Bloomington Playwrights Project announced their 2021-22 season Aug. 29. This year’s lineup will include their first in-person performance in two years.
The non-profit organization focuses solely on premiering and workshopping new plays. From musicals to traditional plays to virtual theater, focusing mostly on new theater productions.
This season, BPP will once again host in-person theater in the Ted Jones Playhouse. Their show “Just Between the All of Us” will be their first non-virtual show since the start of the COVID-19 lockdown in March 2020. Here are all the shows, both online and in-person, that the company will be hosting this season.
7:30 p.m. Oct. 27 to 30: “Manhunt II”
“Manhunt II” is a sequel to the 2020 season performance of “Manhunt.” This online murder-mystery show will be a virtual experience to challenge audiences in solving the case of missing agent, Detective Malcolm Hughes, played by Marcus Kearns.
Produced by Artistic Director Chad Rabinovitz, “Manhunt II” is a mystery performance that puts the show's ending in the audience’s hands.
7:30 p.m. Dec. 8 to 18: “Just Between the All of Us”
This musical rom-com ends the 2021 season and is the theater company’s first in-person show since 2019.
This production is another opportunity for audience participation in a “choose your own adventure” style. Not only does the plot change with audience choices, but so do the songs.
7:30 p.m. Feb. 4 to19: “Modern”
The organization’s first show of 2022 will be “Modern,” a musical drama following the Amish coming-of-age ritual known as Rumspringa. Amish teenagers are given the choice at 18-years-old to either join modern civilization or to be baptized and dedicate their lives to the Amish way.
The production displays the teens' struggle with their newfound freedom during their Rumspringa, and the life-changing choices that come with it.
7:30 p.m. March 25 to April 9: “Heist”
This production will be adorning the classic theater genre of the heist, a farcical convention playing with comedy and drama to create hybrid piece of theater.
A plot summary will be available on Bloomington Playwrights Project’s website when the play is finished.
7:30 p.m. May 13 to 28: “Tell Me I’m Not Crazy”
Rounding out the season is a comedy directed by IU professor Jonathan Michaelsen.
Focused around a family grappling with their father purchasing a firearm, “Tell Me I’m Not Crazy” takes American conventions of gun safety and warps it with comedic elements throughout the performance.
In addition to these shows, Bloomington Playwrights Project will also hold their annual fundraisers, “The PlayOffs” and “BPP’s Chopped: A New Play Gourmet.”
7:30 p.m. Nov. 12: “The PlayOffs”
An annual event where a group of nine directors, nine playwrights and 27 actors are given 24 hours to compose and put on a play.
This year's performances will be filmed and voting will occur digitally through Nov. 14.
April 15 to April 28: “BPP’s Chopped: A New Play Gourmet”
This fundraiser includes three secret ingredients, challenging participants to create a new menu item for a weekend at a surprise Bloomington restaurant, done on participants own time.
The winner will be announced April 28 at 8 p.m. during a virtual event with the organization.
