Local Theater Company announces Local Lab 15 plays and playwrights

Boulder’s new-play festival returns for its 15th year with three world premieres exploring tech, race and the human comedy.

Local Theater Company has announced the three plays selected for Local Lab 15, its annual new-play development festival, set for April 16-19 at The Nomad Playhouse in Boulder.

Now in its 15th year, Local Lab brings playwrights to Boulder for week-long workshops culminating in staged readings and post-show audience conversations. This year’s festival features three world premieres from writers exploring themes of friendship, race, faith and the human condition.

The lineup opens Friday, April 17, with Faster Horses by Alex Riad, an Egyptian-American playwright based in New York City. The play follows two women who leave male-dominated tech companies to launch their own app, only to find the collaboration straining their friendship.

On Saturday, April 18, Paris Crayton III presents Only Some of God’s Children or Mississippi Magnolias, set two days after the 1963 March on Washington. The play, currently receiving its world premiere at a Florida theater, is the second installment of Crayton’s Black Faith Plays cycle.

The festival closes Sunday, April 19, with Fierce Satire and Mediocre Sex by Colorado playwright Edith Weiss, a dark comedy touching on religion, political correctness and female empowerment. Weiss has been involved in Colorado theatre for roughly 50 years.

All-Access Passes are $99; single-reading tickets are $30. The Nomad Playhouse is located at 1410 Quince Ave., Boulder. More information at localtheaterco.org/Lab15.