Playwright Judith White presents young actors with a complex tapestry of language and emotions. The beauty of her plays is in their complexity and equilibrium – playful and touching, contemporary and classical, emotionally truthful and witty, rhythmic, poetic, and musical.
Original Plays
Traveling Players commissions original plays by locally renowned playwright, Judith Walsh White, for our Mythology Ensemble. White ensures that our youngest students stay engaged and challenged by crafting gripping tales full of imagination and poetic language based on Greek Mythology! The production will include an original score composed by Nathan Sherwood Liang.
Playwright-in-Residence
DC-based educator and playwright, Judith Walsh White (she/her), is a student of ancient myth. She has written twelve plays based in world mythology, including eleven commissioned by Traveling Players as their Playwright-in-Residence: Pandora’s Fire, Perseus and the Rock Star, Monkey King, Atum’s Eye, Ariadne’s Thread: the Adventures of Theseus and the Minotaur, Persephone, Atalanta, Heracles, Eros & Psyche, Orpheus & Eurydice, and Arachne.
Two of these were subsequently published by Theatrefolk, and have since received performances in Australia, Saudi Arabia, China, Canada, the UK, and Gibraltar, as well as throughout the US.
Judith is an award-winning teacher, playwright, poet, director, and actor specializing in ensemble-guided playwriting and work with young artists. Profiled in The Washingtonian in 1987 as one of DC’s ten best teachers, Judith taught drama and speech for over 20 years at the Holton-Arms School, where she trained Veep’s Julia Louis-Dreyfus. She mentored teachers through the Center for Inspired Teaching. She was a finalist for poetry in the 2012 Faulkner-Wisdom Creative Writing competition in New Orleans. As an actor, her range has included Off-Broadway to dinner theatre. She did graduate work at Oberlin, American Conservatory Theatre (ACT), and as a Northwestern University Fellow.
Articles mentioning productions of her work:
Praise for Judith Walsh White
Jeanne E. Harrison, Producing Artistic Director at Traveling Players Ensemble
[Pandora’s Fire] is a fantastic ensemble piece and was perfect for my 6th-grade…group. Highly recommend!
Erin Cawley, Director at Lincoln School
New Scripts by Judith Walsh White
“Orpheus & Eurydice was amazing – the play and story, its humor and intellectual depth … coming together to make it fully whole.”
– Audience Member at Premiere
Quick Facts for Teachers/Publishers
Why it works for teachers:
- Bite‑sized runtime: 35 minutes—perfect for competition
- Flexible Casting Options:
- 2-3 Males, 3-5 Females, 5-8 any, with a Greek Chorus
- Non-traditional casting is permitted and encouraged. Directors have permission to change the gender and pronouns for any character.
- Advanced Language – no more “dumbing down” for kids.
- Successfully performed by ES, MS, and HS actors – The stories are approachable for young actors (4th grade and up), but the complex language and the opportunity for advanced staging make this show both accessible and challenging for a wide range of students
- Greek Chorus-style ensemble – all actors are onstage for practically the whole show, allowing teachers to feature and grow an entire ensemble
- Simple set & prop requirements
- Original Score
Preview the show
- Perusal copy available upon request. Jeanne Harrison at jeharrison@travelingplayers.org
- Listen to the full score by Nathan Sherwood Liang – https://open.spotify.com/album/7MJoebyL8Y62cOzXGO5Rr2
- First reading by the playwright – Video Below
“I’ve fallen in love with Heracles
– his vulnerability, his valor, his integrity under extreme pressure – and his sweet heart.”
– Playwright, Judith Walsh White
Quick Facts for Teachers/Publishers
Why it works for teachers:
- Bite‑sized runtime: 30 minutes to 1 hour, depending on cuts
- Options to cut for your performance group – Episodic structure allows for easy cutting (i.e. a festival or competition, excerpts for assemblies, scenes for class studies)
- Flexible Casting Options:
- 4-8 male, 4-7 female, 3-8 any, with options to expand
- Non-traditional casting is permitted and encouraged. Directors have permission to change the gender and pronouns for any character.
- Physical roles – Some actors shine better with physical challenges. This play has leads with lots of language (Hera, King Eury, Athena) and those who tell the story through movement and stage combat (Heracles, Megara, monsters)
- Simple set & prop requirements
- Original Score
Preview the show
- Perusal copy available upon request. Email Jeanne Harrison at jeharrison@travelingplayers.org
- Listen to the full score – https://open.spotify.com/album/2rlt0TJ6yCN0sOT9R10mPk
“This script encourages kids to think critically about the story. Asking ‘Who really wins in the end?’”
-Audience Member at Reading
Quick Facts for Teachers/Publishers
Why it works for teachers:
- Bite‑sized runtime: 30 minutes – ideal for competition
- Flexible Casting Options:
- 3 male, 5 female, 5 any with options to expand the cast as needed.
- Non-traditional casting is permitted and encouraged. Directors have permission to change the gender and pronouns for any character.
- Advanced Language – no more “dumbing down” for kids.
- Performable by ES, MS, and HS actors – The stories are approachable for young actors (4th grade and up), but the complex language and the opportunity for advanced staging make this show both accessible and challenging for a wide range of students
- Greek Chorus-style ensemble – all actors are onstage for practically the whole show, allowing teachers to feature and grow an entire ensemble
- Powerful Female Characters – while these characters can certainly be played by any gender, White’s script features strong female characters
- Simple set & prop requirements
- Designed for touring groups
- Original Score
Preview the show
- Perusal copy available upon request. Email Jeanne Harrison at jeharrison@travelingplayers.org
- First reading by the playwright – Video Below
Programs designed for every young artist
Awards & Accolades
Traveling Players is recognized as one of the nation’s premier performing arts programs.
School Year Programs
Build skills in scene study and improv classes or audition to perform in our plays offered during the school year.
Summer Camps
Choose from day, sleepaway, and conservatories for actors and techies offered during the summer.