Simply Staged
Curtain Players invited playwrights to workshop and develop new plays from the ground up. Join us for the first public readings of these brand-new works! Then stick around each night for Q&As with the playwrights!
Friday, May 29, 2026, 8:00 pm - The Seer by Joseph Moore
Miles Winchester is a con artist posing as a fortune teller.
He takes advantage of several of the locals in his next town, by pretending to offer them sound advice, but he has no actual ability to read the future.
After an unfortunate incident with one of the towns people, Miles gains the ability to see something in his crystal ball.
He sees a bright light, and it gives him a sense of dread and panic.
What he does not realize is the only thing he can see now, is the cause of his own death.
RECOMMENDED FOR HIGH SCHOOL AGE PERSONS AND OLDER
Joe Moore
Joe Moore is the Columbus (Franklinton) author of The Seer.
This is his first play.
He is the author of 2 children's picture books: Maxwell, the Raindrop Who Wouldn't Fall and Maxwell the Raindrop: Am I Still Me?
He is the father of Maddie and Marissa Moore, both also living in Columbus.
Maddie has performed in many local plays and musicals, which inspired Joe to try playwriting.
The Seer was originally conceived as a Twilight Zone-style story.
He imagined it as a TV episode.
Joe is eager to see how the story translates to the stage.
Joe's hobbies include spending time with his kids, collecting records and listening to music, reading, riding his bicycle around the city, and hanging out with his dog, Reno.
Saturday, May 30, 2026, 8:00 pm - Evelyn Russell-Ravers by Paulie Matthew Barr
When the daughters of iconic film legend Evelyn Russell-Ravers reunite at their childhood home, long-buried secrets rise to the surface to settle old scores and search for a mysterious heirloom.
Joan and Janet are forced to confront the toxic legacy of their mother, a glamorous yet domineering star whose grip on their lives extends beyond the grave.
Caught in the middle is Martha, a seemingly innocent outsider whose presence becomes increasingly complicated as loyalties shift and memories clash.
In a house haunted by fame, family, and the ghosts of unresolved trauma, the line between past and present begins to blur, proving that some monsters don't just live under the bed... they raise you.
RECOMMENDED FOR MIDDLE SCHOOL AGE PERSONS AND OLDER
Paulie Matthew Barr
Paulie Matthew Barr is a playwright who most recently worked with Curtain Players, where his play Holier Than Thou was produced under the direction of Brian A. Palmer as part of the Simply Staged series.
He also recently wrote The Sisters Karamazov, a stage adaptation of Fyodor Dostoevsky's famous novel.
When he is not writing, Paulie works as a Registered Behavior Technician and is pursuing a degree in Social Work and Human Services.
He enjoys reading, walking through parks, attending Mass, and, of course, reading a little bit more.
"It's chaos; be kind." — Michelle McNamara
Sunday, May 31, 2026, 2:00 pm
Millard Fillmore was the 13th President by Dallas Ray-Macke
Awakened by Riley's post-work embarrassment about a two-dollar bill, Jamie is drawn into a comically frustrating guessing game as Riley insists on identifying the person on the currency without looking it up. Their misinformed historical debate eventually reveals the answer.
Dallas Ray-Macke
Dallas Ray-Macke is a Miami University Creative Writing alum currently residing in Grove City, OH. Usually on the stage as an actor, that passion for acting turned to a passion for directing and writing. He takes his short bursts of ideas and compiles them into a short play format. His works have been produced at MadLab Theatre andTheatre Reset (Columbus, OH), The Drama Workshop (Cincinnati, OH), and Highview Arts Center (Louisville, KY).
After Marlow by Ashley Clements
Twenty years after burying a time capsule, four women reunite to open it, only to be confronted with the secret that splintered their friendship.
Memories clash and long-ridden guilt resurfaces as they navigate how the past is now dictating their present.
RECOMMENDED FOR MIDDLE SCHOOL AGE PERSONS AND OLDER
Paulie Matthew Barr
Ashley Clements has been involved in the Columbus theatre scene for nearly 20 years, but is typically seen on stage as opposed to being the playwright. She has a degree in English where she focused a lot on writing, and actually has written several plays. After Marlow is the first one to get a formal staged reading, though. Ashley works with elementary school kids, both in a school as well as teaching theatre. When not writing or working, she is ushering her kids, Harrison and Jenna, around to their activities, taking care of her dogs Poppy and Leo, spending time with her husband Sam, reading, working in her garden, or rewatching her comfort shows.
Tickets are pay-what-you-can for each performance, $5 suggested donation.
