Talk Back Theatre is thrilled to announce that Jonelle Allen will be joining the team to direct THE PLASTIC CITY. We are confident that her expertise and vision are a great match for this beautiful play.

Jonelle Allen has directed for several theatres in Southern California, including The Blue Sphere Alliance, Gallimaufry Theatre Company, and Saddleback College, where she is currently an Adjunct Faculty member leading the New Works and Staged Reading projects. Jonelle writes and directs new work for the theatre, including BLACKBIRD, a one-woman show developed with writing partners Stevi Meredith and David Jayden Anthony. Jonelle is also a seasoned performer on stage and screen. She has received awards from Drama Critics' Circle, Drama Desk, Theatre World, and Outer Critics Circle, as well as a Tony nomination for her role as Silvia in Broadway's 1971 rock musical Two Gentlemen of Verona. Her most notable screen roles include Grace on DR. QUIN MEDICINE WOMAN and recurring roles on AMERICAN CRIME STORY: THE PEOPLE VS OJ SIMPSON and SHAMELESS.
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Make sure to join us on Spetember 24th at the Garden Grove Amphitheater to see this wonderful piece come to life!

Thank you all for your support of Talk Back Theatre! With your pledges, we raised almost $1500! Unfortunately, we aimed a little to high and that amazing funding isn't enough to reach our Kickstarter goal. Since Kickstarter is an all-or-nothing platform, TBT won't be able to benefit from the pledges.

The good news is that you can still commit to supporting TBT and our mission by carrying that pledge over to our direct donation site with our fiscal sponsor Arts Orange County, which you can reach from our Donate page.

Thank you again for you support. We are fully committed to producing THE PLASTIC CITY this fall, and even though this Kickstarter didn't reach its goal, we still consider it a success, as it gave us the chance to share our passion and ideas with you. Please keep sharing TBT, and if you have any questions for us, please don't hesitate to send us a message!

Sincerely,
Nicole & Emily

We are so excited to finally share the news! NYC-based playwright Matthew Kelly has signed on as our first playwright partner. His play The Plastic City was chosen from a collection of over 500 submitted applications, and all of us at TBT are thrilled to be producing the piece as a staged reading in September. The Plastic City follows Jade (a teen diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder), her imaginary friend Joy, and her mother Cordelia as all three explore the past of their economically-depressed home that was once a thriving plastic manufacturing hub. Community and familial tensions rise as Cordelia begins to seek connections between the town's historical plastic pollution and her daughter's diagnosis.

The Plastic City shines a light on the experience of families raising children with Autism Spectrum Disorder while also delving into the sacrifices communities make in the name of industrial and economic growth. To that end, its story echoes concerns found in myriad communities affected by lead pollution, global warming, and similar threats. 

More about The Plastic City and playwright Matthew Kelly below!

We are so excited by the overwhelming enthusiasm playwrights have shown for TBT. We received over 500 plays to review, which is awesome! It also means that giving those plays the time and consideration they deserve is taking longer than anticipated. We are moving our play selection announcement from early June to mid-June (likely in three weeks). So hang tight and check back for more info in a few weeks!

​Thanks to Play Submissions Helper for spreading the news!

We are in the final stretch of our inaugural call for submissions! Submissions will be accepted until 11:59pm PST on May 1 (that's Monday!). Get your script in for consideration here!

The Talk Back team has been floored by the number of submissions we have received, the breadth of issues being explored, and the diversity of playwrights sharing their work. Add your voice!

 Wow! We are blown away! We have received more than twenty scripts from a diverse group of playwrights in the first couple days of our inaugural open call. Already we're looking at pieces that tackle issues of homelessness, sexism, divisive politics, racism, Islamophobia, police brutality, and more! We are thrilled and humbled by the response to our call for submissions and can't wait to start reading!

As we witness the support of artists around the world sharing their work with us, we look to the community to help us make our first reading a success. Please consider supporting Talk Back Theatre's endeavors to share stories, fairly pay artists, and cultivate conversation. Visit our DONATE page to get involved.

We are so thrilled to be opening our first call for submissions! Now through May 1 we will be accepting new works here. You can read our press release below...