From Podcast to Stage: Open-Door Playhouse Headlines Hollywood Festival

From Podcast to Stage: Open-Door Playhouse Headlines Hollywood Festival

HOLLYWOOD, CA – After producing nearly 200 audio dramas for a global audience, the award-winning Open-Door Playhouse is returning to the physical stage. For the second consecutive year, the company will present five of its most acclaimed works live at the Stephanie Feury Studio Theatre as a headline act for the 30 Minutes or Less Festival this January.

Founded by filmmaker Bernadette Armstrong during the 2020 lockdowns, Open-Door Playhouse has evolved from a creative lifeline for artists into a decorated podcast theater, earning a Communicator Award for Custody and a Webby Award nomination for What’s Prison Like.

The Live Performance Schedule

The festival presents a fast-paced “concentrated” theater experience, with each program curated to deliver high impact in under half an hour.

Saturday, January 17, 2026 | 6:15 PM

• She Was Dick’s Tracie

  • Writer: Sandra Cruze | Director: Bernadette Armstrong

  • The Story: A noir-inspired mystery where a senior detective and a coroner investigate the murder of a “dynamite redhead.” As the investigation unfolds, the investigators realize they each share a secret, personal connection to the victim.

Sunday, January 18, 2026 | 2:30 PM

• The End

  • Writer: Patricia Motto | Director: Gary B. Lamb

  • The Story: A poignant reflection on the inevitability of fate and the things that truly “get us” in the end.

• Fast Moving Consumer Goods

  • Writer: Lori Londagin | Director: Rachel Berney Needleman

  • The Story: A dark comedy centered on a life-changing, unexpected encounter triggered by a call to a suicide hotline.

Saturday, January 24, 2026 | 7:00 PM

• (UN)Drinkable

  • Writer: Dana Hall | Director: Bernadette Armstrong

  • The Story: A powerful dramatization of the Flint, Michigan water crisis. The play examines the human cost of the 2014 water source switch, which led to widespread lead poisoning and legionnaires’ disease.

  • The Context: The production highlights the intersection of public policy and systemic racism, noting that the city of Flint was 54% Black at the time of the crisis, a demographic reality that many advocates argue slowed the government’s response to the contamination.

• Will’s Dramaturg

  • Writer: Rich Rubin | Director: Kim Hlavac

  • The Story: A comedic “what if” scenario featuring a modern-day New York theater pro traveling back to 1594 London to give a young William Shakespeare some unsolicited script notes.