UP NEXT FROM SPILLED INK
THE PEARL
by Rebecca Massa and Robert Massa
Beneath the stiff corsets and proper tea times of Victorian London lies a scandalous secret waiting to be uncovered. Enter the world of “The Pearl“, a forbidden underground erotic magazine that threatens to turn a seemingly respectable household upside down. A disastrous wedding night, a marriage unconsummated, a man desperate to get a glimpse of… an ankle, Victorian treatments for hysteria… all are treated with a candor that will forever leave you in no doubt that our 19th Century progenitors were far for puritanical in their outlook!
A hilarious, raucous romp that strips away the veneer of 19th-century morality, “The Pearl” is a riotous comedy about repressed desires, family secrets, and the timeless urge to see exactly what is underneath those skirts. Leave your modesty at the door for this uproarious, unforgettable comedy!
MAY 23rd at 2pm
2026 Season
(4th Saturday of each month at 2pm – exceptions outlined in red)
About Spilled Ink
Usually taking place on the 4th Sunday of every month at 6pm (unless otherwise noted), Spilled Ink is a staged reading series that seeks to provide opportunities for local playwrights, directors and actors by providing a safe and supportive space to bring new and underperformed works to life.
Our monthly readings are broken up into four selections: New Works, Screenplays, Underperformed Plays, and Special Projects. While some of our selections cross multiple categories, we aim to perform 4-6 new works, 2-3 screenplays, and 2-3 underperformed works each year.
New Works: While we accept submissions from anywhere, we do give preference to local playwrights where possible, partly to serve our own theatrical community and partly because we believe that the playwright benefits most from being able to attend readings of their work and, potentially, at least part of the rehearsal process.
Screenplays: Our screenplay selection is curated by Jeff Hammer and has included reimagined casting of Reservoir Dogs, new screenplays from UNCSA students and alumni, and pop culture classics amongst our past productions.
Underperformed Plays: For our selection of underperformed plays, we look to the kind of scripts that provide interesting roles for actors but that are not on the radar of local theatres for any number of reasons. Some that have fallen out of fashion, some that push boundaries, some with technical requirements beyond the resources available to most of our local theatres, and some niche plays that are simply not commercially viable enough to warrant the resources of a full production. We aim to put at least one “classic” play in each season to allow local actors and directors a chance to work with some truly legendary scripts.
Special Projects: Each year we are approached about putting on a reading or a production of a particular work that doesn’t fit in to our Mainstage schedule, is an intriguing prospect for us to tackle, or doesn’t fit neatly into one of our other selection categories. These can be anything from the 2024 season’s sensational Blackbird (a project brought to us by Britt Cannino and Brian Joyce) to 2025’s co-production with AGI Productions, Clinton Festa’s Clever. These special projects are often brought to us either with the production ready to go, or already in rehearsal. Sometimes, they are just a concept brought to us by those who want to work on a particular role and are looking for a venue in which they can be supported bringing a vision to life. We are happy to be able to support these projects for local artists however we can.
