The Pacific Conservatory of the Performing Arts’ Marian Theatre stage has wrapped its final summer performance, and Solvang’s Festival Theater will go dark in about two weeks.

But PCPA won’t be taking a break. To keep audiences enchanted between the conservatory’s summer and winter seasons, “InterPlay: The Stage Between,” a play-reading festival that celebrates new works, will kick off next week at the Severson Theatre on the Hancock College campus in Santa Maria.

“InterPlay” will include Charlotte Jones’ “Humble Boy” (2001), a comedic reimagining of “Hamlet” that intermingles wit with classic characters. The play can be seen at 2 p.m. Sept. 27, and at 7 p.m. Sept. 30 and Oct. 7.

Also on the agenda is “Elegies: A Song Cycle” (2003). The play, created and composed by Tony Award-winner William Finn, is part theater piece and part cabaret, and it features a series of songs that were written in remembrance and celebration of departed friends from Finn’s life. The play will be performed at 2 p.m. Sept. 30, Oct. 4 and Oct. 8.

“This Is How It Goes” (2005) by Neil LaBute will also be presented. The play, which takes place in a small town in the American Midwest, offers a smart and sharp investigation of love, racism, truth and falsehood. It will be shown at 7 p.m. Sept. 28 and Oct. 6, and at 2 p.m. Oct. 1.

In the final play, “Third” (2005), the writer, the late Wendy Wasserstein, questions the liberal values that had long been a staple of her writing. The play will be shown at 7 p.m. Sept. 29 and Oct. 5, and at 2 p.m. Oct. 7.

Actors appearing in “InterPlay” include Equity Resident Artists Heidi Ewart, Peter Hadres, Kathleen Mary Mulligan, Andrew Philpot and David Studwell; and Resident Artists Joseph Foss, Callum Morris and Vanessa Ballam, who will be making her PCPA debut. Equity Guest Artists Michael Jenkinson and Melinda Parrett and Guest Artists Corey Jones and Polly Firestone Walker will also appear.

Advertisement

Tickets cost $15 per reading for one or two readings, and $12.50 per reading for three or four readings. Discounts are available for students. For tickets, call 922-8313 or visit www.pcpa.org.

THERE’S MORE:

PCPA also recently announced its winter, spring and summer schedules. Shows will include: “Seussical” (Nov. 9 to Dec. 21); “Barrymore” (Feb. 1 to Feb. 11); “The Chalk Circle” (Feb. 15 to March 11); “The Man Who Came to Dinner” (April 12 to May 13); “Company — In Concert” (June 14 to July 15); “The Importance of Being Earnest” (June 22 to July 14); “Kiss Me, Kate” (July 5 to Aug. 12); “Lifeboat” (July 19 to July 28); “The Real Thing” (Aug. 2 to Sept. 14); and “Urinetown” (Aug. 17 to Sept. 23).

Emily Welly can be reached at 739-2220 or ewelly@santamariatimes.com.