The Montgomery Davis Play Development Series
ABOUT THE SERIES
Be the first to hear original stories from your own backyard—and get to know regional artists at work!
Since 2007, with the exception of a pandemic delay, MCT has proudly showcased two Wisconsin playwrights every season through the Montgomery Davis Play Development Series. Writers workshop and rehearse new plays in progress with a cast and director before inviting an audience to hear music stand readings of their works in progress and offer their responses.
All readings are open to the public via suggested donation. Seating is unreserved general admission.
25/26 READINGS
BEFORE THE MOUNTAINS OF MADNESS
by David Daniel
Directed by Marcus Truschinski
Monday, October 13, 2025, Broadway Theatre Center
Doors at 7 pm, Reading at 7:30 pm
Pay-what-you-choose General Admission
BEFORE THE MOUNTAINS OF MADNESS is a gripping psychological thriller in the form of a two-actor tour-de-force that conjures friendship, horror, and madness during a fateful Antarctic expedition. Featuring dynamic multi-role performances, this spine-tangling new play-in-progress will thrill fans of H.P. Lovecraft, Edgar Allan Poe, psychological horror, and dark adventure.
David Daniel is an actor, director, and playwright whose work spans over two decades at American Players Theatre. His directing credits include APT's A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM and OEDIPUS as well as numerous Winter Words productions. He holds an MFA from the University of Delaware and has appeared in over 50 productions of various Shakespeare plays, from Peter to Benedict, and from Falstaff to Murderer #2. Beyond the stage, he works from playgrounds to prisons and is deeply committed to the transformative power of theater. david-daniel.net.
COURAGE HOUSE
A New Musical
by Patrick Swailes Caldwell, Michael Liebhauser, and Sheridan W. Stevens
Directed by Elyse Edelman
Monday, April 13, 2026, Location TBD
Doors at 7pm, Reading at 7:30pm
Pay-what-you-choose General Admission
COURAGE HOUSE draws from seven years of interviews and lived experiences at Milwaukee's own Courage House, a sanctuary for LGBTQIA+ youth facing homelessness. Set over one pivotal week, the musical follows the house's longest standing resident Ajax, new arrival Wren, and others through their transformative - and often hilarious - time at Courage House as they navigate the child welfare system, stumble into self-discovery, and form a chosen family.
COURAGE HOUSE was conceived by Elyse Edelman and inspired by interviews conducted by Elyse Edelman and Michael Liebhauser with Brad and Nick Schlaikowski and the Courage Milwaukee family.
SUBMISSIONS
At MCT, we think home is where the art is. The Montgomery Davis Play Development Series seeks to explore the stories of local artists so that we may know, and grow, our community and its diverse voices. To that end, MCT considers previously unproduced work by Wisconsin-connected playwrights for the Series.
Watch here for a call for submissions soon!
Please email Josie Trettin with questions and inquiries.
MDPDS ARCHIVE
The following is a chronology of MDPDS readings at MCT by season.
To inquire about one of the titles, please contact Josie.
*Indicates a reading which subsequently premiered on the MCT mainstage
2024-2025
ANATOMICAL HEARTS by L.C. Hovey / October 2024
ANATOMICAL HEARTS photos by Jake Badovski
STEADY SHE GOES by Erica Berman / February 2025
STEADY SHE GOES photos by Jake Badovski
2023-2024
THIS JUST IN by Malaina Moore / October 23, 2023
NATTIE AND GOOGIE: THE LOVE AFFAIR OF GEORGE BURNS & GRACIE ALLEN by Tami Workentin / May 6, 2024
2022-2023
VIRAGOS - A PLAY WITH FOUND TEXT by Katherine E. Norman / October 17, 2022
2021-2022
EENY MEENY MINY NO! by Lachrissa Grandberry / August 15, 2021
IRON COUNTY by Gaetano Marangelli / April 18, 2022
2020-2021
THE YEAR WITHOUT A SUMMER by Greer DuBois / May 17, 2021 (online)
2019-2020
LE/LA by Liz Shipe / October 21, 2019
2018-2019
THE PECULIAR DISTRACTION OF MR. LINCOLN'S SOCIAL MEDIA by Andy Bayiates / October 21, 2018
’NEATH THE HILLS OF BASTOGNE by Zach Thomas Woods / April 28, 2019
2017-2018
THE PRISONER OF ZENDA by Anthony Hope, adapted by Dan Klarer and Ryan Schabach / October 15, 2017
NO WAKE* by Erica Berman / April 29, 2018
2016-2017
BLUE BULLETS by Alvaro Saar Rios / October 17, 2016
CHRISTMAS IN BABYLON* by James DeVita / March 20, 2017
2015-2016
AN EVENING WITH CARL SANDBURG by Jonathan Gillard Daly / October 19, 2015
FAITHLESS by Michael Proft / May 2, 2016
2014-2015
THE BOY INSIDE by Richard Kalinoski / October 13, 2014
500 YEARS by Michelle Lopez-Rios / May 4, 2015
2013-2014
WAITING by Kimberly Megna Yarnall / October 14, 2013
SILENT by Gwendolyn Rice / March 10, 2014
2012-2013
MORE LOSERS by James Fletcher / September 17, 2012
PLAZA HOTEL BALLROOM by Alice Austen / March 4, 2013
2011-2012
OCTOBER, BEFORE I WAS BORN* by Lori Matthews / September 19, 2011
THE TAVERN KEEPER’S DAUGHTER by Brett Ryback (A collaboration with Skylight Music Theatre) / February 27, 2012
2010-2011
HOT FLASHES, THE METAPHOR by Lynne Topping Farrell / September 20, 2010
AMONG THE SQUIRRELS by Eric Appleton / March 7, 2011
2009-2010
THE DESERT QUEEN by James DeVita / September 21, 2009
BROKEN AND ENTERED* by Kurt McGinnis Brown / March 15, 2010
2008-2009
NOT THE ARTIST by Kurt McGinnis Brown / September 22, 2008
A THOUSAND WORDS* by Gwendolyn Rice / March 16, 2009
2007-2008
THE DALY NEWS* Story, book and lyrics by Jonathan Gillard Daly; Music by Larry Delinger, Gregg Coffin and Jonathan Gillard Daly / September 10, 2007
BACKWARDS by Alice Austen / March 17, 2008
