O:JA&L Theater Arts
Drama: Plays for Page or Stage
Bella Poynton
The Last Poetry Reading
A Play in One Act
Click on the title to explore or download the free PDF script.
Performance/production rights are not conveyed via this link.
Header: A small liberal arts college, 2023…
Logline: In the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, two professors confront cryptic messages about their dying institution while well-intentioned but confused administrators fight to save the small college from collapse.
Summary: Professors Shawna Paxton and Theo Miller have found themselves caught in the whirlwind of trying times at a small liberal arts college after the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite their demands to know more about the institution’s future, Shawna and Theo are given ever increasingly cryptic messages and signals. Meanwhile, steadfast administrators, Dr. Laura Nolan and Dr. Bill Monroe, desperately try to keep the institution amidst mounting financial pressures, demonstrating that there is never one person to blame in these complex scenarios. As the play progresses, the audience witnesses the gradual unraveling of both the college’s financial stability and the morale of its employees and students. Despite these collective efforts, the institution remains on the brink of collapse. Will the planned merger with a neighboring institution finally go through or will the ivy tower ultimately prove to be built on shaky ground?
AN IMPORTANT NOTE: While this play is loosely based on my own experience of events that occurred before the closure of Medaille University in Buffalo, NY in 2023, none of the specific events depicted are biographical. The play itself is entirely fictional. None of the scenes are based on real happenings, and no characters are based on any real living person. Previous Medaille faculty, staff, and students loved Medaille fiercely and were devastated by its closure. The play is not intended to criticize the institution, any involved parties, or any individuals involved with the attempt to save Medaille; in fact, I hope the piece uplifts, legitimizes, and sheds further light on the feelings and struggles of everyone involved. The play is intended to serve as a larger metaphorical exploration of the current difficulties in higher education, and the greater cultural implications embedded in the closure of small collegiate institutions across the US.
About the playwright:
Bella Poynton is a playwright, director, and performance studies scholar. Her plays have been published with Samuel French and can be seen in The Best Ten-Minute Plays of 2024, The Best Ten-Minute Plays of 2019, The Best American Short Plays 2018-2019, The Weirdest Plays of 2020, WE-US: Monologues for Gender Minority Characters, and forthcoming in Clockhouse . Her scholarly work can be found in Comparative Drama, Journal of Dramatic Theory and Criticism, Global Performance Studies, and Theatre/Practice among others. Poynton is co-chair of the Playwriting Symposium at the Mid America Theatre Conference. MFA, Iowa Playwrights Workshop; PhD, University at Buffalo.
Image: What if The Cantos… (AI-assisted digital image) by O:JA&L staff creative. 2025. Public domain via MidJourney AI.
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