A new afternoon group is set to launch at C.H. Booth Library at the end of the month.

Though similar to a book club, the new group will be different in that participants will read plays aloud — with parts to be given out on the day of each gathering — and then discuss the issues of the play. Reading each play beforehand is recommended, and copies will be available at the library.

The first meeting is scheduled for Friday, May 31, at 2 pm. The group will meet once each month, in the Gathering Room of the library, 25 Main Street.

If there aren’t enough parts for all, attendees will also be encouraged to serve as audience members.

Acting experience is not required, just a love of theater. All play selections will deal with thought-provoking issues relevant to the present time.

The first play to be read and discussed will be An American Daughter, written by the Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award winner Wendy Wasserstein (1950–2006). Though the play was written in 1997, its subjects and characters remain pertinent today.

The group organizer is Maggi Heilweil, a Newtown resident who teaches voice and is a professional singer and a non-professional actress.

Registration is requested and can be done online at [naviga:u]chboothlibrary.org[/naviga:u].