The Department of Theatre at Coastal Carolina University will present its annual New Works Reading Series in the Edwards Theatre from Friday, May 13, to Sunday, May 15. The series features guest artists, faculty members and students presenting new plays and musicals. The readings are free and open to the public.

This year's series will feature "Beautiful Dreamer," a new musical by Brett Marcias and Caroline Murphy, and "In America," an adaptation by director Matthew Earnest.

Each summer, the Department of Theatre partners with guest artists from around the country to present readings of new American plays.

"Beautiful Dreamer," an original pop-rock musical by Marcias and Murphy, will be performed on May 13 and 14 at 7:30 p.m. When a high school is placed on lockdown, imaginations run wild. Anything is possible as a group of seven sophomores spin out of control, becoming a ticking time bomb itching to go off. The musical features students from the B.F.A. performance programs at CCU; musical direction by CCU associate professor of theatre Steven Gross; and staging by CCU assistant professor of acting John Woodson, director of last semester's "1940's Radio Hour."

"In America" will be performed on May 15 at 3 p.m. Based on the true story of Polish actress Helena Modjeska, "In America" is a National Book Award-winning novel about self-transformation, the fate of idealism, a life in the theater, the profundity of love and the art of storytelling. The reading will be directed by Earnest and will feature department chair Monica Bell as Maryna Zalenska, as well as students and faculty from CCU's Department of Theatre.

The Edwards Theatre is in Room 117 of the Thomas W. and Robin W. Edwards Humanities and Fine Arts Building, located at 133 Chanticleer Drive on the Conway campus.

For more information about the readings, contact Woodson at jwoodson@coastal.edu or 864-349-2787.