KNOW Theatre’s annual Playwrights & Artists Festival opens this weekend

Rehearsing six plays over a period of some three weeks is a lot of work, says Tim Gleason, artistic director of Binghamton’s KNOW Theatre. So why does he do it? “It’s fascinating what happens,” he said. “Giving birth to something new is exciting.”

What Gleason is describing is KNOW’s annual Playwrights & Artists Festival, which will begin on Friday (Nov. 22) and run for two weekends at KNOW’s theater in downtown Binghamton.

The festival, which is now in its 21^st year, features a unique concept. It starts with Gleason and company picking three pieces of original artwork. Playwrights then write short, original plays inspired by the art and submit them to KNOW for review.

A committee, including some of Gleason’s colleagues at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., reviews the submissions in two rounds of blind readings and selects six plays to be performed, two for each piece of art.

 The festival runs for six nights, with two plays performed each night. Talk-back sessions with the playwrights and artists — who attend either in person or by Zoom — follow each performance. KNOW supplies coffee and cookies for what Gleason says he hopes will be lively discussions.

This year, 32 playwrights from across the country submitted entries for the festival. Performances will take place this weekend (Nov. 22-24) and again Nov. 29-Dec. 1.

The festival offers prizes for three categories: $300 for Edward Allan Baker Best of Festival, $200 for artistic merit and $100 for audience favorite.

This year’s artworks are: Lead the Way” (painting) by Marc Schimsky, Untitled (sculpture) by Frank Longo and Abandoned (photograph) by Jovan Ackley.

Here are the competition winners and their respective plays:

Shiny Pretty Things by Evelyn Chevere

The Shape of Goodbye by John Mabey

A Trouble Shared is a Trouble Halved by Bara Swain

The Monster by F.J. Hartland

The Middle by Eileen Byrne

Ted’s Day by Marshall Frey.

“It has a sense of miraculous to it,” Gleason said about the annual event. “The festival has gotten a life of its own.”

IF YOU GO: KNOW Theatre’s Playwrights & Artists Festival runs two consecutive weekends, Nov. 22-24 and Nov. 29-Dec. 1. All performances are at 8 p.m. at KNOW’s theater, 74 Carroll St., Binghamton. Tickets at $15 for a single night or $40 for unlimited attendance can be purchased online at knowtheatre.org. KNOW Theatre’s telephone number is 607-759-5685.