Stagecrafters Reader's Theater Starts This Weekend

Three different plays will be spotlighted over the next two weekends at Stagecrafters Theater in Chestnut Hill.

This Friday kicks off the Reader’s Theater series, a script-in-hand series of plays, including the showcasing of a new musical. Local composer Samuel Heifetz will showcase “David the Shepherd,” which chronicles the rise of the Biblical King David.

There will be two showings of the book-in-hand musical, Saturday, March 12, 8 p.m., and Sunday, March 13, 2 p.m. This will be the premiere performance of what the theater’s Director of Publicity Steve Brady calls “an age-old story.”

Along with “David the Shepherd,” the theater will be featuring two full-length pieces by notable playwrights: “Below the Belt” by Richard Dressler and “Artist Descending a Staircase” by Tom Stoppard.

Dressler’s play is a dark comedy that details the shifting alliances of coworkers. There are two chances to catch “Below the Belt”: this Friday, March 11, 8 p.m. and Saturday, March 19, 8 p.m.

Stoppard’s play, a comical murder-mystery which also explores the meaning of art, will be read Friday, March 18, 8 p.m. and Sunday, March 20, 2 p.m.

The plays will be read and directed by Stagecrafters regulars. Best of all, the performances are “pay what you will,” offering guests the “chance to 'sample' exceptional performances at little or no cost,” Brady said.

No reservations are being taken for the plays; doors open 30 minutes before each performance.

Stagecrafters Theater is located at 8130 Germantown Avenue.