The local playwright, photographer and part-time instructor, age 56, has been writing scripts since high school. This Wednesday, he’ll have a staged reading of his newest play, “Discretion,” a three-character drama that’s somewhere between 30 and 40 on his roster of finished works.

Part of this year’s Create Carolina festival, the reading will begin at 8 p.m. in Johnson Studio Theatre at Winthrop University. Tickets are $8 with Winthrop ID, $10 general admission.

Actors will read Roueche’s script from stools on stage without performing. Staged readings, Roueche explains, are all about the words.

“For people who like that sort of thing, it’s as good as production,” he said. Actors and the audience will discuss the strength of the play before it’s polished and produced.

“Discretion” follows a married couple, Claire and Philip, during a desire-driven love affair that escalates over several months between Claire and her co-worker Richard, who is nearly 20 years younger. Finally disturbed, Philip offers his wife the support of a loyal husband, but also the option of a relationship with Richard. The decision is hers to make.

Scenes are continuous and nonlinear, meaning once the actors begin reading, there will be no black-outs or scene changes and no chronological order.

“This is designed for the flow of the story,” Roueche wrote in his synopsis, “and to subtly see the private attention Claire gives her appearance.”

Roueche doesn’t boast a wild imagination or artistic muse for his more than two decades of writing plays. It’s about living life, he said. If you live life, ideas will pop out.

Ideas have been “popping out” of Roueche since he moved to the area more than 30 years ago. His 5,000-square-foot private studio on S.C. 5 houses years of his professional photography, scripts and an elaborate dark room in the back.

Roueche said he’s glad the city is receptive to his work.

“Rock Hill allows a guy like me to try different things,” he said. “This town will come look at what you’re doing and they’ll give it a chance. I don’t know if that’s true in a lot of places.”

He said the same about Create Carolina, in its second year at Winthrop University. Roueche helped connect the community to the program last year in its debut, and taught one of the playwrighting classes.

“I like the program; I like the people,” he said. “I think it’ll develop into something Winthrop can be really proud of.”

His staged reading this year will last about an hour and will end with a discussion about the relationships between characters, the plot and other elements.

Roueche said exploring emotions through art is important.

“People like to express themselves, to hear others and to watch others,” the dual-track artist said. “It sometimes helps them to understand themselves better.”

Want to go?

What:Astaged reading of “Discretion,”part of the Create Carolina festival.

When: 8 p.m. Wednesday.

Where: Johnson Studio Theatre at Winthrop University.

Cost: $8 with Winthrop ID, $10 general admission.

Details: www.createcarolina.org or call Amanda Woolwine at (803) 323-2399.