“Tomorrow’s Theater Tonight,” the successful series of new works launched in January, continues on October 17th at 7:30 p.m. at Prescott Coffee Roasters, 318 W. Gurley Street, Prescott.

This month Playwright Devorah Medwin shares her one-act play, Wooden Nickels, a wry comedy about the confusing and sometimes confounding choices that arise in “act two” of life. Devorah has her Masters in Playwriting from the Actors Studio in New York City and is a graduate of The Chilmark Writing Workshop. Prior to moving to Arizona, Devorah was News Director for MVY radio, served as the Martha’s Vineyard stringer and reporter for the Cape & Islands NPR station and developed her own interview show for Plum Television. Her essays and plays have been seen and heard on stage at The Vineyard Playhouse on Martha’s Vineyard, Circle in the Square, The Actors Studio Raw Space and Vital Theatre in New York City, Exit on Taylor in San Francisco, The Arizona Women’s Theatre, and on NPR.Currently, Devorah is working on a project focusing on Arts & Dementia. Her interest comes from the increased need for intelligent and artistic guidance during illness and the end-of-life journey.

“Over the years I have begun to explore how theatre might hold a larger space for healing and ritual. When I came across the following quote, my first thought was, “are playwrights included?”

‘Healing Art is being born as we speak. The concept is catching fire, is awakening in people's spirits…Artists, musicians and dancers are realizing their imagery has meaning….that their imagery heals them, others, their neighborhood, or the earth.’ – Michael Samuels, from his book Creative Healing. “As a culture,” Medwin continues, “we are habituated to the idea that once the lights go down, or a story begins, “Once upon a Time…” anything is possible. Thick layers of adult onset resistance are easily shed as we settle into our seats…we want to be transported. Who argues at the impossibility of Peter Pan’s flight across the stage or Mr. Wonka’s chocolate stream? It’s magic…and for an hour and a half…we are willing to believe.”

In the book, Healing Ceremonies, Drs. Carl A. Hammerschlag and Howard D. Silverman write about how stepping out from our ordinary experience, as theatre allows us to do, can have tremendous impact on our consciousness.

‘Ceremony and ritual refer to processes that separate the ordinary from the extraordinary. They provide us with a time to experience awe – a state in which we lift ourselves out of the ordinary into a different level of consciousness. They provide access into the world of faith and human spirit. Ceremony is a time to seek guidance, to share in community, to look within, to touch people, practices, dreams, and imagination.’

Ceremony done in a theatrical setting creates the space, both internally and externally, for magic and for healing. ‘’Illness,” says Medwin, “in my immediate circles and in the wider community seems to have increased at a striking pace. These experiences have only served to deepen my curiosity as to what role theatre can play in the process of illness and healing.”

With a gentleness of spirit and an irreverence worthy of any New Yorker, Medwin’s work taps into the pure, raw and heartbreakingly beautiful palette of emotions that arise in the middle of the absurd.

Don’t miss this warm and funny one-act play by a wonderful Arizona playwright. The playreading series is by donation. Each play is followed by audience discussion. Gourmet brewed coffee and delectable baked goods are available for sale throughout the evening. Information: 928/708-0166.