The O'Neill's National Playwrights Conference and National Music Theater Conference continue their run, with this week's performances listed below. Staged readings are at the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center, 305 Great Neck Road, Waterford. Tickets are $28. Call (860) 443-1238.

NATIONAL MUSIC THEATER CONFERENCE

"The War Dept." by Jim Bauer and Ruth Bauer: 7 p.m. Friday

In "The War Dept." the American Civil War has ended, but the task of cleaning up has only just begun. That work falls in large part to the eccentric savant Private William T. Clarke, who is working in an obscure and mysterious division of The War Department.

"The White City" by Julia Gytri and Avi Amon: 8 p.m. Saturday and Wednesday, 3 p.m. Sunday and July 11

"The White City" takes place in Chicago in 1893. The city hosts the World's Columbian Exposition. Lucy, a sharpshooter from Buffalo Bill's Wild West, explores the fair, thrilled by the fast-pace of city life. But trouble simmers beneath the façade of the shimmering "White City" when young women begin to go missing.

NATIONAL PLAYWRIGHTS CONFERENCE

"Tiger Style!" by Mike Lew: 8:15 tonight

"Tiger Style!" examines the successes and failures of tiger parenting from the point of view of a playwright who's actually been through it.

"I'm Gonna Pray For You So Hard" by Halley Feiffer: 7:15 p.m. Friday, 8:15 p.m. Saturday

Ella is a precocious and fiercely competitive actress whose sole aim in life is to make her famous playwright father David proud. Over the course of a boozy, drug-fueled evening, Ella and David deliberate over whether to read the reviews of her off-Broadway debut.

"Ugly Lies the Bone" by Lindsey Ferrentino: 8:15 p.m. Wednesday and July 10

Jess returns from war severely burned, only to find her Florida hometown in a state of decay. Through the use of virtual reality video game therapy, she tries to restore her relationships, her home, and all that was lost.