Our History

Funny, suspenseful, powerful stories

Jewels from the PANDORA FESTIVAL OF PLAYS. 14 selected one act plays from the past five seasons of new works. Two theater extravaganzas of short works by Arizona Women Playwrights. Nov 12,13, & 19,20 2010

Original ten minute (9), one-act ( 3) and (2) full length plays selected by a juried panel for staged readings over 3 days. May 20, 21, 22 2011.
This year’s festival also featured a playwright’s workshop offering a program to participants to develop their skills with renowned dramaturge, Lori Brooks

A Mother's Will, by Julie Amparano
You think your family is crazy. . . What about Mary's? Her husband Miguel sees no reason for staying sober, her daughter Rachel is a muppie (Mexican-American yuppie) doctor who can’t be in the same room with her sister Annette, a super-Chicana channeling Frida Kahlo, and son Mike is worried whether coming out of the closet will kill his mother outright. All Mary wants is for everyone to get along… so she can join the family of ghosts in the living room.
March 5-15, 2010
The 4th Annual Pandora Festival
Original plays by 16 Arizona women playwrights, selected by a juried panel were staged over 3 days.
April 23-25, 2010

Crazy. Sexy, by Deborah Carrick and Monica Long Ross
A female look at the male world of classic pulp fiction, with guns songs, and sexy lingerie. A world premiere.
February 13 – March 1, 2009
The Ophelia Project, by Rachel Bowditch and friends
A timely contemporary and provocative piece exploring the words and lives of writers Anne Sexton, Sylvia Plath and Virginia Woolf, woven around the iconic figure of Ophelia.
Collaborative project with ASU and Taliesin West.
March 27 – April 5, 2009
The 3rd Annual Pandora Festival
Plays by 14 Arizona women playwrights, selected by juries from entries statewide, were given staged readings over three days. This year’s festival also featured Pandora’s Lab, a workshop offering 10 playwrights the opportunity to develop their work-in-progress with award winning playwright Tania Katan.
May 15-17, 2009

Be Aggressive, by Annie Weisman
A satirical look at suburban life.
October 12-21, 2007
California Transit, by Diane Lefer
Awarded the Mary McCarthy Prize for Short Fiction.
Reading and discussion with the author.
October 24, 2007
Maybe Baby, It's You, by Charlie Shanian and Shari Simpson
A wild ride through male-female relationships. A special performance of Canyon Moon Theatre's acclaimed production to benefit the Arizona Women's Theatre Company
February 5 and 6, 2008
The Sweetest Swing in Baseball, by Rebecca Gilman
A funny, subversive examination of sports, art, and celebrity by the award-winning author of Spinning Into Butter.
March 7-22, 2008
The Second Annual Pandora Festival
A celebration of new work by 16 Arizona women playwrights
May 16-18 and May 30-June 1, 2008

Living Out, by Lisa Loomer
An examination of the interdependent experiences of Anglo mothers and the undocumented Latinas they hire as nannies.
Nov 3-26, 2006.
An Evening with Canadian Playwrights Sherry MacDonald and Meah Martin
Sponsored by the Dept of Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada, Canadian Consulate Generals, LA and Phoenix, and the Canada Council for the Arts
Nov 5, 2006
Girl, 20, by Ellen Fairey
A story of obsession and betrayal as a female college student's counseling sessions are observed from behind a two-way mirror by male students.
Feb 2-25, 2007
Well, by Lisa Kron
Directly from Broadway to Scottsdale! Kron’s Tony-nominated play is a brazen and hilarious exploration of a mother-daughter relationship and what it means to be well.
April 5-29, 2007
The Pandora Festival
A celebration of new work by Arizona women playwrights
May 11-12 and 19-20, 2007

Talking With, by Jane Martin
Herberger Lunch Time Theater, Sept 13-23, 2005
Complications, by Monica Long Ross
World premiere, November 4-27, 2005
A play incorporating old home movies. A woman relives key moments of her life, as her daughters share and keep their own secrets.
Tongue of a Bird by Ellen McLaughlin
An aviator’s search for a missing girl becomes a search for her own past.
February 3-26, 2006
Raise the Roof--Short Plays by Wendy Wasserstein
April 28-30, 2006

Talking With, by Jane Martin
AZWTC inaugural benefit performance May 15, 2004
Herberger Lunch Time Theater, July 24-August 5, 2004,
Necessary Targets by Eve Ensler
A critically-acclaimed play by the groundbreaking playwright and performer of The Vagina Monologues, about women refugees in Bosnia and two American women who want to help them.
November 4-27, 2004.
Women in the Director's Chair Film Festival
Short films by a diverse group of women
Scottsdale Community College, January 28-29, 2005
A Conversation With Edith Head
One-woman show starring Susan Claassen as the legendary costume designer.
March 19, 2005