THEATRE + COMEDY

Wordsmyth Theater Company announces the final installment in the 2009 Texas Playwrights Reading Series: The Good Son by Joe Barnes.

Three generations of Barkleys meet to celebrate the birthday of the family's matriarch, Violet. Even the dead -- Violet's husband and older son -- are palpably present as the clan gathers at her house in a small East Texas town. Like all families, the Barkleys share secrets -- some large, some small -- that shape their relationships with another and with the world. Though old and ailing, Violet struggles to retain control, not just of her own life, but of the myths that sustain her sense of purpose.

"The Good Son" is a meditation on family -- the ties it creates, the lies it demands, and the inescapable, sometimes terrifying claims it makes upon us.

The cast features Margaret Bowman, Ron Jones, Sheryl Croix, Shannon Emerick, Stewart Gaitan and Stuart Purdy. Clare Hart-Palumbo is directing with Dr. Robert Shimko moderating the discussion afterwards with playwright Joe Barnes.

Wordsmyth provides playwrights the opportunity to work with directors, actors and audiences to get feedback on their plays. Readings are followed by a talkback session with the author. Wordsmyth presents these readings in collaboration with Actor’s Gym, an actor’s resource group created by Philip Lehl and Kim Tobin.

READINGS ARE FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC