Photo Gallery (Click an image to englarge and begin scrolling)

The House

By Elisa Manzini (Los Angeles, CA)

Directed by Christina Dube

​Away from home because of work, Sabrina decides to visit the house where she was born. Jane, the young woman who now lives in the house, welcomes her warmly. They chat about relationships, family and blueberry pies. Jane confesses she feels lonely sometimes and can’t wait to have a baby. The following day Sabrina goes back to meet Jane’s husband, Jerry, and during their conversation she realizes she’s stuck in a weird time capsule in 1977, and Jane and Jerry are her parents. After trying to convince the couple about her identity, Sabrina begs them not to have kids, revealing that her mom suffered from severe postpartum depression and ended up killing herself and her father. Will Jane believe her though?

• Sabrina: Tiffany Thatcher
  
• Jane: Kiralyn Brakel Nelson*
  
• Jerry: Josh Hall
  
• Stage Manager: Grace Balkan

The Lost Recording
By Jo Ann Simon (Danbury, CT)
and Jennifer Yokell (Hillsdale, MI)

Directed by Sarah Gray

Jo Ann is a mother and a grandmother.  She was also a wife.  A surprising discovery is made when an old forgotten recording is found on a tape recorder.  Jo Ann is transported back in time to a single night through the recording of her and her husband from several years earlier.  On that night, Tom and Jo Ann are at a crossroads in their relationship.  With the backdrop of 40’s music the scenes play out. They  work through their differences until a hidden truth is revealed about Tom’s health which changes everything.  Their vow to love each other through sickness and health, till death do them part will be tested. The question is, whether her past can bring peace to her present. This play is based on a true story.

• Julie/Grammy: Rickie Freeman
  
• Tom/Tom Tom: David Trippett
  
• Jane: Jennifer Ambrose
  
• Peter: Travis Blatchley
  
• Grace: Madeline Stemme
  
• Stage Manager: Erin Brzozowski
  

The Lion in the Snow Globe

By Paul Lewis (Bainbridge Island, WA)

Directed by MJ Dulmage

17-year-old Veronica is a great admirer of female superheroes. What she loves most about them is that they don’t start out wanting to be superheroes, but when there's a life in the balance, they’ll leap into the fray in order to set things right. Every Christmas season since she was very young, Veronica has visited the magnificent bronze lion standing watch in front of her great-uncle’s department store, sharing confidences as well as the scent of a marzipan cookie. Over time she becomes aware that this bronze statue is a sentient being. Late one Christmas Eve, threatened with exile from the town square he loves, Lion makes one final leap and transforms into a live African lion, prowling the city streets in search of the long-shuttered amusement park that was his first home. It’s up to Veronica to find him and keep him safe from police bullets long enough to restore him to his place on the town square.

• Young Veronica: Lorelei Stemme
  
• Veronica: Savannah Bruton
  
• Great-Uncle Hugo/Editor/Lion: Tim Ambrose
  
• Detective Delaney/Workman 2: Jeff Gray
  
• Harriet: Linda Krasny
  
• Alice/Chester/Officer Watson: Kendra Bonjernoor
  
• Mr. Anastasia/Workman 1: Kenny Hong
  
• Stage Manager: Sandi Miller
  

With Regards to Marty McFly

By Linda Howard Cooke (Hastings, NE)

Directed by Trinity Bird

The plot is set in motion when Sophie turns her teachers into their 1980s teen-aged selves, using the time machine she invented for the science fair. By looking into the teachers’ pasts, Sophie and her classmates get a glimpse into their own futures, and they’re not sure they like what they see. 

• Becca Crooner: Emmy Ambrose
  
• Aaron Brooks: Noah Bryant
  
• Sophie Kostopoulos: Katherine Gerring
• Mrs. Abbott: Allie Tappen
• Mr. Bennet: Michael Krebill
  
• Mr. Conners: Trinity Bird
  
• Barry: Ezra Hutchinson*
  
• Rick: Castin Cousino
  
• Wendy: Adalyn Crane*
  
• Stage Manager: Denise McCosh
  

Previous Plays-in-Development

• Living By G.M. (Bud) Thompson (Grand Rapids, MI)
  

• The Challenge By Meaghan Bryant (North Adams, MI)
  

  • ​This play will receives its world premiere production as part of the SAUK SHORTS 2023.
    

• A Shore of Abundance By Pearl Moore (Cana, VA)

• Their Great Magic By Terence Patrick Hughes (Lake Hill, NY)

• Desert Song By Mark Cornell (Chapel Hill, NC)

  • ​This play received its world premiere production at The Sauk in September 2022. 
    
  • An hour-long cutting of this play is being taken to state AACTFest in March 2023.

• Pre-Existing Condition By Tiffany Thatcher (Homer, MI)

2020(Click a show title to watch the live reading on Youtube.)

• Gravity: A Union   By Alexander Wolfe (Nebraska)

• Sebastian Rising   By Edward DeBuvitz (Albuquerque, NM)

• Clear Blue Sky   By Bruce Karp (Fort Lauderdale, FL)

• The Long Wait   By Sarah Gray (Jonesville, MI)

• On Pine Knoll Street by Mark Cornell (Chapel Hill, NC)

  • ​This play was produced as a fully-staged production in February 2020. A world premiere!
    
  • This play was an award-winning play in the  AACT NewPlayFest 2020. 
    

• The Pattern of All Patience by Jacqueline Loy (Fort Myers, Fl)

• ​Tipping Point by Paul McKinley (Bronson, MI)

• Timmy's Big Kiss by Matthew Weaver (Spokane, WA)

• ​Acts of Expiation by Joseph Allen Smith (Ocala, FL)

• ​Trees by Penny Neer (Hillsdale, MI)

• ​On Art by Josh Oberlander (Atlanta, GA)

• ​Twelve Wild Swans by Kathryn Willis (Lansing, MI)

• The Flower Girls by Lindsay McNair Patton (Fletcher, NC)

  • ​This play was produced at The Sauk in September 2018. A world premiere!
    
  • The first act of this play was taken to AACTFest state competition in February 2019. 
    

• Ember by Max McCreary (Atlanta, GA)

• Zombie Apocalypse: A Love Story by Tim Ambrose & Jeffrey Connolloy (Pittsford, MI)

• Ephemera by MJ Dulmage (Hillsdale, MI)

• The Inheritance by Bud Vear (Hillsdale, MI)

The Sauk is dedicated to the development of new theatrical works. Each year, we present staged readings of new plays still in the process of being written. After the readings, we invite the audience to respond to what they have heard. When they can, the playwrights attend these readings and join the discussion.
​These works may include adult themes and/or strong language. This is a 'Pay What You Can' event. 

Plays-in-Development is a Pay What You Can event. No advance ticket sales. 

Seating is first-come, first-serve. Seating begins at 7 p.m. each night.