Actors' Reading Collective Announces 2026 Outside the Box Series

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The Bay Area company will present staged readings at Z Space, featuring local performers.

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The Actors' Reading Collective (ARC) has announced the return of its fourth annual Outside the Box staged reading series, featuring works by acclaimed contemporary playwrights Samuel D. Hunter , Lucy Kirkwood , and Jen Silverman .

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Presented in ARC's signature staged reading format with large ensemble casts of Bay Area performers, this year's series continues the company's partnership with Marin Shakespeare Company. Two readings will take place at the company's indoor theater in San Rafael, while a third benefit performance later this year will support ARC's next fully staged production, scheduled for early 2027.

The series opens on July 20 with Greater Clements by Obie and Drama Desk Award winner and Tony Award nominee Samuel D. Hunter . Set in a struggling Idaho mining town, the play explores the decline of small-town America through the lives of longtime residents confronting change, loss, and the challenge of leaving the past behind. James Carpenter directs a cast featuring Mary Baird, Ron Chapman, Harry Davis , Anne Kobori, Heather Mathieson, Catherine Luedtke, and Randall Nakano , with Danielle Levin reading stage directions.

The second reading, The Welkin by Tony Award and Susan Smith Blackburn Prize winner Lucy Kirkwood , will be presented on August 3 under the direction of Amy Kossow and Timothy Redmond. Set in rural Suffolk in 1759, the play follows a jury of twelve women tasked with determining whether a condemned prisoner is pregnant and therefore eligible for a stay of execution. The large ensemble cast includes Mary Baird, James Carpenter , Ron Chapman, Sheila Devitt , Anne Hallinan, Amy Kossow, Danielle Levin, Gwen Loeb, Heather Mathieson, Leontyne Mbele-Mbong , Lisa Morse, Stacy Ross , Luisa Sermol , Anna Takayo, Emilie Talbot , and David Sinaiko, with Timothy Redmond reading stage directions.

Closing the series is Jen Silverman 's Witch, directed by Danielle Levin. The dark comedy reimagines a Jacobean drama as a charming devil arrives in the village of Edmonton offering residents their deepest desires in exchange for their souls. The benefit reading, which will help raise funds for ARC's next fully staged production, will take place in October, with the date, location, and cast to be announced.

Collectively, the three plays explore themes of hope, despair, moral ambiguity, and resilience while examining how individuals navigate systems of power and personal transformation.

The Actors' Reading Collective is dedicated to presenting language-centered, ensemble-based storytelling while fostering empathy, conversation, and community engagement through live theater.

By Samuel D. Hunter Directed by James Carpenter Monday, July 20, 2026 | 7:00 p.m. Marin Shakespeare Company, San Rafael

By Lucy Kirkwood Directed by Amy Kossow and Timothy Redmond Monday, August 3, 2026 | 7:00 p.m. Marin Shakespeare Company, San Rafael

By Jen Silverman Directed by Danielle Levin October 2026 Date and location to be announced.

Tickets are available now.

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_Originally reported by [BroadwayWorld](https://www.broadwayworld.com/san-francisco/article/GREATER-CLEMENTS-THE-WELKIN-and-WITCH-Set-for-Actors-Reading-Collectives-2026-Outside-the-Box-Series-20260624)._