The Strides Collective presents New Strides: A Pride Month Playfest on June 10

“I found that the community was lacking a place for new works of queer theater to develop in play form,” says founding artistic director Jonathan Edmondson, who led the charge in early 2020, gathering a collective of friends and creatives for the group’s inaugural production during Philly Theatre Week in February of that year. The collective’s mission is to promote and produce new works by queer artists and playwrights, creating a safe and welcoming space for them to hone their crafts.

“Obviously, there’s such a rich sector of drag and cabaret performance, and there’s certainly been queer theater companies before us and in coexistence with us,” Edmondson adds, “but the idea to be a place to develop work by emerging queer playwrights was just not something we had seen in the city.” They wanted to make a space for emerging theater artists to explore and create in a way that allowed risk-taking.

After the group’s first production was over, there was a desire to continue collaborating, but the timing was against them as pandemic shutdowns began. Their conversations continued, and the collective decided to pivot into the world of audio drama. They produced an immersive audio drama called Ignite in October 2020, which received a lot of positive feedback and inquiries as to what came next. They continued to produce digital theater throughout the pandemic and have gotten back into live productions as the world continues to reopen. The collective’s digital play development program also continues today, now primarily focusing on Philadelphia theater artists.

As with most theater companies, the best way to support the Strides Collective is to see what they are presenting next. First, on Monday, June 10, is New Strides: A Pride Month Playfest, an evening of readings of new one-act plays by three local playwrights, happening at the MAAS Building. And this fall, look out for the world premiere of Matt Shvyrkov’s Confabulation, in which a gas station attendant haunted by past versions of herself joins a “past-life regression” support group. It’s coming up from October 10 to 20, 2024, at the Arden’s Bob & Selma Horan Studio Theatre at the Hamilton Family Arts Center.

Edmonson’s hope for the collective is realistic: “It’s tough, but we want to grow, produce more works annually, and fully realize our emerging playwrights program in a robust way.” The response from the community as a whole has been extremely welcoming, and the Strides Collective hopes to be a long-lasting member of the Philly theater community.