By Susan McCabe

For Vashon Repertory Theatre

Singer, songwriter and playwright Kat Eggleston will premiere her newest play, “Dreoilín” (an old Irish word for winter wren), at 7 p.m. Monday, Dec. 20, in the lobby of Vashon Center for the Arts (VCA) as part of Vashon Repertory Theatre’s Incubator Series of play readings.

“Dreoilín” tells the tale of a wintry Chicago night, in the Charleston Bar, when Eggleston met a man of no particular distinction except that his voice “could inspire roses to bloom through concrete.”

Drawing on the very old tradition of “hunting the wren” in Ireland and other countries, “Dreoilín” combines magic with mystery and Eggleston’s unique brand of language to tell the story of a man’s extraordinary — and musical — visit to a few select friends on a cold and dreary night.

Eggleston’s lyrical descriptions show up when she describes her home to the bar’s other patrons, saying, “I grew up in the dark corners of conscious thought, where dreams collide with conscience to become passive-aggressive politeness and tentative driving. In other words…Seattle.”

Eggleston’s latest one-act illuminates the human world of contradictions with gentle humor and insights that sneak up on her audience. The reading cast will include some of Vashon’s finest voices.

The reading is the first in a series by Vashon Repertory Theatre, which will present a staged reading of a new script by local island and Pacific Northwest playwrights at 7 p.m. on the third Monday of each month. The hope is that these plays, fully staged, will find their way into a future VRT season.

The second reading of the series, “Kichi in the Woods of Present Memory,” by Bryan Willis, will take place at 7 p.m. Monday, Jan. 24, at VCA. Readings for March 21, April and May have yet to be announced.

All readings are pay-what-you-will at the door, with a $10 suggested donation. All audience members must present proof of COVID-19 vaccination and wear masks.

Find out more at vashonrepertorytheatre.org/incubator.