White Mouse and Mickee Faust create new home for Tallahassee writers

In theater, some of the most important moments happen long before opening night.

They happen when a playwright hears a scene spoken aloud for the first time and realizes a joke lands differently than expected. When an actor gives a character a voice the writer had never imagined. When a piece that has lived quietly on a laptop finally enters a room full of people.

Read more Downtown Daytona Beach welcomes new ‘Italian fusion’ restaurant

Beginning this September, White Mouse Theatre and Mickee Faust Club hope to make more of those moments possible for Tallahassee artists.

The two local theater organizations are partnering to launch New Works Night, a free monthly gathering where writers can bring new theatrical work, hear it read aloud and connect with other members of the local arts community.

The first New Works Night will be held at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 16 at the Mickee Faust Clubhouse, 2011 S. Monroe St. The event is free and open to the public, and no advance submission is required.

The idea is deliberately simple: bring something you are working on and see what happens when it gets off the page.Writers can arrive with a short play, a scene from a larger project, an experiment that may eventually become something bigger or even pages they have only recently written. For the first gatherings, participants are encouraged to keep their selections to approximately 10 pages or 10 minutes so that as many writers as possible have a chance to share.

Just as importantly, writers do not need to arrive with their own actors.

Attendees will be invited to volunteer as readers throughout the evening, making New Works Night as much an opportunity for actors and other theatre artists as it is for playwrights. Those without anything of their own to share are encouraged to attend, read roles, listen to new work and meet other members of Tallahassee’s creative community.For White Mouse Artistic Director Clover Quintero, removing the pressure to present something polished is an important part of the program.

“Both White Mouse and Mickee Faust have a deep commitment to supporting writers and giving new work the opportunity to grow,” Quintero said. “We wanted to create a space where writers don’t feel like they have to arrive with a finished, polished script in order for their work to be worth hearing.”

That opportunity to hear unfinished work can be an essential part of writing for the stage. Theatre is ultimately created for voices, bodies and audiences, and what works silently on a page can change dramatically once actors are involved.”Sometimes the most useful thing you can do for a new piece is put it in the hands of actors, hear it in a room with other artists, and discover what it wants to become,” Quintero said. “We’re incredibly excited to build that kind of space together.”

The collaboration grew out of something both organizations already value: supporting original work and the artists who create it.

Read more Leon County’s volunteer fire departments need your skills | Opinion

Rather than establishing another competition, submission process or formal showcase, New Works Night is intended to provide a recurring place for experimentation. A writer might bring the same project back over several months as it develops, arrive with something entirely new each time or simply spend an evening listening to what other Tallahassee artists are creating.

It also offers another place for different corners of the local theatre community to meet.

A playwright may find actors interested in their work. A performer who has never considered writing may hear a new piece and decide to try it. Directors and other theatre-makers can encounter projects while they are still taking shape rather than only after they are ready for production.

And anyone curious about the process is welcome to attend.

The Sept. 16 gathering will be the first, but it is not intended to be a one-time event. White Mouse and Mickee Faust plan to hold New Works Night monthly, providing continuing opportunities for artists who cannot attend the inaugural meeting or who do not yet have something ready to share.

There is no requirement that the next great Tallahassee play walk through the door on the first night.

The point is simply to give people a door to walk through.

If you go

What: New Works Night

When: 7 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 16

Where: Mickee Faust Clubhouse, 2011 S. Monroe St.

Details: Visit linktr.ee/whitemouseproductions, mickeefaust.com, facebook.com. Questions may be directed to [email protected].

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: White Mouse and Mickee Faust create new home for Tallahassee writers

Reporting by Danielle Wirsansky, Special to the Tallahassee Democrat / Tallahassee Democrat

Read more China bank loans rise less than expected in August after July slump

USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Copyright Reuters or USA Today Network via Reuters Connect

This story was originally published September 14, 2026 at 5:04 AM.