100 Volunteers Power Dayton's FutureFest Theater Event

One volunteer reads 350 play scripts every year, spending hundreds of hours with coffee in hand to help discover the next great American playwright.

Tay Caplan is part of a 100-person volunteer army that makes FutureFest possible at the Dayton Playhouse. This three-day festival of new plays has run for 33 years, bringing playwrights from across the country to see their work performed on stage.

The numbers tell an incredible story. Reading committees completed over 1,300 script evaluations this year alone. Five finalist plays get selected from more than 350 submissions, with playwrights traveling from New York, Michigan, and California to attend.

Caplan, a former teacher from Dayton View, has volunteered as a script reader for 15 years. She looks for interesting characters and dialogue that comes alive in her head. "You can usually tell by page 10 if it's a no-no," she said.

The volunteer roles span everything audiences see and don't see. Thirty actors and crew members donate their time to perform the plays. Front-of-house volunteers manage the box office, usher guests, and organize catered meals.

Behind the scenes, volunteers drive out-of-town playwrights and judges between the airport, hotels, and theater. They create costumes, hunt down props, produce playbills, and handle logistics from toilet paper to champagne service.

Tim Rezash serves as artistic liaison and loves the excitement of bringing new scripts to life. "The playwrights are so appreciative and so excited to hear the cadence of the language," he said. Sometimes writers discover their words don't transfer from page to stage as expected, giving them a chance to revise.

Peggy Mangan manages front-of-house operations, coordinating opening night receptions, breakfast treats, and closing night chicken dinners. The recently retired Beavercreek City Schools employee found her perfect volunteer fit. "I personally cannot act but I enjoy the theater," she explained.

The Ripple Effect

Jennifer Lockwood has volunteered since FutureFest's inception in 1991. This year she directs a show while heading the reading committee. Her three decades of service show how one festival creates lasting connections between volunteers, playwrights, and theater lovers.

Matt Lindsay, festival chair, captured the spirit perfectly: "Volunteers are the lifeblood of The Dayton Playhouse, and that is nowhere more true than in the case of FutureFest." The committee meets year-round to plan a weekend that celebrates new voices in American theater.

When people give hundreds of hours to help strangers see their creative dreams come alive, everyone wins.