"This program has been so beneficial for me. I absolutely recommend it to anyone who loves writing and would benefit from a little structured support. Consider applying for NRP’s 2023 mentorship."
Sherridan Smee (NRP's 2022 playwright and creator of HOME BASE)
FEEDBACK HIGHLIGHTS
The table reading for HOME BASE received the following comments in its talkback session:
“It was fabulous [...] A story about introspection about relationships.”
“A mix of The Breakfast Club and The Big Chill.”
“Unbelievably impressive that you can take that many characters and flesh them out fully in such a short amount of time.”
“I loved your characters. I thought they were very vivid. I could tell even at just a table reading there was a lot of differentiation.”
“It feels intimate and connected [...] You’re really seeing inside the hearts and minds of these people, and that’s private. You’re seeing something that’s not for everybody to see.”
“Aaron Sorkin has very quick tight dialogue that works both on-stage and in film, and I intentionally wanted to say that to say that I hear that with respect to this play.”
“I liked the way you were able to distinguish what they may have been like ten years ago and then present ten years later [...] I thought it was very believable and honest [...] Each character had his or her own voice. They really were able to have a dialogue that seemed to really flow naturally. I thought they were doing excellent dialogue and characterization.”
Sherridan Smee (she/her) is a Knoxville native and a life-long theater kid. She inherited her love for acting from her father and joined him on stage for the first time when she was eight years old. She was actively involved in the theater programs through high school and college, though she ultimately graduated from UT Knoxville with a degree in Sociology. She believes this education has enabled her to better understand people and develop relatable characters. She has also played a part in various community theater productions, acting with The WordPlayers and Theatre Knoxville Downtown, to name a few. While she loves performing, writing is her passion. In high school, she wrote her first scene based on a children’s fable. Then in college, she wrote short pieces for Pellissippi’s video editing class and won an episodic writing competition with the Television Academy. In January 2021 she wrote her first full-length play, and in December applied for Next Rung Productions’ year-long mentorship program. Through this program, Home Base was born.
HOME BASE
by Sherridan Smee
HOME BASE is a relatable dramedy about a ten-year high school reunion. Six alumni and one out-of-towner spouse find themselves stuck in their school gymnasium during a tornado lock down. Pretense fades and old feelings return as the twenty-somethings grapple with identity, growth, and perception.