Community-Inspired
New Work

Marcie is compelled by the empowerment of disenfranchised individuals, both artistically and civically. Through strong community connections and civic engagement, she nurtures the development of locally-inspired works primarily through two signature programs at People’s Light (in Malvern, PA) - New Play Frontiers (NPF) and Community Matters. ​
Community Matters:
Community-Crafted COVID-Edition
The Community Matters play reading series at People's Light sparks dialogue around vital community issues, including glimpses into NPF works-in-progress, in partnership with local stakeholders.

The 2020  program took a community-inspired approach. Amidst COVID-19, racially charged violence, and national unrest, it felt urgent to center the lived experiences of the Theatre's neighbors. Instead of selecting an existing play, Marcie pivoted the program to invite community participation through individual writing submissions in response to a series of weekly prompts. Community submissions, which were heartfelt and moving, became the foundation for a virtual Community Matters reading event. Here is the archive of the twenty-eight pieces selected, which were performed by professional artists live in June 2020. ​Click here to read more about this community-inspired edition of Community Matters.
Screenshot of six Zoom meeting boxes, each box has a People's Light artist in it. Clockwise from the top left corner is David Bradley who is mid-sentence, a man with glasses and graying hair; then Marcie Bramucci, who is smiling, a young woman, with pale skin, brown hair left long, and a red dress; then Peter DeLaurier, who is looking down, a man with gray hair, a white goatee, glasses and a light-colored button down shirt; then Mary Elizabeth Screenshot from Community Matters: COVID-Edition June 2020, Clockwise from top-left: David Bradley, Community Matters Facilitator/Director; Marcie Bramucci, Community Matters Producer; Peter DeLaurier, Performer; Mary Elizabeth Scallen, Performer; Eli Lynn, Performer; Melanye Finister, Performer

New Play Frontiers
A Residency & Commission program (NPF) at People’s Light where nationally renowned playwrights create new works inspired by in-depth contact with the Theatre’s surrounding region. With this program, Marcie embeds playwrights in communities of interest and helps to unearth underrepresented stories. Over a multi-year developmental journey, she supports each writers’ individualized path and process; builds connections of mutual benefit with community partners; and liaises with internal departments towards and through production. Click here for People’s Light’s program page.

This work takes Marcie from mushroom farms and safe houses, to town hall meetings and local celebrations, in and through all facets of community life. Strong community-based connections are the result of significant investment of time and intentional care in order to build trust and meaningful relationships. 
Panoramic view of a large meetign room with 40+ attendees seated closely in a circle. At the left-hand side of the image is a young (20s) light-skinned, Black actress with curly black hair, wearing a tan, oversized sweater, smiling into the camera, next to a middle-aged white woman, with a short-bob hair cut who grins. ON the other side of the circle, in the right-hand corner of the image is a middle-aged Native American man, with shortly cropped dark hair, wearign glasses and an olive green t-shirt, lookign out across the circle. Florescent lights are seen on the ceiling and reflectign off the highly polished white floor. Windows around the room allow bright natural light.
The Crushed Earth, Reading, Good Shepherd Center, Wilmington, NC
NPF Play: Mushroom 
by Eisa Davis
​(In Development)
Mushroom focuses on the Latinx immigrant community that fuels the mushroom industry within Kennett Square, Pennsylvania (mushroom capital of the world), which will be bilingual in Spanish and English. Read more here.
A headshot of playwright Eisa Davis, a light-skiined black woman in her 40s, with tight dark curls hanging, who gazes casually into the camera one arm across her body connecting with her other wrist. She wears a v-neck white t-shirt and is leanign up against a white wall with thich wooden slats.
Eisa Davis
NPF Play: ​Mud Row 
by Dominique Morisseau (2019)
Mud Row is rooted in a historically Black enclave of a suburban Pennsylvania town with a rich, fraught, and largely unknown history (even among current and past residents). The story spans the Civil Rights Movement to today toward regeneration.

Patron responses:
  • “Magnificent—I’ve been a subscriber for decades, and this was something special.”
  • “The most amazing thing I’ve ever seen. I’ve lived in West Chester my whole life, and I didn’t know about any of this. I am so glad you are telling this story.”  
  • “I laughed, I cried, and now I need to go call my sister.”
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​Press:
NPF Play: ​Project Dawn 
by Karen Hartman​ (2017)
Centered on a diversion court for women with multiple prostitution convictions, Project Dawn by Karen Hartman was the first NPF play to premiere. Actors portrayed both the participants in the court program, and the professional staff supporting these women – shifting on a dime – elevating the reality that the fate of these women could be that of anyone. Click here to read Marcie's article about Project Dawn featured in County Line Magazine. 
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