A Bay Area theater collective that started with actors reading plays in a living room during the pandemic is heading to downtown San Rafael for the first time.
The Actors' Reading Collective, known as ARC, will open its fourth annual "Outside the Box" staged reading series at Marin Shakespeare Company's Downtown Theatre, 514 Fourth St., on Monday, July 20, at 7 p.m. Tickets are on a sliding scale of $25 to $100, and no one will be turned away for inability to pay.
"The important thing is that we are all in the room together," co-director Emilie Talbot told the Pacific Sun.
The series marks ARC's first time staging Outside the Box in Marin. Previous years were held at Z Below in San Francisco.
From a living room to Fourth Street
ARC's origin story is pure pandemic improvisation. Timothy Redmond, a co-founder of ARC who also co-directs the series' second show, told the Pacific Sun the group initially called itself "Actors sitting around reading plays in Jim Carpenter's Sitting Room" before shortening to "Thursdays at Seven" and finally landing on The Actors' Reading Collective.
The company is actor-led, built from seasoned Bay Area professionals who found each other during COVID shutdowns. Its fiscal sponsor is New Performance Traditions, a nonprofit, making donations tax-deductible.
Why staged readings?
The 165-seat Downtown Theatre offers an intimate setting for ARC's stripped-down format. Redmond told the Pacific Sun there is "a real purity" to staged readings: just the play, the actors, and the words. Co-director Amy Kossow added that audiences tend to be more invested because full productions can create a barrier between performers and the crowd that doesn't exist in this format.
The lineup
Monday, July 20, 7 p.m. — "Greater Clements" by Samuel D. Hunter, an Obie and Drama Desk Award winner and Tony nominee. The play follows an Idaho business owner navigating the decline of small-town America. James Carpenter directs a cast that includes Mary Baird, Ron Chapman, Harry Davis, Anne Kobori, Heather Mathieson, Catherine Luedtke, and Randall Nakano.
Monday, August 3, 7 p.m. — "The Welkin" by Lucy Kirkwood, a Tony Award and Susan Smith Blackburn Prize winner. Set in rural Suffolk in 1759, the play follows twelve women on a jury deciding whether a condemned prisoner is pregnant and eligible for a stay of execution. Kossow described it as "like Twelve Angry Jurors meets The Crucible but with women." She and Redmond co-direct a 16-member ensemble including Carpenter, Stacy Ross, Leontyne Mbele-Mbong, and Talbot.
The August 3 performance doubles as ARC's fundraiser and season announcement party, where the group plans to reveal details of a fully staged production scheduled for early 2027.
A third reading, Jen Silverman's dark comedy "Witch," directed by Danielle Levin, is planned for October 2026. The date and location have not been announced.
Upcoming community events
- Monday, July 20, 7 p.m. — ARC presents "Greater Clements," Marin Shakespeare Company's Downtown Theatre, 514 Fourth St., San Rafael. $25–$100. arcstream.org.
- Monday, August 3, 7 p.m. — ARC presents "The Welkin" (fundraiser and season announcement), same venue. $25–$100. arcstream.org.
