhoun Annex Room 106 (next to the Chapel Theatre), 172 Calhoun Street
Runner-up’s staged reading: Tuesday 5/31 and Wednesday 6/1 at 4pm
Winner’s staged reading: Thursday 6/2 and Friday 6/3 at 3pm. Free admission.
Threshold Rep Theatre presents Cognac and Roses: A Toast to Edgar Allan Poe. A dark and dreary night of dramatic retellings of Edgar Allan Poe’s most famous works of literature, including The Raven and A Tell-Tale Heart. Expect performances so dark and terrifying, that they will have your heart beating so hard you’ll be sure that it was buried under the floorboards. The cast includes Paul O’Brien, Ernie Eliason, Andrea Catangay, Tara D Holwegner, Jamie Young and Jonathan Quarles. Directed by Chrissy Eliason.
Written & Performed by Rachel Kaftan
Directed by Dana Resnick
BOY VEY is a solo show ripped straight from Rachel’s teenage diary. A combination of coming-of-age, grappling with family history, and what it feels like to be a young Jewish woman with lesbian moms, this story encapsulates a modern experience of the third generation after the Holocaust.
- May 27 & 28 at 7:00pm
- May 29 at 1:00pm
Beth Stelling’s hour stand-up special “Girl Daddy” is available on HBOMax and her half hour special is on Netflix “The Standups” season 1, episode 5. Stelling has another half hour special on Comedy Central and many late night show appearances (Conan, Jimmy Kimmel Live, Chelsea Lately, Lights Out). She’s written for Apple’s upcoming animated series Strange Planet, The Last O.G., I Love You America with Sarah Silverman and HBO’s Crashing. She was an on-set writer for Good Boys, a feature film produced by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg and has since been a go-to hire for punch-up. She plays Ms. Fish on Peacock’s comedy Rutherford Falls.
Post-Life Crisis, an eclectic alternative rock band, will present a multimedia event of performance art, visual art and rock music addressing a world in crisis with heart, humor and hope. PLC is band comprised of all ages and types — from a surrealist painter (Duke Hagerty) to a schoolteacher (John Ewing) to an urban technician and portrait painter (Blake Ryan) to a healthcare consultant (Jim Prutting) to a writer (Gary Smith) — and its show targets all ages and types, absolutely including children who like to shimmy!
Celebrate the 125th anniversary of Dracula! Tiptoe behind the scenes of the world’s most enduring literary horror with Dacre Stoker, international bestselling author, Dracula scholar, and descendant of Bram Stoker, and Andrea St. Amand, evidential psychic medium and internationally recognized paranormal expert.
Through an audio/visual presentation with dramatic readings by Braxton Williams playing Bram Stoker, they unravel the influences, superstitions and non-fictional events that led to the creation of this beloved supernatural novel.
Join them as they reveal unpublished portions of the novel, disclose the recently discovered location of Castle Dracula, and foray into the brilliant mind and influences that created, Dracula . . . if you dare.
The one-woman show, You Might As Well Live, is the story of literary icon Dorothy Parker. The play explores our deepest desire to leave a mark on this world and discover what our legacy will be. On the eve of her death , and determined to be remembered as more than the creator of such quips as ‘I’d rather have a bottle in front of me than a frontal lobotomy’, Dorothy takes a pilgrimage through her own past. In a journey packed with quick wit and a biting tongue, she sets out to make her mark in the literary scene of 1930’s New York City. From writing copy at Vogue Magazine to theatrical reviews at Vanity Fair, becoming an original member of the famed Algonquin Round Table to scripting classic films in Hollywood (such as A Star Is Born), You Might As Well Live explores Dorothy as she climbs the ladder of success, fighting for acclaim and recognition as a female author in a male dominated world. She writes to escape her life only to discover that’s what her writing becomes.
A concert of modern dance and music presented with Laura Ball (piano) and Rachael Kistler Igo (violin). The performance will include the premiere of Hover created in collaboration with Laura Ball (composer), Leslie Alexander (visual artist), and Janine McCabe (costume designer).
This event is free and open to the public – No ticket or reservation is needed
In Swahili, Harambee means “let us pull together.” Harambee Dance Company and Annex Dance Company will come together for a collaborative performance at the James Island Arts and Cultural Center. Designed for families, this lecture/demonstration performance will showcase repertory from both companies and include audience participation! This event is free and all are welcome.
Piccolo Fringe at Theatre 99
The Have Nots! Comedy Improv Company
No scripts! All improv! The Have Nots! Is the longest running show in Charleston. This high-energy comedy improv show is entirely based on your audience suggestion so every show is different. The Have Nots! will perform their unique brand improv comedy AND you never know who will join them on the stage! Come find out why critics say “The Have Nots! have it!”
Take the Funny and Run
Some of the funniest improv you’ll see anywhere. Theatre 99 is Charleston’s year round home for improv comedy where audiences come to laugh until it hurts. Bring your suggestions for the quick-witted Theatre 99 ensemble members who will take your suggestions…and rock out hilarious unscripted scenes. Guaranteed to make you laugh!
Mary Kay Has a Posse
They’re back! Charleston’s original all-female improv comedy group! Part talk show format (similar to The View), part long form improv, ALL funny! Bitingly witty, unpredictable, and politically incorrect the ladies of “Posse Talk” break all the rules. “An unforgettable night of laughing ’til your face hurts.” Charleston City Paper If you are easily offended or feel that a woman’s place is in the kitchen, stay home. (Adult audiences only)
F.B.I.* *Finch Boys Improv
Good improv groups often feel like family. This one actually is family! Timmy Finch, veteran of The Have Nots! Comedy Improv and nine-time winner of Charleston’s Best Local Comic teams up with his best friend and son Cahal to deliver quick witted, feel good, made up family fun. Come see an old man and the next generation.
The Complete History of Charleston for Morons
Over 350 years of Lowcountry history in 60 minutes! A comedy history lesson accessible enough for morons to enjoy. A long time hit of Piccolo Spoleto, this one act comedy is 3 parts hilarious sketch comedy and one part actual history. The Charleston City Paper says the Morons “dazzle the audience with their ignorance.”
Clean Improv Comedy Show
Have you ever been to an improv show and thought, “I’d love to bring my parents or my 10 year old, but it’s just not clean enough for them”? Well, now we’ve got you covered! Theatre 99 is presenting a one hour hilarious short form show that is clean as a whistle. No need to take cover from “F” bombs. This show is chock-full of fun and is just as side-splittingly funny as what you’ve come to expect here at Theatre 99. All improv – all based on your suggestions.
Laughway to the Weekend
Come laugh it up with us halfway to the weekend! This improv comedy show will feature 2-3 acts of hilarious improv comedy. Wednesday nights are a Charleston tradition that feature long form improv comedy. Every show is different and completely based on audience suggestions.