Embedded Files
“Call me Mary Beton, Mary Seton, Mary Carmichael, or any other
name you please– it is not a matter of importance.”
–Virginia Woolf, “A Room of One’s Own”
Development History
Pictured, from top left, going clockwise: Olivia Pla, Janney Cooper, Elizabeth Rutter, Charles McElwain (partially hidden), Jack Rutter, Olivia Grace Cushman, Amber Dunton.
Amber Dunton's Senior Capstone Project– Saint Stephen's Saint Agnes School, May 2023
Overturned was originally my "Senior Project," a faculty-mentored* capstone completed by all seniors between AP exams and graduation. It started as a half-verbatim, half-drama short play that I workshop-staged with the help of my classmates, who were very kind to donate their time before finals to help their favorite senior (thanks, guys).
*Thanks for being my faculty mentor, Ms. Carlson; you're a real one.The Pages Festival– dir. by Michael Smallwood, College of Charleston, February 2024
Overturned was pitched and chosen by the College of Charleston's Department of Theatre & Dance to be rewritten as a part of The Pages Festival in their 2023-2024 mainstage season. The Pages Festival is the College of Charleston's biannual mainstage production of staged readings of student-written 10-minute plays. During this process, it was significantly rewritten with the help of a room of student writers and the mentorship of Professor Michael Smallwood.
The cast and writers of The Pages Festival– pictured, from top left to bottom right: Jacob Rye, Madelein Hanson, Jaelin LaVanway, Riley Taylor, Noah Anderson, Emma Piazza, William Caretto, Amber Dunton, Lauren Evans, Olivia Maness, Cheyenne Comitz, Kaleigh Montgomery, Beau Dolan, Alexandria Prioleau, Joy Sabet, Chris Warzynski.
Side Show promotional poster– poster by the College of Charleston's Department of Theatre and Dance
Side Show, a celebration of student work, College of Charleston, January 2025
Overturned received its second public staged reading as a part of the College of Charleston's Department of Theatre and Dance's Side Show, a showcase of student work that was going to theatre festivals in the spring. I directed this reading with the performances of these classmates: Taylor Bussey, Alexandria Prioleau, Michelle Rangel, Lauren Brackbill, and Jack Hipp.
Overturned– dir. by Bella Balfour, The Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival Region IV's 10-Minute Play Festival, February 2025
Overturned had its final staged reading and first award recognition as a part of the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival's Region IV Festival in Greensboro, North Carolina. It was assigned a student director, Bella Balfour, and student dramaturgs, Grace Gardner & Del-Gratia Crawley. Together, we cast a group of actors (Jaelyn Bocanegra, Sarah Piercy, Madeline Trout, Tatiana Jimenez, and Caleb Phillips) and rehearsed for three days leading up to the staged reading on the last morning of the festival. At the awards ceremony that evening, Overturned was recognized as a "2024 Region IV Finalist for the Gary Garrison 10-Minute Playwriting Award."
The team for the KCACTF staged reading of Overturned– pictured, from top left to bottom right: Jaelyn Bocanegra, Caleb Phillips, Bella Balfour, Madeline Trout, Tatiana Jimenez, Sarah Piercy, Amber Dunton, and Grace Gardner.
Production History
Check out Overturned on the New Play Exchange (NPX) to read the script for licensing or educational use.
Overturned
as a part of Under the Lights 2025 for the Stelle di Domani series of Piccolo Spoleto.
Dir. by Michael Smallwood, College of Charleston, May 2025
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