Drying out

After the torrential rains and horrific flooding of the last two weeks, it was nice to get together last night and remind ourselves why we're put on this earth: to make great theatre.

We had a healthy turnout. At least everyone looked pretty fit. There were 21 attendees, including one new writer, two actors who officially joined (a mother and teenage daughter--our youngest member yet!) and two more actors who were just trying us out.

We opened the evening with the beginning of Jess Weaver's new memory play Georgie's on my Mind. The play is about a troubled young woman who befriends an elderly stroke victim. Everyone loved how the transitions back to the past were handled, with the nursing home staff ripping off their scrubs to reveal the spangly costumes of their long-ago soul-singing counterparts underneath.

We followed that with the beginning of our newest writer Grant Swenson's full-length comedy And Your Little Dog Too. It's an adaptation of The Wizard of Oz from Toto's viewpoint, only in this version, Toto is a laid-back beatnik-type. It had a lot of humor, and the bickering between the two munchkins was particularly humorous.

Next up was the 2nd half of Tim Phillips' one-act teenage relationship drama Never Said. The characters were again well-drawn, but the consensus was that the resolution was too ambiguous. It wasn't clear why Seth never pursued the girl he loved or whether he loved her at all.

We wrapped up with a rewrite from the middle section of my cocktail party farce Butterfly Effect. I dump some good stuff to make the story work. Unfortunately, the result was overly talky and unfunny. Ashley Crockett was particularly adamant that she wants to see more frantic behavior and physical comedy throughout.

The renovations at the MAT won't be done in time for our next meeting, so we'll be getting together one last time at Black Box Theatre. We'll be back on our regular schedule, with the meeting falling on Monday, October 14. See you then!

Sitting around the campfire

The MAT's new theatre is undergoing renovations, so this month we met at our old stomping grounds on Pecan Street, now occupied by Nancy Holaday's Black Box Theatre. Since she's deep in rehearsals for Kill the Critic!, we had to meet in the backroom, kind of like when we first started out.

I didn't know how many people were coming or how many chairs Nancy had, so I brought over some old camp chairs from my garage. It's a good thing I did, as we ended up using all of them. Too bad I didn't think to bring marshmallows.

We had 16 attendees, including one new actor (Emmy McAllister) and one potential writer (Grant Swenson) who were trying us out. We drafted Grant into a couple of plays as an actor, and even cast his adorable little daughter Zoe in one. I sure hope she had no clue what the plays were about. She certainly didn't seem fazed by all the F-bombs.

We opened the evening with the finale of Jess Weaver's suicide drama A Pact for Stray Cat. We had a particularly meaty discussion about this one. Although the ending was powerful, everyone thought it was less ambiguous than Jess intended. I really liked her continued use of the documentary narrator, which provides a pointed contrast to the action on stage. Also of note was Roy Kieffer's scary performance as the manipulative Doc. I hope we get to see him in a real production some time.

Next up was Sue Bachman's 10-minute play, Torn. This one centers around a dysfunctional family on vacation in Mexico. The mother was nicely drawn, serving as the calm eye of the family storm, but there was some debate over whether the widowed daughter should be so bitter. Other people suggested that the play might work better as a longer piece, maybe even a full length.

After that we read the next part of my cocktail party farce Butterfly Effect. Mary Sprunger-Froese and Roy really got into the spirit of the piece as the increasingly frantic host and hostess. I was concerned that some of the disasters might be difficult to produce, but the audience said I should keep them. A good director will find a way to stage them.

We finished the evening with the first half of Tim Phillip's one-act drama Never Said, about a lovestruck teenage girl and the boy who wants to keep their friendship platonic. This piece has some really nice characterizations. It will be interesting to see how it wraps up.

The renovations at the MAT continue through September so we'll be meeting once more at Black Box. And in order to get the theatre space, I'm moving it to the third Monday of the month, September 16.

See you then!

Cooler climes

It was a near unanimous vote. Given the choice between the non-air-conditioned theatre in the Millibo Art Theatre's new building, or the cluttered but naturally cool basement, nearly everyone opted for comfort.

And the space worked great. The sound was good, and we got to break in the MAT's newly-delivered folding chairs.

The meeting went amazingly well. We had 19 attendees, including two new actors and one new writer. The actors included Berry Huffman, who played the sorely-abused critic in my recent production of Kill the Critic!, and Sallie Walker, who I'm sure everyone already knows from her appearances with the MAT and Springs Ensemble Theatre.

The new writer was the gifted Hannah Rockey, who has participated before as an actor. It was great to see what she could do with a pen.

It was also great to have Craig Engle back after his long sojourn to the Sunshine State.

We read four plays. We opened with the finale of Tim Phillips' girl-band drama The Decibelles. Ashley Crockett got fully into the spirit of the play, sprawling drunkenly on the floor to open these last scenes. Tim was concerned that the ending of the play may have wrapped things up too neatly. The consensus was that punk music itself is raw and messy, so any story about that world should leave its threads dangling.

We followed that with the latest scenes from Jess Weaver's family drama A Pact for a Stray Cat. Here we saw a new conflict erupt between the teenage Cat and her mother, and Roy Kieffer held the audience spellbound with an incredibly moving monologue in which his character Doc told the story of his abusive childhood.

After that came Hannah Rockey's family drama Ma. Hannah admitted she broke just about every rule of playwriting in this short, 3-scene play, but it worked. From its comical opening on a jetliner to its explosive resolution several years later in a living room, the play gave an insightful peek into the troubled relationship between a woman and her aging mother, who may or may not be suffering from dementia.

We wrapped it all up with the final two pieces in my driver's ed comedy You're Driving Me Crazy. They featured a smart alecky girl commenting on her ex-boyfriend's driving skills and a girl who couldn't put her smartphone down long enough to start the car. The humor seemed to work well, but a couple of spots were confusing to people. I'll be sure to fix those up.

Nancy announced that she'd like to produce an evening of short plays similar to the show Craft Production Resources (formerly Craft Theatre) is putting on next month. She'll be keeping an eye out for promising pieces, so if you'd like to have something considered, either bring it to the Drama Lab to be read by our talented actors or give Nancy a hardcopy to read on her own. She's thinking the production will probably take place in December.

Next month, the MAT will be closed for renovations. There's a ton of work to be done, including the installation of a brand spanking new A/C system. Fortunately, Nancy Holaday has graciously offered the use of her Black Box Theatre, which just happens to be the old MAT space. So you'd better not get lost on the way there.

That meeting will be postponed one week to Monday, August 19--a whopping six weeks after our July meeting. I hope all of you will survive the long dry spell.

See you next month!

New digs

Last night was our first meeting at the Millibo Art Theatre's new theatre on S. Tejon and, even though they still have a lot of work to do, I love it already.

The space is much more open and airier, parking is a dream and I really like the quicker pulse of the neighborhood.

There was one drawback, however. Traffic is a lot busier there, and with the windows open, passing trucks and motorcycles often made it difficult to hear the actors. But that should be fixed when the MAT installs the A/C later this summer, which will allow us to close the windows.

The attendance last night was a record-breaking 27, including one new writer and five new actors. I was especially glad to have Debby Brewer join as a regular card-carrying member. She's been attending as an audience member for over a year, but last night she finally decided to come up on stage. She did a great job too, playing quirky parts in a couple of plays. It was also nice to have two younger people join us as actors.

We read six plays. We started out with the finale of Charlie Ammen's redneck comedy Beyond A Doubt. The ambiguous ending felt unsatisfying to some people, but the characters remained charming throughout. Kudos to Roy and Mary for bringing them to hilarious life.

We then enjoyed a special treat as we read Jeff Schmoyer's short play, Snow White - Alternate Ending. This bawdy comedy set the record for the largest cast of any Drama Lab play to date with something like 12 people on stage--and it got a boatload of laughs to boot. Always one of our more insightful audience members, Jeff definitely needs to bring his writing more often.

Next we read the beginning of Jess Weaver's unique drama A Pact for a Stray Cat. Jess said she loves tying media into theatre, and she showed that love last night with her clever use of voiceover. Here a 50's-style educational film narrator seemed to be instructing us on how to approach a stray cat while really commenting on the life of a suicidal teenage girl. Very powerful.

After that we read Sue Bachman's short play The Fractured Tale of Waffle-Ella. This breakfast-themed version of Cinderella set in Fiji was loaded with puns and goofy fun.

We followed that with a section from Tim Phillip's 80's girl band drama The Decibelles. This was actually a rewrite of something he shared earlier, and many people agreed that it reads much tighter and stronger now.

And we wound up with my short play You're Driving Me Crazy. This is actually the second of four high school plays centered on hellish driving experiences. In this one, a doting family insists on tagging along for a teenage girl's first behind-the-wheel class. People seemd to enjoy the characters and the mounting ridiculousness of the situation.

See you all at our next meeting on Monday, July 8!

A night of laughs

We had a great meeting last night with some of the funniest comedies ever read by our group.

We had 17 attendees, including one new actor, Tim's friend John Elwick. Two writers also sat it on the meeting, and promise to come back again with their own stuff next time. These included John Pansini and a recent transplant from Alabama, Jess Weaver.

Sadly, the great Phil Ginsburg was unable to make it, but for a very good reason. He was in rehearsal for Star Bar's production of A Streetcar Named Desire, which opens May 24. I guess we'll let it slide this time. For reservations, email the theatre company at tickets@starbarplayers.org or visit their EventBrite page.

We opened with Sue's rewrite of her original fairy tale, The Great Fire Serpent Tulikaarme. The story is a lot tighter and funnier now, and everyone loved Ashley Crockett's over-the-top portrayal of the crotchety old dragon.

Next we read a guest script with an intriguing backstory. Sue's nephew is in prison in Wisconsin, and he has a friend there named Sean White who's writing a play titled The Meaning of Life, and wants to know if he's on the right track. The work was quite raw, focusing on a physically abusive father and his relationship with his teenage son, but everyone agrees it shows a lot of promise. We recommended that the Sean keep going with it.

After that, we read the newest scene from my cocktail party farce, Butterfly Effect. It didn't get as many laughs as previous scenes, but I was happy with the flow as my protagonist is now taking more control in combating the chain of events threatening to ruin his carefully planned party. There was some disagreement over whether its 90-minute single-act format would work for audiences.

We followed that with the latest scenes from Charlie Ammen's redneck comedy, Beyond a Shadow. His characters are both charming and hilarious, playing against type in the way they genuinely love each other despite their economic challenges. Roy Kieffer and Mary Sprunger-Froese had some wonderful chemistry together. The section ended with the stunning revelation that Roy's character may be the schoolhouse stalker the whole town has been talking about.

Last up was Tim Phillips, who took a break from The Decibelles to bring us his submission to last year's FourPlay contest at the MAT, Kill Disco. The contest required each play to include a waffle iron or coconut and have a theme of "survival of the fittest". Tim's play was a hoot, featuring three dumb punkers out to steal a disco ball. Our newest actor John Elwick proved his comedy chops as one of the punkers.

This was our last meeting at the old MAT location. Next month, we'll be meeting at their new location at 1626 S. Tejon, right across from the Blue Star Restaurant (and, more importantly, Bristol Brewing). The space will be under construction for much of the summer, but Jim and Birgitta promise they'll find room for us. I can't wait to check it out.

And I thanks to Sue and Mary for bringing some delicious homemade cookies.

Drama Lab writers win Rough Writers Play Festival

Yesterday, the Fine Arts Center announced the winners of their first-ever Rough Writers Play Festival, and I take great pride in pointing out that both winners are members of the Drama Lab.

Marisa Hebert's biting family drama Pieces of Him was named the full-length winner and Sue Bachman's tender comedy Disposing of Grandma was the short-play winner. Both works will get a full production at the FAC next year. Read all about it on the FAC blog.

Congratulations, Marisa and Sue! I can't wait to see your works on stage.

Going punk

We had a great meeting last night with 18 attendees, including 1 new actor. Our newbie is Teri McClintock, who runs a children's theatre company in Woodland Park and is looking to get more involved with the local acting community. Teri currently appears in the Six Women Play Festival, which is running at the MAT through April 28. And don't forget to read my review of the show in tomorrow's Indy.

We had a special treat this week as Tim Phillips opened the meeting with some classic punk tunes courtesy of his laptop. In previous readings of his girl band drama The Decibelles, some of the actors said that they didn't know what the music was supposed to sound like, and we were all brought up to speed as the lilting strains of the Ramones, Blondie and the Runaways filled the cozy confines of the theater.

We then launched into the next part of his script, a particularly dramatic scene in which the troubled Natasha pulls a gun on Edie. Tim has been reading a lot of biographies of the punk pioneers and much of the script is based on real-life incidents from their lives.

After that, we read Sue Bachman's delightful short folktale The Great Fire Serpent Tulikaarme, inspired by the imaginative walks she would take with her grandson in the Ivywild neighborhood. Her tale showed a lot of imagination of its own, and more than one person suggested it could be padded out to make a long one-act for youth audiences.

Next up was Phil Ginsburg's play, St. Clair of Corona. This short comedy centered on a cleaning woman who impulsively picks up the phone at a crisis center after the therapists have disappeared. It had some great lines, and seeing how the cleaning woman was able to help everyone was a lot of fun.

We followed that with the first scene of Charlie Ammen's comedy Beyond a Shadow. He originally wrote it with Donna Vessey as a screenplay and is now converting it to a stage play scene-by-scene. Everyone fell in love with the characters, a couple of trailer-dwelling rednecks who, despite their poverty, truly love and support each other.

And we finished up with the next part of my full-length farce Butterfly Effect. In this installment, the titular phenomenon was just beginning to wreak havoc as the snobbish Pembertons tear away from the party only to smash into a tree after Henry is distracted by a wayward canape. I don't know where it's going from here, but I'm having a lot of fun writing it.

Be sure to catch the readings of Sue Bachman's and Marisa Hebert's plays at the Rough Writers play festival this weekend and next. For the complete schedule, visit the FAC web site.

Also Buck Buchanan will be appearing in Forestgate Community Theatre's production of Fiddler on the Roof the next two weekends. He says it's selling out fast, so get your tickets soon.

By the way, Nancy and I lost our critic in our upcoming production of Kill the Critic!, so if you knows anyone who would like to take the title role in a world premiere comedy, send him our way. We promise we won't abuse him too badly.