NextStop Theatre Launches NextDraft, a New Reading Series for Works in Progress
NextStop Theatre is stepping into exciting new territory this spring with the launch of NextDraft, a brand-new reading series dedicated to nurturing bold theatrical works before they're ready for the world stage.
The concept is simple but meaningful: each selected script will be workshopped intensively over the course of a week, then brought to life in a public reading followed by an audience feedback session. It's a rare opportunity for theatregoers to step inside the creative process — to see a play not as a finished product, but as a living, breathing work still being shaped toward its world premiere production.
Two plays are on the docket for the inaugural season, and they couldn't be more different from each other — or more compelling.
The Second Best School Shooting
Monday, April 13 at 7pm
Playwright Alice Stanley Jr. brings what she calls "dark bubblegum" to the stage with this sharp, emotionally charged comedy. The play centers on two best friends trying to process the trauma of surviving a school shooting — only to find their grief overshadowed when a deadlier shooting strikes a wealthier neighborhood the same day. The play wrestles with a question that feels urgently relevant: In times of crisis, who is allowed to grieve? And who isn't?
Stanley is no stranger to high-profile creative spaces. Her credits include work on SAY MORE (created by Amy Poehler and named one of The New York Times' Best Podcasts of 2023), Busy Tonight (executive produced by Tina Fey), and the feature film Moxie. She has developed work with The Goodman Theatre and Chicago Dramatists, among others. This workshop was underwritten in part by the Virginia Commission for the Arts, the VA250 Commission, and the National Endowment for the Arts.
Grass Ain't Greener
Monday, June 22 at 7pm
Baltimore-born actor and writer Evan Carrington offers a rich period dramedy set during the early days of sound cinema. An ensemble of Black actors are in the midst of filming one of the first all-Black talkies when the production is threatened by the menacing presence of the Ku Klux Klan. It's a story about art, survival, solidarity, and the cost of simply showing up and being seen.
Carrington came to writing through a somewhat unconventional path — a single improv class in his senior year of college sparked a lifelong dedication to performance and storytelling across commercials, film, television, and theatre. His play Save My Black Soul recently completed a sold-out run at Laurel Mill Playhouse.
Tickets for both readings go on sale March 6. If you've ever been curious about where great plays come from — how they get made, refined, and pushed toward something extraordinary — NextDraft offers a front-row seat to that process. It's a welcome addition to DC's theatre landscape, and a meaningful investment in the voices shaping what comes next.
NextStop Theatre is located in Herndon, Virginia. Visit their website for ticketing information and updates on the NextDraft series.