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It's Reading time again and this time we are focusing on One Acts & Shorts, plus a bonus full length Spanish Language play to close a stellar weekend!
I don't know if it's the super blue moon or the current political and social climate, but life has seemed very chaotic and disconnected at the moment, so instead of swimming against the current I am going to dive headfirst into it and take you along with me. Thus, I will start with Sunday's line up, so if you want to know who we are featuring tomorrow night you will just have to keep reading because it could pop up at any time. This blog prepares you for the chaos of life while also informing you about our wonderful theater.
Me llaman la Lupe / They call me la Lupe is a beautiful play by Luis Caballero and will be our first full length Spanish language play featured in our New Work Development Program. I AM SO EXCITED for this reading and I don't even speak Spanish (apart from some colours, numbers, ordering basic food to stay alive and saying some pleasantries). Having had the priviledge of travelling a lot and trying to see performances in each country I go to I know that language proficiency isn't necessary to enjoy a production because sometimes simply the act of being in a space with other people and watching performers create beautiful imagery on stage is a sufficient balm for the soul. I don't know what this play is about, but I have some ideas and the best part about seeing it on Sunday, 7pm at AMT Theater (free entry) is that I will find out if my wild conjectures are hitting home or way off the mark. I cannot wait to find out.
On Saturday afternoon at 2pm you will be treated to 5 short plays each unique and yet connected, I leave you to find the connection. Each title is desperately intriguing, we have The Guru of Ozone Park by Jack Feldstein...how did this person (is it even a person?) become a Guru? In general how does one become a guru (asking for a friend)? Where is Ozone Park? Can anyone apporach this Guru? I am steeped in questions. Then there is Buying Elephants by Robin Rice, which quite frankly is something I have wanted to do ever since I was a child, but an apartment in NYC just isn't big enough for a full grown African elephant. Are these even real elephants that are being bought? Next up is Quantum Suicide by Duncan Pflaster, now I am not ashamed to say that I had to look up the definition of quantum because reading this title made me realise I didn't know how to decipher it. So here is the definition:
noun
PHYSICS
a discrete quantity of energy proportional in magnitude to the frequency of the radiation it represents.
a required or allowed amount, especially an amount of money legally payable in damages.
"the court must determine the quantum of compensation due"
My brain hurts a little bit trying to figure out which definition is related to suicide in this play and the joy of the festival is that I don't have to figure it out, I just have to watch it and if I still have burning questions there is a talkback session with the playwrights after the performances! Choice by Meghan Duffy has me wondering about all the choices I have made recently, some could have been considered more, others helped me, but made others uncomfortable, while some were healthy and will benefit me long term. The choices we make in life and the choices that are taken away from us are huge, I have a feeling this play will resonate with many of us. The final short on Saturday afternoon is Baby Love by Isidore Elias, which immediately makes me think of The Supremes, which warms my heart and makes me wish I was sitting in my childhood home on the couch reading a book with this playing in the background while my mom drank tea and read her book with occasional chats in between chapters.
Friday evening opens our festival with a bang! We have When Robert met Judith by Zach Greenberger, a meeting of two people is always interesting to deconstruct, think about the people you met today even the most minor of encounters could create a beautiful or sad story; thankfully you only have to wait until tomorrow night to find out the story of Robert and Judith. Another fabulous title is The Incredible Egg by Laurie Graff which could mean an incredible literal egg (of which bird to be determined) or an incredible person (otherwise known as a good egg...OR if you have watched Hunt for the Wilderpeople it could be Chapter 1: A Real Bad Egg; the arrival of Ricky Baker). This next one is something that regularly consumes me, The Homecoming by Garry Kluger. Is it possible to go home? Where is home? As someone who is fairly nomadic these questions pervade my thoughts regularly and I am so curious as to how Gary handles this subject matter, I might even gain some insight. Have you ever wondered if your home is bugged (as in by the FBI or the CIA? Perhaps after binge watching some spy shows? No? Just me?) well then perhaps this play will shed some light on the issue, The Walls have Ears by Ellen Abrams may make some of us feel vindicated or others paranoid, or a mystery third option which is always possible in theater. Finally we have Barren Landscape by Steve Gold, which begs the question, which landscape? And, can anything really be barren? I am sure this will raise many questions and get us all thinking.
Finally (but not really because Sunday is the final performance, pure chaos) we have our Saturday 8pm block of amazing shorts to share with you. I may have left this for last because I do know a bit about 2 of these shorts, I have the immense pleasure of being one of the actors in Black Market Inspiration by Franny Kromminga and because I know about it I am telling you to not miss it, any ideas about what it is about are valid, but probably wrong because it is unique and will have you laughing and questioning everything. While you are questioning some of your life choices you will also get to wonder about A Meaningful Life by Susan Lerner. This is a topic that has recently been discussed by my friend group and it is without fail a fascinating insight into how a person views life, the things that they feel are meaningful may not be that important to you and vice versa. Honestly, I am looking forward to watching this play and seeing what Susan has to reveal through the characters. Nonlinear by Donnie Jarman is going to blow our brains, this is another one I know about, in fact I heard the story that inspired it and it is wild and amazing, so I feel that this play will truly mess with our ideas of time and space while also forcing us to contemplate human relations and how events outside of our control can change us permanently. Man of the Woods by Ryan Armstrong has me recalling walking through a wooded area in Malaga, Spain, and coming across an elderly gentleman sitting behind an easle painting the stunning view infront of him. He was incredibly friendly and it turns out he had been a guest lecturer in South Africa during the transition period from apartheid to democracy! I realise this is not a typical (although what is typical?) story of a man of the woods and I wonder if Ryan's story is also a-typical? Lastly, something you may see while wondering in the woods is A Thing with Feathers by Vincent Marano, this feathered thing could be any number of creatures or things, it could be monstrous or cuddly or both! In all liklihood there is no way to predict what this could be about, another excellent reason to join us for the readings!
If any of the writers read this, I apologise if I am way off the mark, which I almost certainly am, but I am looking forward to finding out the truth and calming my chaotic thoughts about your brilliant work. Thank you for submitting your work to our festival and I hope you enjoy seeing your words come to life on our beautiful stage.
p.s. Just because I cannot get it out of my head:
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