The Warner Theatre’s Annual International Playwrights Festival is Set to Captivate Audiences Once Again!

Photo by: Luke Haughwout

Image: by Luke Haughwout

The Northwest Connecticut Arts Council got the opportunity to sit down and talk with the festival’s producer, Sharon Houk, and director, Charlene Donaghy, about their 13th year.

Could you tell us about your role in the festival? 

Charlene Donaghy: As Festival Director, I advance the festival by putting out the Call for Scripts and overseeing the logging of blind submissions. I also recruit volunteer readers for the first round. Once their rankings are in, Sharon (Houk) and I read the top plays and discuss our rankings. Sharon then handles the production side, securing directors, stage managers, and technical staff, and finding the best images for projections.

Sharon Houk: I have been the Festival Producer since the first year. Once we have the finalists selected, my role continues in getting directors for each piece and assisting those directors with casting their productions if needed. I format scripts from each production to include lighting, sound, music cues. I also prepare projection titles and manage tech week rehearsals. I could go on and on!

What inspired you to create this festival?

Sharon Houk: When I started working for the Warner in 2011, John Bonanni was our Executive Director, and we had several conversations about starting a festival of new works. Charlene also started speaking with John about the same idea, and we found that we all agreed on how it should be presented.

Charlene Donaghy: As a playwright, I love all lengths of stage plays. I saw a lack of focus on one-act plays, so I met with John Bonanni and Sharon about starting a festival. We all agreed it would focus on one-acts and produce plays rather than just readings. From this shared vision, the Warner International Playwrights Festival was born.

Image: by Luke Haughwout

What’s been your favorite part of working on this festival?

Sharon Houk: In the last twelve years, I’ve produced 130 productions, and by the end of this festival, it will be 140. One of my favorites to collaborate with is Bara Swain; we've done seven of her pieces, and I’ve directed five. Other highlights include directing Lily Rusek’s Winter Flowers and producing George Kelly’s Facing Backwards, directed by Tony Leone. Another memorable moment was when my boyfriend hijacked the festival with a surprise play he wrote, and at the end, he proposed to me from the tech booth. We've been married six years and now have a 22-month-old son.

Charlene Donaghy: One favorite moment was in the first year when Australian playwright Gayle Malloy came to see her play, Yesterdays and Tomorrows, produced at the festival. She connected with fellow playwright Robbi D'Allessandro, extending her stay in the U.S. The festival’s magic lies in both the onstage performances and the connections formed.

Why do you think it is important for Torrington & Northwest Connecticut to come out and support new plays?

Charlene Donaghy: My family's connection to the Warner dates back to the 1940s when my father ushered there as a child. Over the years, my sisters and I performed and worked at the theatre, and I was involved in saving it in the 1980s.

"For me, the Warner is a generational treasure, a place for unforgettable plays,

performed by talented actors and directors." - Charlene Donaghy

Sharon Houk: The magic of this festival is that these productions happen for one night in our intimate space and then disappear. They may be mounted again elsewhere, but for our festival, these moments are unique and not to be missed. Some of the most incredible nights of theatre have occurred during this festival.

Image: by Luke Haughwout

Have any plays or playwrights from the festival moved on to bigger stages?

Charlene Donaghy: Notable playwrights include Margot Lasher (2012), Gary Garrison (2013), and Julie Weinberg (2014 & 2024). Bara Swain (2016) and Victoria Z. Daly (2017) also stand out, with many returning to be produced again. Each year, we feature outstanding plays and talent, including Randall David Cook in 2023 and 2024.

Sharon Houk: We were fortunate to travel to the American Association of Community Theatre (AACT) National Competition AACTFest with Winter Flowers by Lily Rusek in Grand Rapids, Michigan. That piece won the CT festival and the Region I Festival and was awarded a place at nationals. We also competed with Facing Backwards by George Kelly which won in CT and went to the Region I finals.  Both experiences were unlike any I have had in my long theatrical career.

What can audiences expect when coming to see the festival?

Charlene Donaghy: They can expect to laugh, perhaps cry, to gasp, to be entertained, to find wonder, and to be moved with words, stories, and characters who will stay with them even after the lights come down.

Sharon Houk: Audiences can expect to feel. Whether that be to laugh or cry - theatre needs to be experienced live and our job is to make you feel many different emotions, think new thoughts. Join us for some interesting stories, great acting and productions that will spark future conversations in the times to come.”