Last weekend I had the opportunity to take in a few shows at the second annual skirtsAfire festival: Hey Ladies! and a staged reading of The Easy Road by Kristen Finlay. I didn’t get a chance to check out the inaugural skirtsAfire festival in 2013, and I’m so glad I got to take in the second year of the festival.

A friend and I checked out Hey Ladies! on Friday night and it while it’s definitely tailored to a middle-aged audience, we had an awesome time. Their next show is March 28 at Roxy Theatre.

Kristen Finlay’s The Easy Road was chosen from the 2013 skirtsAfire Peep Show to have a staged reading at the 2014 skirtsAfire festival. It’s easy to see why the reading was chosen to be presented at this year’s skirtsAfire festival – the staged reading of The Easy Road was incredibly moving, even without the benefit of technical theatrical elements. The Easy Road told the story of one woman’s life and all the decisions she could have – or did – make. No matter where one is in their life, the story is relateable and really touched me as I reflected back on the decisions that I’ve made over the years and how my life could have been different, had I made a different decision. Another aspect I love about Kristen’s play is it being focused on a woman’s story – it’s refreshing to be able to see a woman’s story that is entirely created by women – from the script to the direction to the actors – being portrayed on stage. Way to go, Kristen! I can’t wait to see what comes next in this play’s development.