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Armory Square Playwrights pen humorous, sentimental plays for holiday radio show

city street at night with snow falling and Christmas lights in trees.
Chris Bolt/WAER News

This year's Holiday Theater from Studio C and the Armory Square Playwrights features four works penned by local writers. Two of the plays strike humorous chords, based on well-known Christmas themes. Another takes a conversation on a plane ride and transforms it into a story of love, loss and sentimental remembrance. While the fourth describes a family shackled by slavery and a holiday-time grasp for freedom.

This year's plays are:

  • Convincing One’s Partridge to Stay in the Tree by Donna Stuccio
    A clever twist on the classic “Twelve Days of Christmas” that involves an unexpected partridge problem and devolves from there. Voice actors include Stuccio and Brendon Cole.
  • Island of Joy by Johanna Beale Keller
    A journey of reflection and connection on a flight to Paris to celebrate New Year's, inspired by a beloved book. The parts are acted by Karis Willis and Derek Emerson Powell.
  • Big Times Day by Valarie Short
    A father’s dangerous journey for freedom during the holidays, and how it affects his children and wife. Joshua and Jordan Byatukorera, voiced the children, Juhanna Rogers and Dwan Hameed are also featured.
  • A Christmas Peril by Alexis Martin
    A chaotic rehearsal for *A Christmas Carol* that hilariously highlights the mayhem that can go on before the curtain rises. Voice work by Martin, along with Mark Allen Holt, Daryl Acevedo and James Marlowe.

Members of the Armory Square Playwrights submitted short works with holiday themes anonymously to WAER. Several staff read them, choosing four finalists to be produced for the special radio show on-demand at the top of this post. Voice actors were gathered in the WAER studios for recording. Then producers Kat Kollins, Ben Sills, Griffin O'Neill and Chris Bolt added sound effects, music and mixing to create the final audio works.

For over three decades, the Armory Square Playwrights have woven a tapestry of creativity. The family of writers nurtures each other's craft, seeking not just feedback, but a receptive audience. Their dedication, shared stories, and unwavering support paint a canvas of excitement and creativity.

Music used in this production includes:
sleigh ride by Dee Yan-Key CC BY-NC-SA ;
That time of year by Roots and Recognition;
Deck the Halls by Ennio Mano

Chris Bolt, Ed.D. has proudly been covering the Central New York community and mentoring students for more than 30 years. His career in public media started as a student volunteer, then as a reporter/producer. He has been the news director for WAER since 1995. Dedicated to keeping local news coverage alive, Chris also has a passion for education, having trained, mentored and provided a platform for growth to more than a thousand students. Career highlights include having work appear on NPR, CBS, ABC and other news networks, winning numerous local and state journalism awards.
Kat is WAER's anchor/producer, delivering local news content and hosting NPR's "All Things Considered." She excels in creating engaging long-form content, managing promotions, and leading audio editing projects. Kat is also instrumental in converting daily news content into digital formats for distribution on WAER.org.