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FutureFest

Dayton Playhouse FutureFest Plays Announced – Call for Actors

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The Dayton Playhouse will hold auditions for its annual “FutureFest” new play festival on the following dates: May 29 & 30 at 7 p.m. Fully staged plays will audition on Monday and staged readings on Tuesday.

FutureFest is a festival of previously unproduced plays, which have been submitted by playwrights across the United States. Hundreds of submissions are read and the top six are selected to be performed at the festival. Playwrights of these plays will attend the festival, as will five professional adjudicators from across the country. Three plays will be performed as staged readings and three will be fully staged over the 3-day festival. Feedback will be given by adjudicators and audience members and a festival winner will be selected. This year marks the 27th FutureFest, which is the largest new play festival in the country sponsored by a community theatre.

The finalists in this year’s “FutureFest” include:

First, Do No Harm by J. Thalia Cunningham of Delmar, NY (staged reading)

Synopsis: Our recent election galvanized a tsunami of concerns about race and healthcare.

The CDC reported black Americans suffer higher rates of disability and preventable diseases than non-minorities. While blatant discrimination is no longer rampant, stereotyping persists. Hospitals emphasize the need for cultural diversity but, perhaps, have fallen short. Inspired by a real case, FIRST, DO NO HARM is the story of two African American mothers journeying along parallel paths of grief and guilt. It doesn’t attempt to answer the questions raised. There are no easy answers, and no single clinical guideline is useful in unraveling the spectrum of human physical, mental, and emotional response to illness.

 

5 actors (4F, 1 M) with doubling

  1. ELISSA KERRY – 40s, African-American, surgeon and mother.
  2. ALISON TAYLOR – 40s, Caucasian, Elissa’s wife, a family physician.

MATTIE CLESTER – 50s, African-American woman, uneducated but street smart.

DWAYNE HATCHER – 50s, Hospital CEO, African-American. Comes from a Ben Carson background, but has a

Donald Trump attitude (also plays various other small parts).

FEMALE ACTOR – Scrub nurse, Valerie, Patient Advocate, Medical Board Nurse.

 

The Spanish Prayer Book by Angela J Davis of Los Angeles, CA (staged reading)

Synopsis: In 2007, a committed atheist inherits a collection of rare and extremely valuable illustrated Hebrew manuscripts, including a prayer book from fourteenth-century Spain.  Financial struggles and a child’s recent hospitalization favor an initial plan to auction the books.  A moral dilemma, historical mystery, and matters of the heart converge, however, following the discovery that the books, which bear witness to overlapping Jewish and Islamic traditions, were stolen, some six-hundred years after their creation, from a library in Berlin. Inspired by true events and a late twentieth-century court case, and using images from the books themselves, the play explores the allure of sacred manuscripts, the ethical issues generated by cultural treasures displaced during wartime, and the power of art to forge human connections.

6 actors (3 F, 3 M) with doubling

JACOB ADLER – 80s; beloved emeritus history professor and progressive rabbi. Gentle and understated, a man of Talmudic wisdom and agonizing secrets.

JOAN ADLER – 70s; Jacob’s wife, raised in London. Cosmopolitan and frank, especially when it comes to the

patriarchies of academia and organized religion.

MICHAELA ADLER – 40s; Jacob and Joan’s daughter. A long-time atheist who has abandoned a legal career to

teach inner city kids. Attractive and reasonably well presented, but also divorced, exhausted, and broke.

JULIEN NAZIR – 40s; Jacob’s protégé, a non-practicing Muslim, born in the Middle East and educated in the

West. Handsome, accomplished, and socially conscious; a tenured historian at Berkeley, currently

guest teaching in London.

ALEXANDER ADLER – 60s; a rabbi born in Budapest, but a mystic of many times and places. Well-versed in

Jewish texts, but favoring life and humanity above all. The same actor plays CHRISTOPHER HOWELL,

a British newspaper reporter.

CHANNA WILD – 30s; reserved, highly intelligent, and beautiful librarian at the Hebrew Institute of Berlin.

The same actor plays an icy auction house ASSISTANT and a nervous male LAW CLERK

 

 

Wake by Vince Gatton of New York, NY (staged reading)

Synopsis: Dan and Eric have a new marriage license, a new baby, and a new house in the country. As they settle into this new life, Dan is having what seem to be sleepwalking episodes. A ghost story told by a young visitor leads Eric to suspect that Dan’s sleepwalking is actually something far more sinister — but is it what he thinks it is? Or are there other forces at work? WAKE is a ghost story for the post-AIDS generation, a play about marriage, expectations, and the power of narrative to both heal and harm.

 

5 actors (1 F, 4 M)

DAN – 45 – 50, Caucasian, married to ERIC.

ERIC – 30 – ish, Caucasian, married to DAN.

TERRELL – 45 – 50, African – American, friend of DAN.

ESME- 20s, African – American, niece of TERRELL.

CHARLIE – 30-ish, friend of ERIC.

Magnificent Hubba Hubba by Olga Humphrey of New York, NY (fully staged)

Synopsis: A teenage boy tracks down his downtrodden, fiery, and foulmouthed idol –“The Magnificent Hubba Hubba” – an old-time woman wrestler now over 70 and working as a greeter at a hotel casino. He aims to set up the rematch of the century between her and her arch rival of years gone by. But what he really wants is to win the love of her estranged granddaughter, a high school wrestling star who hates his guts. A comedy about how true passion never grows old, and sometimes the best partnerships are the most unlikely ones.

 

7 actors (5 F, 2 M) with doubling

LUCILLE – 70s

ROY – 16

ALICE – 70s

LULU – 16

ZANE – 70s, ANNOUNCER

WANDA, NADYA, YOUNG LUCILLE, REFEREE (20s-50s)

TEDDY, NURSE, YOUNG ALICE, HOSTESS (20s-30s)

 

 

On Pine Knoll Street by Mark Cornell of Chapel Hill, NC (fully staged)

Synopsis: Thelma is a colorful and quick-witted 87-year old woman struggling with her memory.  Her devoted daughter Marilyn, with whom she now lives, is trying to make the best of the situation.  When Marilyn asks her neighbor Curtis, a struggling writer and stay-at-home father, to care for her mother and her beloved cats while she is at the beach, it sets in motion a friendship that tethers two families.  Funny and heartbreaking, On Pine Knoll Street is an intimate look at the joy and fragility of life, the meaning of home, and the things we do for love.

 

5 actors (3 F, 1 M, 1 boy)

THELMA – 87, F

MARILYN – 52, F

CURTIS – 40, M

KRISTIE – 38, F

MITCHELL – 8, M

 

The Puppeteer by Desiree York of Rancho Santa Margarita, CA (fully staged)

Synopsis: When Constance, a 1920’s jazz singer, chooses to stand on her own, not only is her name carried on through multiple generations, but so is her determination to find an identity in an ever changing world. Spanning five generations, starting in the Harlem Renaissance and ending in present day, the women from one African-American family struggle to overcome the roles assigned to them by society in order to find their way home.

7 actors (5 F, 2 M)

CONSTANCE/CONNIE (played by the same actress) – 20s – mid 30s, African – American woman ROBERT/CHRISTOPHER (played by the same actor) – role spans 20s -late 40s, Caucasian man

ERNIE/MR. HOTCHKISS (played by the same actor )- 30s – 40s, Caucasian man

MISS DUNSTON – 20, Caucasian woman

MRS. COVINGTON – Early – mid 20s, Caucasian woman

  1. JENKINS – Early – mid 30s, Caucasian woman
  2. EVANS – role spans early 50s – early 70s, Caucasian woman.

 

Auditions will consist of cold readings from the scripts. Full cast information is also available at www.daytonplayhouse.com.

Auditions will be held at the Dayton Playhouse, 1301 E. Siebenthaler Ave., Dayton, OH 45414.   Those auditioning should bring a list of any scheduling conflicts through July 23. Rehearsals are typically in the evening, or on weekends.

FutureFest performances will be July 21-23. Weekend passes are $100 and will be available soon by calling the box office at 937-424-8477. The box office is staffed Mondays and Wednesdays from 1:30 – 3:30 p.m., however messages may be left at any time and calls will be returned. Tickets to individual performances will be $18.

The Dayton Playhouse is a community theatre providing outstanding theatrical productions to Miami Valley audiences of all ages for more than fifty years. The Playhouse is nationally recognized for “FutureFest,” a festival of new plays.

 

 

 

 

‘Shepherd’s Bush’ wins Dayton Playhouse FutureFest

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cast of shepherd's bush

The cast of “Shepherd’s Bush” (front row left to right) Scott Knisley, David Shough, (back row left to right) Ella Wylie, Brian Sharp, and Bonnie Froelich (Photo by Art Fabian)

“Shepherd’s Bush,” a captivating, humorous, romantic, and heartbreaking look at the relationship between celebrated, closeted British novelist E.M. Forster and policeman Bob Buckingham in 1930s England, received top honors Sunday, July 24 at the 26th annual Dayton Playhouse FutureFest of new, unproduced plays.

Elegantly written with cinematic tendencies by Scott C. Sickles of Forest Hills, New York, “Shepherd’s Bush” daringly explored the love between two men at a time when homosexuality was illegal in Great Britain. As Forster and Bob’s fascinating relationship progressed, Bob grew fearful and married May, a young nurse. Still, even as the Buckinghams started their life together in the titular West London neighborhood, Forster and Bob’s bond remained strong for decades in spite of secrets and lies which brought Forster and May great heartache.

The production’s excellent staged reading, fluidly directed by Michael Boyd and stage managed by Logan Dabney, featured terrifically cohesive portrayals by David Shough as Forster, Scott Knisely as Bob, Ella Wylie as May, Playhouse board president Brian Sharp as Forster’s close friend J.R. Ackerley, and Bonnie Froelich as Forster’s mother Lily. As this promising play develops, Sickles should specifically consider delving deeper into Bob’s quandary of identity, sexuality and torment, but at the same rate, he has absolutely established an engaging, Oscar Wilde-esque foundation, particularly within his witty characterizations of Forster, Ackerley and Lily. In fact, the deliciously persnickety Lily recalls the domineering Lady Bracknell of Wilde’s “The Importance of Being Earnest.”

“Sometime in the mid-‘90s, in a Barnes and Noble in downtown Pittsburgh, I happened upon a book called ‘The Gay Fireside Companion,’” recalled Sickles, a Pittsburgh native and the recipient of two Writers Guild of America Awards as part of the writing team of the daytime drama “General Hospital” as well as multiple Emmy and WGA Award nominations for “General Hospital” and “One Life to Live.” “It was an alphabetical listing of people, places and events in gay history. I came across the entry ‘Buckingham, Bob,’ thought it was an interesting name and began to read. I discovered that Bob was Forster’s much younger paramour and a policeman to boot, that he married a woman (whose name is not including in the listing) and that Forster eventually died in the Buckingham home holding the wife’s hand. My actual thought at the time was, ‘That’s how I’m going to die; holding the hand of the wife of the man I love.’ The rest is history.”

“Shepherd’s Bush” scored highest among six works presented July 22-24 based on judging criteria including dramatic concept, character/language, plot, page to stage, and the next stage. Forty percent of the vote was based on the judges’ initial reading of the script. The remaining 60 percent derived from the judges’ revised ranking at the festival. This year’s professional, New York-based adjudicators were journalist Peter Filichia, 1995 FutureFest-winning playwright Craig Pospisil (“Somewhere in Between”), actress/director/producer Jana Robbins, director/producer/writer Ashley Rodbro, and director/producer/writer Helen Sneed.

“‘Shepherd’s Bush’ is a very valuable play about the games people play and still have to play,” Filichia noted. “This is a play that needs to be seen.”

“There is phenomenal writing in this play,” exclaimed Sneed. “It’s fabulous and contains well-written symbolism.”
“I absolutely loved this play,” Robbins echoed. “I was deeply moved by it. It captures love that is a marriage of both the heart and the mind. This play has fully-fleshed characters and lovely dialogue. I see it as a film.”

futurefest winner

2016 Dayton Playhouse FutureFest-winning playwright Scott C. Sickles of Forest Hills, New York (Photo by Art Fabian)

“First of all, I am beyond honored,” reflected Sickles who received the top prize of $1,000. “It’s very exciting to receive recognition for a play I originally started writing in 1995. In the late ‘90s, we did a lot of readings of it, both for development and in hopes of getting it produced. While audiences responded well, producers and theaters were just not interested. I kept it on ice until two years ago when I submitted it to the Gulfshore Playhouse New Works Festival. Being selected for FutureFest gave me the opportunity to hear the new draft. The adjudicators gave me great feedback, so now I’m ready to make some adjustments and send it out into the world again. It’s my hope that having the Dayton Playhouse FutureFest win attached to it will encourage more theaters to read the play and consider it for their seasons. Bottom line, though, FutureFest confirms for me that after being dormant so many years ‘Shepherd’s Bush’ still has a life! That makes me so happy.”

Additionally, “Memories of the Game,” an emotionally gripping account of Alzheimer’s disease, euthanasia and addiction rattling an African-American family by Kristy Sharron Thomas of North Hollywood, California, was named Audience Favorite. The outstanding, fully staged presentation, directed by Robb Willoughby and accented with haunting transition music, featured knockout performances by Franklin Johnson as Kenneth McIntosh (an electrifying portrayal that will be talked about for years to come), Marva M.B. Williams as Karen McIntosh, Nabachwa Ssensalo as Sharon Evans, and Andre Reece Tomlinson as Michael McIntosh.

futurefest finalists

2016 Dayton Playhouse FutureFest finalists: (front row left to right) Adrienne Earle Pender, Gwendolyn Rice, Kristy Sharron Thomas, (back row left to right) Scott C. Sickles, W. L. Newkirk, and Christopher G. Smith (Photo by Art Fabian)

The remaining finalists chosen from across the country in a festival that notably embraced works about historical figures were: “N,” a study of race and theatrical history concerning Eugene O’Neill’s groundbreaking 1921 drama “The Emperor Jones” by 2002 FutureFest finalist Adrienne Earle Pender of Willow Spring, North Carolina and directed by Cara Hinh; “[Miss],” the story of Dr. Frances Kelsey’s struggle with the William S. Merrell Company over the introduction of thalidomide into the United States by W.L. Newkirk of Celebration, Florida and briskly directed by Cynthia Karns; “The Violin Maker,” a story of family and tradition by Christopher G. Smith of Rochester, Minnesota and co-directed by Saul Caplan and Debra Strauss; and “The Griots,” a story of race and legacy by Gwendolyn Rice of Middleton, Wisconsin and directed by longtime FutureFest planning committee member Fran Pesch. Each finalist was awarded $100. Also, this year marked the first time there were three female playwrights in contention.

The remaining casts comprised a refreshing, diverse blend of FutureFest returnees and newcomers. “N” featured Shaun Diggs as Charles Gilpin, Shyra Thomas as Florence Gilpin and Sean Gunther as Eugene O’Neill. “[Miss]” featured Jennifer Lockwood as Dr. Frances Oldham Kelsey, Ted Eltzroth as Dr. Raymond Stehle/Dr. Joseph Murray, Jon Edward Cox as John, Anna Masla as Betty, a scene-stealing Charles Larkowski as repugnant Dr. Raymond Pogge, Renee Franck-Reed as Gertrude, Jennie Hawley as Mary, and Mark Anderson as Dr. Eugene Geiling/Dr. Ray Nulsen. “The Violin Maker” featured an earthy Dave Nickel as Wilhelm Mosel, Jess MaGill as Karl Mosel and Bryana Bentley as Angela Brunelle. “The Griots,” authentically designed by Chris “Red” Newman and attractively costumed by Carol Finley and Sandy Lemming, featured David E. Brandt as John Holt, Judi Earley as Ada Coalson and a vibrant Annie Pesch as Lizzie Dupree.

“I was mighty impressed with the other plays and playwrights,” Sickles added. “There was a great eclecticism in the playwrights’ voices, subjects and styles. Best of all, we all got along and, despite it being a competition, were very supportive of each other.”

Most importantly, the Playhouse’s reputation for providing an extremely hospitable experience for the finalists hasn’t waned. Sickles says the dedication and commitment of festival volunteers left an indelible impression.
“I have friends who are past FutureFest finalists,” he explained. “They told me it would be a great experience and that the theater would ‘treat you like royalty.’ They undersold it! From my perspective, the whole festival ran like a well-oiled machine from the time I got picked up at the airport all the way through the post-fest shindig. They kept us incredibly well hydrated, well fed and well caffeinated. Royalty isn’t treated this well!”

Mark your calendars: The 27th annual FutureFest is slated for July 21-23, 2017. Anyone interested in submitting a play must do so before Oct. 31. For more information, visit www.daytonplayhouse.com.

My FutureFest Rankings:
1. “Shepherd’s Bush”
2. “Memories of the Game”
3. “[Miss]”
4. “The Griots”
5. “The Violin Maker”
6. “N”

 

The 25th Anniversary FutureFest Lineup!

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ff_2015_logo-202x300Dayton Playhouse has sponsored FutureFest, a festival of new and unproduced plays for over twenty five years, put on by a community theater run entirely by volunteers. Each year  in one weekend they showcase six new unproduced plays as chosen by the FF committee from the submissions entered that year. Each play is dramatized as either a staged reading or a full dramatization. Each play is a full length play and they do not limit the subject matter. They bring the playwrights to the festival for the weekend so you can mingle with them and we have talk back sessions with them after their show. Dayton Playhouse brings in adjudicators from around the country to pick the best play and give the playwrights a professional critique in front of the FF audience. It’s a play lover’s dream come true, and an opportunity a playwright can’t get anywhere else.  FutureFest dates for 2015 will be July 17-19

Here are the plays that will be featured this year:

Blue Over You – by Dan Noonan

Where’s Mitzi? What happened to Mitzi?! Francis, an enchanting high school drama teacher, comes home to discover that his wife, Mitzi, is missing. Did she leave because of his infantile behavior, has she run off with the hunky maintenance man, or is something much darker at work here? Join this song-and-dance man as he tries to find Mitzi and woo her back.

Book of Hours – Thomas Klocke

Margins, decorative marginalia, marginalized people.  Every connotation of the word is broached when one 14th century Manuscript Illuminator stands his ground for artistic integrity against the heavy handed censorship of the Church which commissioned the handmade BOOK OF HOURS devotional.  To tell the story, the play crosses centuries and oceans, from the Biblical times of Abraham and his sons to contemporary gay street hustlers just trying to survive in the margins of an uncaring city.

Hail the Conquering Hero – Rich Amada

Tom Azuric is a radio humorist who has toiled for years in various stations around the country until he has finally made it to the biggest U.S. radio market of them all – New York City. However, judging from his demeanor, his family can sense that something is terribly wrong. Despite his professional success, Tom, it seems, has failed to fulfill a promise to his deceased mother, leaving him feeling terribly inadequate. That feeling, coupled with the pressure his
boss is putting on him to engage in some sleazy politics, is pushing Tom to the breaking point.

Return to Goodnight – Jared Robert Strange

Irene Deckard has lost her father, but she may also lose her mind fulfilling his final wishes, which involve bringing his remains from Montana all the way down to Goodnight, Texas, and in the company of her gay ex-husband Casper, no less. It’s all part of a promise they made to her father a long time ago, a promise that will bring them together for the first time in thirty years to face old demons, discover new truths, and maybe – just maybe – rekindle their long-dead friendship.

Smoke – Gloria Bond Clunie

In the drama SMOKE, country store owner Ora Rakestraw wants no parts of the mysterious Wallace Johnson when he descends upon her tiny southern town to organize tobacco workers.  It’s the 1960’s— and though Kennedy orders the Surgeon General to investigate smoking— tobacco is king in Carolina.   The Marlboro Man, Lucky Strikes, and Camels are Kool because they put food on the table for her customers.  As promises are made and secrets revealed, love collides with small town politics in one hot, tumultuous summer!

The Consul, the Tramp, and America’s Sweetheart – John Morogiello

On the eve of World War II, Georg Gyssling, the nazi consul to Hollywood, confronts Mary Pickford, the silent film star and co-founder of United Artists, to stop production on Charlie Chaplin’s controversial first talkie, The Great Dictator. Gyssling succeeds until war is declared and the movie is needed to buck up the allies.

 

Casting requirements for the festival will be posted in advance of the June 1 and June 2 auditions. Check their  Auditions page for details.

Tender ‘Sugarhill’ Wins Dayton Playhouse FutureFest

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linda sugarhill

Playwright Linda Ramsay-Detherage (Contributed photo by Art Fabian)

Playwright Linda Ramsay-Detherage of Detroit received top honors Sunday, July 27 at the 24th annual Dayton Playhouse FutureFest of new plays for her World War II-era Southern family dramedy “Sugarhill,” a compelling exploration of race, heartbreak and hope.

Set in the fictional titular Louisiana town in December 1941, “Sugarhill,” also named the Audience Favorite, scored highest among a commendable field of six original, developing plays adjudicated within criteria including theme, style/language, dramatic structure, character development, story/plot, pacing, page-to-stage, and the next stage. Delicately directed by Debra Kent, the engaging, whimsical play, which requires the audience to take a great leap of faith in its final moments, featured an excellently authentic cast consisting of Cassandra Engber as the grieving, mentally unstable Marietta Trudeau, Dave Nickel as Civil War veteran and Marietta’s imposing grandfather Captain John Youngblood, Lynn Kesson as the family’s devoted French nurse Yvette Degas, Franklin Johnson as black runaway Mr. Franklin, an impressively tranquil Rick Johns as Marietta’s injured, unresponsive husband Tom, Cheryl Mellen as Marietta’s testy sister-in-law Laurel, and Jamie McQuinn as Laurel’s merciless husband Davis. The family ultimately defies the racist Jim Crow laws of the period due to the transformative nature of Mr. Franklin’s impactful presence and influence in their lives.

“It really feels wonderful and I’m very delighted that so many people were entertained by ‘Sugarhill,’” said Ramsay-Detherage, who received a $1,000 prize for her accomplishment. “It’s so nice to have been able to put something beautiful out there for an audience. Good plays, especially the ones I have had the good fortune of performing in, tend to be less about what the characters are thinking and more about what their behavior is. It’s up to the actors and directors to figure out what their inner life is. My job was to look at the situation of the play and also find the right time period. I really wanted to create a character that lived through the Civil War and came out of it with some kind of positive conclusion. How long does it take to change your point of view over owning slaves? Does it take 100 years when it’s all ingrained in you? So, it suited my purposes to create a character who remembered the Civil War while also creating someone like Marietta who experienced electroshock therapy, which began in 1937. In the end, I chose to set ‘Sugarhill’ right before Pearl Harbor started because the characters being unaware that event is coming changes the way we see their point of view.”

As a professional actress, Ramsay-Detherage has participated in many staged readings, but viewing the FutureFest experience left an indelible mark. After all, the Playhouse’s mission to produce six plays in three days, a daunting task overseen by FutureFest program director Fran Pesch, places the organization in a league of its own within the national theater scene.
“I’ve never seen a theater do what the Playhouse did in my entire life,” she said. “The atmosphere is so full of love as well. My fellow playwrights felt the same.”

“There were some well-written, directed and performed scripts over the weekend so we had our work cut out for us,” added Kent, who staged last year’s FutureFest co-winner “A Position of Relative Importance.” “But my cast’s love for our play never faltered. They were focused and ready to go at performance time. I am so proud of them and their dedication. During rehearsals, there was more than one discussion about the futuristic or magical quality in our play. Neither my cast nor I had a problem believing in the magic. The actors portrayed the characters in the play as real people with real problems. We all need some magic in our lives from time to time. Sometimes things happen that we cannot explain.”

Kent, who will stage the local premiere of David Lindsay-Abaire’s “Good People” for the Dayton Theatre Guild this fall, particularly embraced FutureFest with familiar excitement. She enjoys the discoveries that arise from working with a fresh script.

sugarhill

The cast of “Sugarhill” (l to r): Jamie McQuinn, Cheryl Mellen, Franklin Johnson, Lynn Kesson, director Debra Kent, Dave Nickel, Rick Johns, and Cassandra Engber. (Contributed photo by Art Fabian)



“I have been fortunate to direct a couple of terrific new plays for FutureFest,” she said. “I love the thought that my actors and I are breaking new ground and putting a brand new work on its feet for an audience to see. We break open a new script and look for the treasures and new ideas the playwright has given us. There is such love for the craft in the FutureFest crowd, and it comes not only from the playwright but also the people on the stage, behind the scenes and from the audience. Not everyone would give up literally weeks of time to rehearse a play that will only be seen once or purchase a ticket to see six full-length plays in just one weekend. FutureFest attendees are exceptional theatergoers.”

Chosen from 151 submissions from across the country, the remaining finalists were: “Wash, Dry, Fold,” a terrific account of Louisiana sisters coping with past heartache while caring for their disgruntled uncle emotionally wounded by the Vietnam War by Nedra Pezold Roberts of Atlanta; “The Humanist,” a contemporary, intelligent and stinging look at the foibles and tenacity of a humanities professor by Kuros Charney of New York City; “The Killing Jar,” a story of art and feminism by Jennifer Lynne Roberts of San Francisco; and Dayton native/Woodland Hills, California resident M.J. Feely’s “The Paymaster,” an Irish-centric story of heritage and loyalty, and “Masterwork,” concerning an ailing playwright’s final endeavor.

This year’s adjudicators were Roger Danforth (artistic director of the Drama League Directors Project), David Finkle (theater critic for “Huffington Post”), Faye Sholiton (a Cleveland playwright who won the 1997 FutureFest for “The Interview”), Helen Sneed (who has held numerous artistic posts in New York City and has judged FutureFest for over 20 years), and Eleanore Speert (Speert Publishing).

In addition, first-rate performances extended beyond “Sugarhill.” Sharp, wonderfully layered portrayals were delivered by Mike Beerbower, Megan Cooper and J. Gary Thompson (“The Paymaster,” directed by Saul Caplan), Sarah Gomes, the aforementioned Thompson, Annie Pesch, Jon Hung, and Geoff Burkman (“The Killing Jar,” directed by Kathy Mola), Dorothy Michalski, Stefanie Pratt, David Williamson, Wendi Michael, and Scott Knisley (“Wash, Dry, Fold,” directed by Teresa High), Shawn Hooks, Jennifer Lockwood, the aforementioned Pesch, and Matt Lindsay (“The Humanist,” directed by Jim Lockwood), and Charles Larkowski, Debra Strauss, Val Beerbower, the aforementioned Mellen, and Dave Gaylor (“Masterwork,” directed by Fran Pesch).

For more information about FutureFest, visit www.daytonplayhouse.com.


My FutureFest Rankings:

1. “Wash, Dry, Fold”
2. “Sugarhill”
3. “The Humanist”
4. “The Killing Jar”
5. “The Paymaster”
6. “Masterwork”

 

‘King’s Face’ and ‘Position’ Tie for Historic FutureFest Win

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2013 Dayton Playhouse FutureFest-winning playwrights Hal Borden (left) and Steven Young (Contributed photo by Art Fabian)

History was made Sunday at the Dayton Playhouse as the organization’s 23rd annual FutureFest of new plays gave top honors to Steven Young’s fascinating historical drama “The King’s Face” and Hal Borden’s hilariously topical comedy “A Position of Relative Importance.”
Last weekend’s jaw-dropping yet welcomed tie primarily reflected the refreshing strengths and enormous potential of this year’s six diverse, developing finalists, which included the cross-cultural dramedy “Veils” by Tom Coash of New Haven, Connecticut, quirky abstract art-centered dramedy “The One with Olives” by Sam Havens of Houston, Texas, psychological drama “On the Road to Kingdom Come” by 2009 FutureFest winner and Dayton native Michael Feely of Woodland Hills, California, and the gay marriage-themed comedy “St. Paulie’s Delight” by J. Joseph Cox of Chicago, Illinois. Each contender was judged on criteria including character development, conflict, dramatic structure, plot, page-to-stage and the next stage. The adjudicators consisted of New York-based trio Helen Sneed, Eleanore Speert and David Finkle along with 1997 FutureFest winner Faye Sholiton of Cleveland and 2002 FutureFest finalist Robert Koon of Chicago.

The Kings Face

Charles Larkowski (left) and Josh Katawick in “The King’s Face” (Contributed photo by Art Fabian)

“The King’s Face,” an engrossingly intimate two-hander superbly directed with palpable unease by Geoff Burkman, concerned the true story of Prince Harry of Monmouth, who was struck by an arrow during the 1403 battle of Shrewsbury. Inside a chamber at Kenilworth Castle, London surgeon and counterfeiter Jonathan Bradmore had the enormously difficult task of attempting to save Harry’s life by meticulously extracting the arrowhead from his skull while simultaneously saving his own.
As the sickly, agitated and paranoid Harry, Josh Katawick delivered a tremendously mature, extraordinarily emotional performance. Consistently discovering delicious nuances inside Young’s beautifully descriptive language, particularly when Harry recounts the elation and horror of battle, Katawick took his lines to Shakespearean heights while remaining astutely connected to the doubt, fear and panic boiling beneath Harry’s youthful bravado. At one point, Harry awakened from a terrible nightmare executed so brilliantly by Katawick you could feel every morsel of his anguish.

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Charles Larkowski (left) and Josh Katawick in “The King’s Face” (Contributed photo by Art Fabian)

At the same rate, the outstanding Charles Larkowski, an absolute natural as Bradmore, effortlessly supported Katawick, genuinely yet cautiously fueling Bradmore’s desire to create a connection and establish trust with his future king. Adopting the warm, personable tones in his narrative duties that served him well as Cosmé McMoon in the Dayton Theatre Guild’s 2011 production of “Souvenir,” Larkowski excellently blended the roles of father, brother, therapist, priest and teacher as the play’s vivid portrait of friendship evolved.
“I enjoyed every minute of the whole process of putting (the play) together,” said Larkowski, a retired music historian who ensured all of the music in the play had a connection to Henry V. “I found both characters to be interesting and even enigmatic in certain ways. Bradmore’s professed aloofness and professionalism are a wonderful contrast to Henry’s more fiery or mercurial nature. Also noteworthy is the play’s range from highly intellectual/abstract content to the immediate, physical and visceral, which makes audiences think and squirm in their seats multiple times before the evening ends. I’ve been really overwhelmed by the response to this play. It’s definitely one of my most memorable theatrical experiences.”

“This play has a heart and a head,” said Sneed. “It is very original and highly dramatic with extreme theatricality. It is one of the best examples of a play staying in period but (remaining) accessible. I felt like I was watching a very good example of a playwright being a master of his universe.”

“This play could be performed anywhere,” said Sholiton. “It is a fully realized piece with stunning, brilliant writing.”

“I was astonished by the acting,” added Finkle, who rated the performances on par with the best of John Gielgud, Kenneth Branagh and Laurence Olivier. “This was a superlative production.”
“The actors were very attentive to the heighted language and dialect needs of the script,” said Young, a Dallas-based playwright. “They fully embraced the physical demands of (Harry’s) injury as well as the psychological state of a wounded warrior. I thought Geoff Burkman had a fantastic sense of the pacing, mood and arc of the play. Also, the simplicity of the production values supported the performances, but allowed the acting and text to remain in the forefront. Given the response of the adjudicators I was pleased they touched on the relationship of the characters, the search for a father figure, the nature of leadership and war.”

A Position of Relative Importance

David Gaylor (left) and Titus Wolverton in “A Position of Relative Importance” (Contributed photo by Art Fabian)

“A Position of Relative Importance,” Borden’s impressive playwrighting debut which opened the festival Friday, was also a veritable home run. Breezily and sharply directed by Debra Kent, “Position” told the charming story of humble, educated and unemployed Frank (a thoroughly engaging Titus Wolverton) who suddenly advances within a New York City business due to mistaken identity and unexpected bonds. Kent’s terrific cast included David Gaylor, Meagan Kuchan, Jared Mola and Dave Nickel.

“This play is totally wonderful and very fresh,” said Finkle, who noted the script brought to mind musical theater classics “A Chorus Line” and “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. “It’s all very real but also surreal. You never know where the story is going but it’s always a surprise.”
“The characters are sparkling and keep you interested,” said Speert. “It was a lot of fun.”
“Seeing the play on its feet for the first time, I was surprised at how little it surprised me,” said Borden, a Philadelphia trademark lawyer. “To a remarkable degree, what I saw on stage matched what I’d seen in my head when I wrote it even though the script itself says very little about the physical aspects of the production.”

A Position of Relative2

Titus Wolverton (left) and Jared Mola in “A Position of Relative Importance” (Contributed photo by Art Fabian)

Borden was also appreciative of the commitment and generous hospitality displayed by the festival’s numerous volunteers.
“I can’t talk about FutureFest without talking about the devotion of the organizers and volunteers,” he said. “On Saturday, Chuck Larkowski chauffeured a group of writers from the Playhouse to Marion’s Piazza for lunch. By Sunday, he was on stage giving one of the best performances I’ve ever seen in a role he might only play once in his life. I’m not sure that kind of thing happens anywhere else. In three days, I met more interesting people, and made more new friends, than I had in the past three years.”

Mola, likely to receive DayTony Awards this weekend for his knockout performances last season in the Dayton Playhouse’s “Dracula” and the Dayton Theatre Guild’s “Ghosts,” was the only actor featured in two plays. Juggling the roles of marketing whiz Trevor in “Position” and inquisitive young artist Danny in “Olives” may have appeared daunting, but he regards both assignments as an unforgettable introduction.

“From the time I started doing shows in Dayton last year, people have been telling me about how amazing and unique FutureFest is,” said Mola. “Six original plays in 48 hours takes a lot of effort and a lot of love from everyone involved. I can say with only slight hyperbole that the experience was awe-inspiring. It was everything it was built up to be and more. I think ‘Position’ is a really successful comedy because it’s layered with immediate punchlines and setups that build throughout. It’s that kind of intricate ebb and flow that makes writing a tight comedy so difficult, but this was one of those shows where every joke lands. Even as a ‘straightforward’ comedy in a field of shows with more emotional heft and tackling serious subject matter, I’m thrilled the adjudicators knew how rare of a feat it was.”

Additional components of the festival included a slew of fine performances: Risa Hillsman and a truly mesmerizing Annie Pesch in “Veils” (directed by FutureFest program director Fran Pesch); Wendi Michael, Jim Lockwood, Jordan Norgaard, Richard Young, David Hollowren and Cynthia Karns in “The One with Olives” (directed by Nancy K. Campbell); Shawn Hooks, Jennifer Lockwood, K.L. Storer, Heather Campbell Martin and John Bukowski in “On the Road to Kingdom Come” (directed by Saul Caplan);  and Rick Flynn, Brian Sharp, Leo Santucci, Travis J. Cook, Naman Clark, Dodie Lockwood, Art Fabian and Kelli Locker in “St. Paulie’s Delight” (directed by Kathy Mola). The striking technical contributions for “The King’s Face” (costume design by Deirdre Root, scenic design by Fran Pesch, lighting design by John A. Falkenbach, props/extractor fabrication by Blake Senseman, prosthetics/makeup by Jacklyn Alexa, and properties by Jim Foreman and Amanday Gray) are equally praiseworthy.
Looking back on the whirlwind weekend, Young and Borden, who will each receive a plaque and $1,000, remain grateful to have been finalists and share the coveted title of outstanding playwright. It’s not out of the question to assume they will spread the word about just how special this nationally recognized festival continues to be.
“FutureFest is a unique event in the theater world and the experience speaks well of Dayton, the Playhouse and the commitment of its leadership and supporters,” said Young. “I found the entire weekend to be inspiring and invigorating.”
“FutureFest was one of the best experiences I’ve had as a writer,” added Borden. “I’m going to have to come back to Dayton some other time of year just to confirm that it’s a real place and not an illusion Fran Pesch pulled out of her magic hat.”
Mark your calendars! FutureFest will return July 25-27, 2014. For more information, visit www.daytonplayhouse.org.

 

2013 FutureFest Audience Favorite:ff
“The King’s Face”

 

My 2013 FutureFest Ranking:
1. “The King’s Face”

2. “A Position of Relative Importance”

3. “Veils”

4. “St. Paulie’s Delight”

5. “On the Road to Kingdom Come”

6. “The One with Olives”

New Plays From Coast To Coast Debut in Dayton

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ff2013FutureFest is an annual festival of new plays presented by the Dayton Playhouse. This year’s festival will be July 26-28. During the 3-day festival, audience members join the playwrights and professional adjudicators in viewing, and reviewing, six new scripts presented half as staged readings and half as fully staged productions. The Dayton Playhouse received 190 eligible scripts from across the country for this year’s FutureFest . Here are the six finalists along with their performance schedule:

A Position of Relative Importance by Hal Borden of Philadelphia (fully staged performance July 26, 8 p.m.)

Veils by Tom Coash of New Haven, Connecticut (staged reading July 27, 10 a.m.)

The One with Olives by Sam Havens of Houston, Texas (staged reading July 27, 3 p.m.) Havens also wrote Curve which was a finalist in 2012 FurtureFest.

On the Road to Kingdom Come by Michael Feely of Woodland Hills, California (fully staged performance July 27, 8 p.m.) Feely’s play Night and Fog won the festival in 2009.

St. Paulie’s Delight by J. Joseph Cox of Chicago (staged reading July 28, 10 a.m.)

The King’s Face by Steven Young of Dallas, Texas (fully staged performance July 28, 3 p.m.)

Adjudicators for FutureFest 2013 will be David Finkle, freelance reporter and reviewer for the Village Voice and the Huffington Post; Rob Koon, resident playwright and dramaturg at Chicago Dramatists; Faye Sholiton, Cleveland playwright; Helen Sneed, whose career included work in Theatre Professional Rights at Dramatists Play Service; and Eleanore Speert, founder of Speert Publishing and former publications director for Dramatists Play Service.

How to Attend: FutureFest will be presented July 26-28 at the Dayton Playhouse, 1301 E. Siebenthaler Ave, Dayton, OH 45414. Weekend passes are $95 and include admission to six plays, adjudication sessions and social activities with the authors and adjudicators. Passes can be purchased online at www.daytonplayhouse.org, or through the box office, 937-424-8477. The box office is staffed Monday’s and Wednesday’s from 1:30 – 4:30 p.m., however messages may be left at any time. Admission to an individual play is $18. Individual tickets may be purchased online, or through the box office, but may also be purchased at the door one hour before each performance (space permitting).

The Dayton Playhouse is a community theatre providing outstanding theatrical productions to Miami Valley audiences of all ages for more than fifty years. The Playhouse is nationally recognized for “FutureFest,” a festival of new plays.

 

Coming Up In Dayton Theatre, 6/14 – 6/23

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There are a lot of things closing, opening and running this weekend. Plenty of things to see and even some good fare to take the family, including Dad! Theatre tickets make an awesome Father’s Day gift. Does he like humor? Music? Laughing? Everything Dayton offers up this weekend features all three! Check it out!

 

Closing This Weekend!

A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum

The Dayton Playhouse

Funny-Thing-3110The Skinny: Something familiar, something peculiar. Something for everyone! A comedy tonight! Come see the Dayton Playhouse take on one of Stephen Sondheim’s funniest and best loved pieces. A farcical love story taking place in a fictionalized idea of Ancient Rome. A father-son dynamic is at the heart of this piece! Perfect for Father’s Day! So take your dad to see the matinee and then buy him Chinese Buffet for dinner afterwards! Or maybe that’s just my family tradition?

Dates: Closing Sunday, 6/16

Tickets: Please visit the Dayton Playhouse website at www.daytonplayhouse.com

 

Currently In Production!

Avenue Q

AVENUE Q production pic 3The Human Race Theatre Company

The Skinny: Don’t let the puppets and the “Sesame Street” skin tones confuse you; THIS IS NOT FOR KIDS. Avenue Q is a riotously funny, politically incorrect and downright raunchy Tony Award-winning musical about recent college grad Princeton and his funny, sometimes furry, friends who live at the very end of New York’s (in)famous Alphabet City. Featuring songs like, “Everyone’s A Little Bit Racist,” “It Sucks To Be Me,” and of course that battle cry of the internet age: “The Internet Is For Porn!” seriously this show is NOT FOR KIDS. But it is for adults who like to laugh really hard.

Dates: Through June 29th.

Tickets: Please visit the Human Race Theatre Company website at www.humanracetheatre.org.  Have we mentioned that this production is NOT FOR KIDS?

The Sound Of Music

lac_sound-of-music-300x211La Comedia Dinner Theatre

The Skinny: Ok, this one is safe for all the family…unless they’re offended by cherubic singing siblings and Nazi-fighting nuns! This is the well-loved classic,  and a perennial crowd pleaser. Join The Captain, Maria and all 7 children as they sing, dance and, eventually, cross the Alps.

Dates: Through 6/30

Tickets: Please visit the La Comedia website at www.lacomedia.org

Opening this Weekend!

Legally Blonde The Musical

Legally-BlondeBeavercreek Community Theatre

The Skinny: To quote its opening number: “Oh my god, oh my god you guys!”, it’s another production of Legally Blonde! This charming and enjoyable musical (based on the movie) takes the stage now at Beavercreek Community Theatre. Come join the plucky Elle Woods as she follows her “true love” to Harvard Law. There she gets a taste of hard work, the real world, and maybe learns to rely on her smarts more than her, well, blondeness.

Date: Opening 6/21 and running through 6/30

Tickets: Please visit the Beavercreek Community Theatre website at www.bctheatre.com

FutureFest Update:

images-1Just a heads up, all the shows for FutureFest weekend have been cast and have begun, or will be soon be beginning, rehearsal! Exciting! For more information about the shows and about Dayton’s own FutureFest, a nationally known festival of new works, go to www.daytonplayhouse.com and click the “FutureFest” tab.

 

 

Back to the FutureFest

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Dayton Playhouse - FutureFest 2010 - Dancing Backwards by John Fiorillo

Dancing Backwards by John Fiorillo - FutureFest 2010

FutureFest 2011

Dayton Playhouse

This weekend, the Dayton Playhouse will present its 21st annual FutureFest of new plays, one of the most highly anticipated and widely regarded events in the local arts community.

This uniquely structured, nationally recognized festival, co-founded by Dayton Theatre Hall of Fame members Dodie Lockwood and John Riley, openly nurtures the artistic growth of emerging playwrights from across the country and internationally. Within three days, six original, previously unproduced works are showcased fully staged or as staged readings followed by adjudications from theater professionals. Patrons are also encouraged to offer opinions, fueling the weekend’s considerably engaging atmosphere.

Dayton Playhouse - FutureFest 2010 - How It Works by Carey Pepper

How It Works by Carey Pepper

The adjudicators will consist of longtime New York-based judges David Finkle, Helen Sneed and Eleanore Speert along with Robert Koon, resident playwright/dramaturg of the Chicago Dramatists and a 2002 FutureFest finalist for “Vintage Red and the Dust of the Road,” and D. Lynn Meyers, producing artistic director of Ensemble Theatre of Cincinnati. Each play will be judged on criteria including dramatic concept/theme, plot/story development, dialogue/language and character development.

Dayton Playhouse - FutureFest 2010 - Refuge by Marc Comblatt

Refuge by Marc Comblatt

Since its inception, FutureFest has been an advantageous launching pad for playwrights hoping to raise their profile. The most successful example in recent years is unquestionably attributed to Brooklyn playwright Beau Willimon, a former political staffer who took the 2005 FutureFest by storm with “Farragut North,” a marvelous political drama. “Farragut North” arrived off-Broadway at New York’s Atlantic Theater Company in 2008 and was recently adapted (and re-titled) for the big screen by Willimon, Grant Heslov and Oscar winner George Clooney as “The Ides of March.” Shot on location in the Cincinnati area and prominently previewed in the July 26 edition of USA Today, “The Ides of March,” which will premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in September, is officially scheduled for an October 7 release. The film has already received buzz as a major contender for the Golden Globes and Academy Awards. Molly Smith Metzler, also of Brooklyn, is equally noteworthy. Metzler’s terrific relationship-driven comedy drama “Carve” was a highlight of the 2009 FutureFest and her latest work, “Close Up Space,” will be presented off-Broadway at New York’s Manhattan Theatre Club this fall starring Emmy and Tony winner David Hyde Pierce.

This year’s promising contenders were chosen from over 240 submissions. Each finalist recently reflected on their work with onStageDayton in advance of the festival.

2011 FutureFest Performance Schedule

Friday, July 29

8 p.m.

“Drawing Room,” an introspective look at a Supreme Court sketch artist.

Playwright: Mark Eisman of New York City

Cast: Mark Jeffers, Annie Pesch and Rachel Wilson

Director: Matthew Smith

Production format: Fully staged

Since cameras invaded our courtrooms some 20 years ago, I have missed the artists’ renderings which often accompanied the most notorious (and yes, most dramatic) legal spectaculars. The brilliantly colored chalks and pencils have been replaced by the dullness of reality TV. The sketch artists have been forced to scramble and compete against each other, as only the federal courts (with its terrorist defendants) and the Supreme Court (with its familiar cast of characters) remain camera free. When their art is threatened, the characters in ‘Drawing Room’ must confront the realities of their own lives. Life in the theater has never been easy for playwrights.  Over the same 20 years, it’s become increasingly difficult due primarily to economic ‘realities.’

~Mark Eisman

Saturday, July 30

10 a.m.

“Roosevelt’s Ghost,” a drama centered on the special assistant to President Franklin D. Roosevelt convicted of perjury and accused of being a member of the Community Party.

Playwright: Dayton native and Woodland Hills, California resident Michael Feely, who won the 2009 FutureFest for “Night and Fog” and was a 2006 finalist for “Bookends.”

Cast: Debra Kent, Charles Larkowski, Jennifer Lockwood, Dave Nickel, David Shough, Michael Stockstill and Debra Strauss

Director: Saul Caplan

Production format: Staged reading

‘Roosevelt’s Ghost’ is (very) loosely based on the Alger Hiss case. It concerns a man, Charles Castle Hunt, who stood at the pinnacle of power until he was accused of treason and espionage for the Soviet Union and convicted of perjury in 1951. It is now 1968 and he’s come home both to vindicate himself by publishing his memoirs and to reconnect with the family he abandoned after his fall. The play is about many things. It is, on one level, about the events of the ’50’s and ’60’s, similar to the other two plays that have appeared in FutureFest, that I believe draw a bright red line through Vietnam to our current involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan. On another level, however, it’s a far more personal play, about family, about what fathers owe their sons and, equally important, what sons owe their fathers. It’s about husbands and wives, what they give each other and what they take from each other. And, lastly, it’s about love, how it sustains us, can let us down and, ultimately, can lift us up.

~Michael Feely

3 p.m.

“The Haven,” a contemporary comic drama concerning a broken marriage and the possibilities of connection.

Playwright: Richard Etchison of Los Angeles, California

Cast: Megan Cooper, Danny Lipps, Deirdre Root and Richard Young

Director: Fran Pesch

Production format: Staged reading

Initially, I set out to write a play about one relationship ending and one relationship at the very beginning. A simple exploration of the nature of marriage and love and youth. The ending came to me midway through the writing process. I also wanted to write a realistic play for once. Previously, my plays have some mind-bending, sometimes surreal elements.  In most ways, I succeeded. To me, the theme of this play is that human beings approach both marriage and life with the same attitude: We know it’s going to have its trying moments, moments that take every bit of courage and resolve we have to get through them.  Yes, we (as a people) voluntarily embark on it anyway. When you are young, marriage seems a simple matter. So does life.  But once deep inside of marriage, we learn otherwise. Same as life in general.

~Richard Etchison

8 p.m.

“Allegro Con Brio,” a farce about a musical couple plotting revenge.

Playwright: Dayton resident Nelson Sheeley of Sinclair Community College

Cast: Michael Boyd, Matt Curry and Cheryl Mellen

Director: Nick Moberg

Production format: Fully staged

I got the idea for the play when I turned on the radio and heard one of the Mendelssohn Piano Concertos played faster than anyone should be able to play it.  I wondered what the conversation backstage after the concert between the conductor and the pianist would be. Also, once I got into it, the theme of the piece seemed to shift a bit to include the music critic…how people behave who have unquestioned authority and power in their fields. I love farce and there’s a dearth of good contemporary farce in the American theatre. Farce seems to be the poor stepchild of comedy. My first play ‘…And Call Me In The Morning’ got a begrudgingly good review from The New York Times. Jacques LeSourde liked it and in the review sounded a little embarrassed that he did! So here I am leading a crusade to get those slapstick lovers out of their comedy closet and have a good laugh.

~Nelson Sheeley

Sunday, July 31

10 a.m.

“Jinxed,” a 1930s aviatrix-themed account of Amelia Earhart and Jackie Cochran.

Playwright: Stacey Luftig of New York City

Cast: Franklin Johnson, Cynthia Karns, Wendi Michael, Kate Smith, Mike Rousculp, Mike Taint and Matt Turner

Director: Richard Brock

Production format: Staged reading

Amelia Earhart is an American icon. But only history buffs and aviation fans remember Jackie Cochran, whose rags-to-riches story and groundbreaking achievements in aviation rival those of any pilot, including Amelia. Brash Jackie and sophisticated Amelia were close friends for the last two years of Amelia’s life. Their lives had many parallels: among them, husbands who were tremendously supportive of their careers, a practicing knowledge of ESP and a preoccupation with luck. Their focus on luck is not surprising. The dangers faced by pilots in the 1930s, especially those who sought to set records and win races, were enormous. Forced landings and even crashes were commonplace, airplane parts would malfunction, engines would blow up. Like baseball players, aviators often placed faith in talismans and other superstitions. It is hard to say how much of any aviator’s career at that time depended on skill, and how much on luck. Based on this uncertain balance, a key question arose for the main characters of my play: How far do you go to allow a pilot you love to follow her dreams – knowing that to do so could result in her death?

~Stacey Luftig

3 p.m.

“A Woman on the Cusp,” a drama concerning mental illness and sibling treachery.

Playwright: Two-time FutureFest finalist Carl L. Williams of Houston, Texas (“Under a Cowboy Moon,” 2003; “Coming Back to Jersey,” 2008)

Cast: Cher Collins, Lynn Kesson, Scott Knisley and K.L. Storer

Director: Ray Gambrel

Production format: Fully staged

‘A Woman on the Cusp’ started out as a 20-minute one-act for a festival in Houston. I quickly realized the length wasn’t nearly sufficient to explore all the facets of character in this story, as well as the underlying issues of emotional trauma, mental instability, deceit and treachery. A buried subtext concerns how people can do the wrong thing for a right reason or the right thing for a wrong reason. For the full-length play I was better able to develop a backstory for the major character, providing a fuller explanation for her current situation. I could also explore the relationships between and among the characters to a greater degree and with a more gradual revelation of their secrets.  In addition, I changed certain elements of the basic plot as I transitioned the piece to a more complete story. I can’t say that I set out to make any particular point with this play or convey any central message. Mainly I just wanted to engage the audience with these characters and their conflicts. The FutureFest production offers the opportunity of judging to what degree I succeeded.

~Carl L. Williams

The 21st annual Dayton Playhouse FutureFest will be held Friday, July 29-Sunday, July 31 at the Playhouse, 1301 E. Siebenthaler Ave. Weekend passes for all six shows are $90. Single tickets are $17. For tickets or more information, call the Playhouse at (937) 424-8477 or visit www.daytonplayhouse.com.

-RF

-Photos by Art Fabian (copyright 2010) – submitted by Dayton Playhouse

We encourage local theatre companies to submit calendar items HERE, and official press releases to onStageDayton@DaytonMostMetro.com.

Tickets & Performance Information:

Dayton Playhouse21st Annual Dayton Playhouse FutureFest

July 29-31, 2011

Tickets Prices: $17 for single show tickets / $90 for weekend pass (includes all shows)

Location:  The Dayton Playhouse
1301 East Siebenthaler Ave
Dayton, OH  45414 (map)

Tickets are on sale now through DP’s Online Box Office, or via phone at (937) 424-8477

For more information about The Dayton Playhouse visit http://www.daytonplayhouse.org/

Photo Highlights of 2010 FutureFest

[yframe url=’http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zkr156COQwE’]

[yframe url=’http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w6prD48dheE’]

The Future(Fest) is Here

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FutureFest '09 - CARVE - The Dayton PlayhouseFutureFest 2010

THE DAYTON PLAYHOUSE

One of the biggest theatre weekends of the year is about to descend upon the Dayton-region, and 2010 marks an important milestone.  FutureFest, the annual new works festival at The Dayton Playhouse is celebrating it’s twentieth year and festival organizers can’t be more excited!

Every year writers from across the country, and from several other countries as well, submit their previously unproduced scripts for consideration.  This year over 390 new works  were submitted in hopes of being one of the famed “top six” to be presented at FutureFest 2010 from July 23rd to the 25th.
FutureFest 2009 - AdjudicationFor those who are new to FutureFest, it’s almost an unbelievable experience.  In one weekend the Dayton Playhouse mounts six different productions.  Each with a different director, cast, scenery, and technical aspects.  Following each show a panel of professional theatre folk, flown in from across the country, take to the stage with the author, director, and cast to adjudicate the show right in front of the audience.  They give the author feedback about their script and direct them in ways to make improvements that will get them closer to being published.
Several scripts from the Dayton Playhouse’s FutureFest have made it on to be published.
One has even appeared on Broadway and is now being made into a movie starring Jake Gyllenhall.
This year’s FutureFest productions are:
  • An Uncommon Language by Evan Guilford-Blake
  • Dancing Backwards by John Fiorillo
  • How It Works by Cary Pepper
  • The Judicial Murder of Mrs. Surratt by Rich Amada
  • Refuge by Marc Kornblatt
  • Short Story Long by Joel Fishbane
(synopsis for each play can be found at the end of this article)
Tickets are still available for this weekends FutureFest and may be purchased by calling the Dayton Playhouse Box Office at 937-424-8477 or online at daytonplayhouse.org.

Peter Filichia - A Personal History of the American Theater

Peter Filichia

A Personal History of the American Theatre

by Peter Filichia at THE DAYTON PLAYHOUSE

So, what’s it like to be a theater critic? Is it really fun to attend the theater night after night after night after night? Ask Peter Filichia, who has been attending theater consistently for the last half-century and has been a reviewer for more than half that time.

Filichia has seen theater in 42 states and 14 foreign countries and has managed to see as many as 365 stage shows in a single year. He will, God willing, soon see his 10,000th stage show.

One of those was Spaulding Gray’s one-man show, A PERSONAL HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN THEATER. Gray simply sat at a table and held a bunch of oversized index cards. He pulled out a card at random and would tell a story based on the title of the show printed on that card.

Gray died in 2004. Filichia reasoned that the show should not go with him – but should go on. And so, he’s created his own version of A PERSONAL HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN THEATER. He’s got quite a few index cards from which to choose.

Each performance of A PERSONAL HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN THEATER is, of course, different. An audience might hear about Filichia’s adventures with a nice celebrity (Jerry Orbach), a not-so-nice one (Mary Tyler Moore), or one who turned out to be a little sneaky (Steve Allen). What’s it like to face Ben Vereen shortly after you’ve written a negative review about his performance? How did Filichia feel after he put his foot in his mouth when dealing with James Earl Jones?

There are stories about memorable audience members, ranging from Richard Rodgers’ daughter Mary to the black man and old white woman who buttressed Filichia at The Wiz. Filichia also goes back to when he began theatergoing as a teen, and how many a play changed his life, be it as serious as A Raisin in the Sun or even as frivolous as Damn Yankees. There’s a poignant story about the time Filichia took Yugoslavians to a musical, as well as funny ones involving community theater disasters.

It’s all in the cards – and the story-telling. Filichia has performed A PERSONAL HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN THEATER in points north (New York State), south (Miami), east (Boston), and west (Aspen, Colorado). Because of the very nature of the show, it can be as long or as short as a presenting house demands. Afterwards, Filichia is glad to take questions from the audience.

For more Information & Tickets, visit:

FutureFest (July 23-25) visit http://www.daytonplayhouse.com/ (937) 424-8477 (tickets are availble for each individual play…see below for a synopsis of each play)

A Personal History of the American Theater by Peter Filichia (July 22) visit http://www.daytonplayhouse.com/ (937) 424-8477

Would you like to submit theater news for Dayton Most Metro’s onStageDayton features?  Email Shane & Dave at onStageDayton@gmail.com

FutureFest 2010 Plays

Dancing Backwards – John Fiorillo (Fully Staged) – 8pm Fri. 07/23

This is a story about the choices we make between loyalty and ambition or independence and accepting help.  Victor Belkin, a famous dancer, is worried about his friend Robert, an elderly Yankee widower. He asks Robert to share his home, although his lifestyle and Robert’s couldn’t be more different. Robert rejects Viktor’s offer. He has a secret, as well as a plan to escape. However, the situation gets out of hand as it turns from amusing to life threatening.

How It Works – Cary Pepper (Staged Reading) – 10am Sat. 07/24

HOW IT WORKS explores the issues of success, power, fame, recognition, compromise, integrity and personal satisfaction in the world of art.  How do you handle The Struggle? How do you maintain personal integrity as a person and an artist? What happens when you’re given one of the most prestigious awards in the world, but you yearn for a “smaller” award the public knows nothing about?

An Uncommon Language – Evan Guilford-Blake (Staged Reading) – 3pm Sat. 07/24

An Uncommon Language examines the repression of women and the nature of madness. Set in England in 1906, the play explores the life of HÉLOISE LACASSE, an untrained but passionate and talented sculptor, who chooses to subjugate her prowess to benefit JOHN BATISTE, her lover, the self-described enfant terrible of English sculpture.  Silently, she crafts heads for his statuary. Héloise has a history of free-spirited behavior, which, ultimately, John interprets as madness and has her institutionalized — where she is forbidden access to her sculpture.

Refuge – Marc Kornblatt (Fully Staged) – 8pm Sat. 07/24

Two men meet on a secluded boardwalk along a marsh in a bird sanctuary in the Midwest.  Jim brings a notepad and a gun.  Laz brings a pile of pills and a six-pack of beer.  By the end of their first encounter, the pills are consumed and the gun goes off.  Both men live.  Jim and Laz meet again and again in the same place to argue, cajole, circle and embrace in a somber and funny dance of death that also draws Jim’s burdened wife and Laz’s yearning girlfriend to the marsh to find refuge and renewal.

The Judicial Murder of Mrs. Surratt – Rich Amada (Staged Reading) – 10am Sun. 07/25

Based on true events, the play follows the story of Mary Surratt, the first woman judicially executed by the U.S. government.  It was Mrs. Surratt’s boardinghouse where John Wilkes Booth and others are said to have plotted the assassination of President Lincoln.  By charging her, the government hoped to flush out her fugitive son, an alleged key conspirator.  On trial, Mrs. Surratt faced the gallows in what was 19th Century America’s trial of the century.

Short Story Long – Joel Fishbane (Fully Staged) – 3pm Sun. 07/25

After famed author Lincoln Kennedy dies, he bequeaths his money to his wife and his writing to his former girlfriend.  His wife, Julianne, refuses to obey her husband’s wishes until she can determine the reasons behind them.  Amalthea is equally confused, she has not seen Lincoln in years.  Together, the women work to unravel the mystery, slowly forging a tentative peace that is threatened once Lincoln’s true motivations are finally revealed.