Theatre Prometheus Lights Up Twelfth Season with Firecracker Festival
Theatre Prometheus is kicking off its twelfth season with the Firecracker Festival, a "mini-fringe" style celebration of brand-new plays and bold new voices running November 14-December 6, 2025. Hosted at the Montgomery College Cultural Arts Center, the festival brings together emerging playwrights from the DC area and beyond, showcases collaborations with The Welders Playwrights Collective, and invites an additional community partner to be announced, all with a focus on adventurous storytelling and queer and trans perspectives.
"We're delighted to share this opportunity for our patrons to get in on the ground floor of brand new plays from local and national playwrights, with a special focus on highlighting queer and trans voices and stories," said Tracey Erbacher, co-artistic director of Theatre Prometheus. "At a time when those voices are specifically under attack, we are proud to uplift the work of these extraordinary playwrights and artists through supporting brand new plays, drag performance, and more.
"We're also honored to be sharing our residency space at the Montgomery College Cultural Arts Center with our community partners. Art begets art, and the more we can support and uplift each other's work, the better a theatrical ecosystem for all."
The festival will feature readings of:
We are the Demons Inside Our Bodies (November 14-16), a new play from Managing Director Amanda Zeitler, directed by Associate Artistic Producer Ileana Blustein. We are the Demons Inside Our Bodies features a group of college friends reuniting for a night of horror movies, drinks, and Ouija. As the night darkens, the messages they receive from the board become more and more real.
Mother of (November 14-16) by Chicago-based playwright Katherine Gwynn, directed by co-Artistic Director Tracey Erbacher. A poetic and irreverent take on the true meaning of choice, Mother Of follows a young, nonbinary playwright in one timeline and a young woman told she
will bear the son of God in another.
Jean/ne (November 21-23), a new play from Prometheus Director of New Works Mari Fluegeman, directed by Robin Berl, who Prometheus audience may know as the director of 2024's World Premiere of Dua: The Monster's Story. Jean/ne is a trans examination of Joan of
Arc's final night before execution.
Rebels vs. Royals: A Night of Deception and Succession (November 21-23), An Interactive Staged Reading by The Welders 4.0. A murder, a monarchy, and a scandal that could upend generations. This immersive murder mystery drops us into the aftermath of "The Excision"-a violent purge that split the nation between the powerful monarchy and the newly formed rebel underground movement. Now at a lavish banquet meant to celebrate peace, the beloved King Julian Speranza collapses mid-toast...and the hunt for his killer begins. Created by Rebecca Dzida, Taylor Payne, and Shaquille Stewart. This is an interactive prequel to The Welder's upcoming production of Cake Eaters by Rebecca Dzida.
In Spite of Everything (December 4-7) by Brooklyn-based writer Zoe Senese-Grossberg, directed by Prometheus Artistic Associate Shana Laski. In Spite of Everything is a biting, dark comedy about a group of friends who recently survived the Holocaust, but each can't stop worrying that the others were maybe hanging out without them while they spent their teens in Auschwitz. A play about how life always finds a way-but finds a way to do what?
The Pit (December 4-6) by Lenox Kamara, fresh off a sold-out, one-night performance at District Fringe this summer. After his disappearance at the age of 15, drag artist JAMES finally welcomes humans, like TROY, into the depths of his speakeasy for a kiki through his adolescence. At the core of this night of nonsense & nostalgia, will these two zillennials stomach their tumultuous past for a taste of their futures? The Pit is produced in partnership with Confetti Collective.
The Firecracker Festival opens November 14th at Montgomery College's Cultural Arts Center Studio Theatre, and will run through December 7th. Performances will take place Friday-Sunday.