About Us
TheatreReset is a women-and-nonbinary-owned-and-operated theatre company in Columbus, Ohio, with a focus on original short plays. We are committed to producing new plays that take on important topics such as mental health, identity, and autonomy with kindness and humor. We value adaptability, accessibility, and appreciation of all parts of the theatre creation process, from playwrights to actors to technicians to production managers. The name TheatreReset was chosen as a commitment to positive change.
Short Play Festivals
We produce two short play festivals a year (in May and September). Each festival is about ninety minutes in length and features eight to ten short plays, which each range from five to fifteen minutes. This allows us to work with more incredible writers, actors, and directors, while also providing a way for people to get involved with theatre even if they don’t have the time to devote to a full-length play. And of course, this ensures there’s something for every audience member to enjoy! We love hearing audience members share which shows from the festival really caught their attention (and why)!
TheatreReset was founded in March 2023 by Colleen “Squiddy” Kochensparger and Susie McGarry (soon joined by Frances Wiley) to provide a safe space for theatre artists of all backgrounds and experience levels.
Our first production in May 2023 launched with A Squad of Their Own by Bethany Dickens Assaf. This 10-minute play is the story of 4 unique female superheroes in an office lobby. While waiting to interview for the 1 opening for a woman on a team that’s otherwise all men, the women realize that together, they have plenty of skills, knowledge, and abilities to be successful and decide to form their own group. A Squad of Their Own is reflective of TheatreReset’s origin story: the desire to create opportunities for often-overlooked folks in a respectful, collaborative environment.
History
In January 2024, we announced our status as a nonprofit at our Coming Out (As a Nonprofit) Gala! The evening featured theatre trivia, a silent auction, and lots of delicious pizza, and the money raised funded our venue for the May 2024 short play festival.
In January 2025, we participated in the first annual 48-Hour Play Festival hosted by Aethereal Jest, with our original script “Bridal Council,” where Frances and Squiddy wrote the script Friday night, Susie created the sound cues late Friday night, Kathy Matthews and Kyle Dapo sourced props on Saturday, and Susie directed some amazing actors who memorized the entire 26-page script over Saturday and Sunday in time to perform it Sunday night at the Van Fleet Theater at CPAC, while four other theatre companies brought their own created-in-48-hour plays for a unique night of creative chaos!
In January 2026, we started hosting the 48-Hour Play Festival after some unforeseen and unexpected circumstances, in the spirit of “the show must go on.” After soliciting feedback from dozens of participants, we decided to continue hosting an annual timed play festival in January, but to shorten it to a 24-Hour Play Festival, the first of which will take place in January of 2027!
In June 2025, we received a generous amount of funding from the Greater Columbus Arts Council for the Project Support grant that we wrote—this allowed us to pay all playwrights, actors, directors, and technicians involved with TR6 and TR7, as well as allowing us to work with the fantastic ASL interpreter group StageHands at our matinee performances! We are lucky enough to have received another Project Support grant from the GCAC in June 2026, which will do the same for TR8 and TR9!
Since TheatreReset’s beginning in 2023, we’ve held seven short play festivals featuring 56 plays, 22 playwrights, and 60 actors. We’re excited to continue introducing new voices to the Columbus theatre scene with our upcoming show in September 2026!
After our September 2026 show (TR8) in the Shedd Theater, we are so stoked to start hosting our annual 24-Hour Play Festival in January 2027 at the Van Fleet Theater, in community with other local theatre companies. After that, we are thrilled that our next short play festival (TR9) will be held in the Van Fleet Theater, to support our ever-growing audience—we hope to see you there!
