Upcoming Plays

Upcoming plays for November:

At the Hartford Stage, Shakespeare’s “Anthony and Cleopatra” featuring Kate Mulgrew and John Douglas Thompson currently runs through November 6th.

At the Majestic Theater, West Springfield, Massachusetts, “Escanaba in Love” by Jeff Daniels runs October 29th through December 5th.

The Merrimack Repertory Theatre presents the east coast premiere of “Four Places” by Joel Drake Johnson through November 7th.

“This honest, compassionate and profound drama evokes the most familiar and heartfelt aspects of family relations. Two middle-aged siblings take their mother out to lunch where the conversation turns from routine banter to life-changing revelation. The indelible characters are both marvelously funny and devastatingly human as they lead one another to a place where forgiveness and understanding are tested, but love is still possible. (Contains Adult Language and Suggestive Dialogue).”

The Vermont Actors Repertory Theatre presents “The Savannah Disputation” by Evan Smith November 17th through 20th.

 “The theological back-and-forth shines a light on the combatants’ personalities, so we get a glimpse into, if not the souls, then at least the hearts and minds of four people who are secretly grappling with doubt, fear, loneliness, and regret about paths not taken. Along the way, there are plenty of laughs…In other words, faith is a complicated business-and even sometimes, as DISPUTATION shows, a funny business, too.” -Boston Globe “Smith’s script is, above all else, VERY funny; it’s comedy rooted in situation and character in the best way…blissfully entertaining. But at the same time, Smith never shies from the important subjects at the heart of his play…This is a play filled with heady and fascinating theological and philosophical debate.” -NYTheatre.com”

At the Huntington Theater in Boston, The Shirley, Vermont Plays presents “Circle Mirror Transformation” by Annie Baker, directed by Melia Bensussen, through November 14th.

Vermont Actors' Repertory Theatre Play Writing Contest

The Vermont Actors’ Repertory Theatre are now opening their “Fifth Annual Nor’Eastern Play Writing Contest”.

Sponsored by the Killington/Rutland Holiday Inn,

“This is the fifth year of world premiere staged One-Act Play performances to be presented in the Brick Box at the beautiful Paramount Theatre in downtown Rutland, Vermont. The Vermont Actors’ Repertory Theatre in its exciting fifth season is again presenting the Nor’Eastern Play Writing Contest with showcase productions of the three winning scripts on May 06 and 07, 2011. This contest features the work of three outstanding regional playwrights. Each script goes through a rigorous screening process of two panels in a blind reading. The scripts with the highest scores are submitted to the final reader who selects the three scripts to be showcased.”

Entry information is available at www.actorsrepvt.org or can be requested by writing to:

The Nor’Eastern Play Writing Contest
Vermont Actors’ Repertory Theatre
PO Box 580
Rutland, Vermont 05702

Or by emailing at:   actorsrepvt@aol.com

Nor'eastern Playwrights' Showcase - Vermont ART

Last week I was privileged to take part in the Nor’eastern Playwrights’ Showcase at the Vermont Actors’ Repertory Theatre in Rutland, Vermont. As any playwright can tell you, work-shopping a script directly with the input of the director and actors is an enormously beneficial and inspiring experience. We writers have a tendency to hole ourselves up in our caves too much. The creative and emotional stimulation of an experience like this is enough to make an introvert like me weep with the relief of an exile suddenly stumbling upon her lost tribe.

The intensive rehearsals were held Thursday and Friday, and the show was put on at the Paramount Theatre Brick Box in Rutland on Friday and Saturday. Along with my one-act play, “In Memory of Trixie Gazelle”, two other one-act plays were produced. These were “The Bad Habit” (soon to be published by Original Works Publishing) by Constance Humphrey Egan, and “The Revision” by Alan L. Steinberg. I was very impressed by the other two plays and so was the audience.

I’d like to thank ART’s producing directors for this opportunity: Ilene Blackman, Sandra Gartner, and Peter Marsh, and especially the director of my play, Bonnie Pritchard, whose insight was very important and truly helpful to me.

I’d like to acknowledge the cast, who were so kind, and so terrifically funny: Winnie Denis, Wheaton Squier, John Papais, Sandy Gartner, Tom Smith, and Laura Steere.

The Holiday Inn Rutland/Killington provided complimentary accommodations for the out-of-town playwrights, and many thanks to the staff and management for their support of the Vermont Actors' Repertory Theatre.

Thanks also to the audience, not only for their warm reception and their participation in the question-and-answer part of the evening, but just for risking a dime on something new and unknown. That’s a pretty brave thing these days.

If you happen to stumble upon an ad for some new play, musical, or one-acts at a theater, or community center, or barn in your hometown this summer, you might want to take a chance on something new and unknown, too. You and me, we need to climb out of our comfort zones once in a while. You never know. You might find your lost tribe.