EP #75 A Community Theater Company Dares To Tell Original Stories

What happens when a playwright hears “we only do revivals” one time too many? We sit down with Malanna Henderson, founder of Somewhere in Time Productions, to trace how a single no became a stage for yes—yes to original scripts, yes to local talent, and yes to stories that pull you in close. Malanna opens the door to The History Lesson, a gripping new play set in 1860s Richmond where a lawyer secretly teaches an enslaved woman to read, and a forbidden connection grows in the shadow of the law.

We dig into the company’s mission as a Fredericksburg 501(c)(3) dedicated to producing new work by local playwrights. Malanna shares the creative choices behind an intimate three-quarter round staging that places the audience inside a handcrafted cabin set, and she spotlights a cast that blends Riverside Theater veterans with compelling new voices. Along the way, we explore her journey from a short story to an award-winning one-act, graduate training in playwriting, and a series of historical vignettes on military service, women’s suffrage in Virginia, and the Lovings’ landmark case—proving that local theater can be both educational and electric.

If you’re a writer with a script in a drawer, this conversation is your sign. Malanna explains how to submit, why the company champions fresh voices, and how production “problems” become creative adventures that bring communities together. For theater lovers, you’ll get all the essentials: dates, venue, ticket options, and why this show rewards early seats and curious minds. Subscribe, share with a friend who loves live theater, and leave a review telling us which moment from The History Lesson you can’t wait to experience.

Malanna Henderson

Somewhere in Time Productions

somewhereintimeproductions.org

[email protected]