August Mergelman's full-length comedy A Midsummer Night's Western will be performed this weekend and next by the Jr. Woodland Players, a children's theatre run by Teri McClintock. This is a smart, funny play that combines Shakespeare, cowboy poetry and Native American folklore.
All performances are at the Woodland Park High School, 151 N. Baldwin St., Woodland Park. Show times are:
7pm, Saturday, July 26
2pm, Sunday, July 27
7pm, Saturday, August 2
2pm, Saturday, August 3
Tickets are just $8 for adults, $5 for seniors and students.
Let's all turn out and support August and Teri and the wonderful work that the Jr. Woodland Players are doing.
I'll be driving up on Sunday, August 3. If you'd like to ride along, send me an email.
Wednesday, July 23, 2014
Wednesday, July 16, 2014
Audition opp
Auditions for Craft Production Resource's evening of short plays, Our Shorts Are Showing 2, will be held 1pm-4pm this Saturday, July 19 at the Cottonwood Center for the Arts, 427 E. Colorado Ave. The show runs Oct 23-26 and includes plays written by Sue Bachman, Charlie Ammen, Jess Weaver, Phil Ginsburg and myself.
To reserve your audition time, message Jess on Facebook (her Facebook handle is a very Boston-y "Jess Weavah").
To reserve your audition time, message Jess on Facebook (her Facebook handle is a very Boston-y "Jess Weavah").
Tuesday, July 15, 2014
Bursting at the seams
It's a nice problem to have. Since our move to the TheatreWorks building in March, word has gotten out about our amiable group and we've been blessed with all sorts of new people joining us.
Last night was no exception. We had 25 people show up, and were lucky enough to add actor Jenny Maloney of Springs Ensemble Theatre and writer/actor Anne Krill, a long-time acting teacher from San Diego, to our growing family (Anne told me Annette Bening and Brian Stokes Mitchell were two of her students.)
We also had a great big bunch of plays: 7 this time, which we got through in just over 2 1/2 hours.
We opened with the beginning of Deirdre Gilbert's intriguing dystopian comedy, By Hook or By Crook, By Book or By Nook. In it, she shows us a future world in which all books but the electronic Nook is banned by the government. Deirdre made the bold choice of having the dead-tree books portrayed by actors. Deirdre is considering changing the title to the metric equivalent of Fahrenheit 451. How does Celsius 233 sound?
After that, we read the hilarious comedy Expectations by Grant Swenson. This short play centered around a jerky guy being visited by the women of his past. This premise has been explored in film before, but the witty dialogue ("I couldn't handle the drama and I was a theatre student!") made this feel fresh, with Grant making effective use of oblique dialogue. The audience especially loved the sharply-drawn contrasts among the characters.
Next up was a new scene from August Mergelman's Dracula adaptation The Count. In this version, Van Helsing is a woman--an interesting choice brought humorously to life by Ashley Crockett. Although August maintained the verse form that is his signature (iambic heptameter, for you poetry geeks), it was much less noticeable here. August said that his composing partner may not want to continue with this project, so August will probably make this a straight play.
We followed that with four vignettes from Sue Bachman's heartwarming play about a mother and daughter in the 1950's, tentatively titled Mother Hunger. Sue did a great job balancing the mother's inner warmth with a tough outer shell, avoiding the syrupiness that often weakens works like this. And kudos to Sallie Walker for capturing both sides of this fascinating woman. The audience enjoyed the good-natured rivalry between Missy and her mischievous little brother--a new addition this month--and hopes to see more of the boy
After that we read a short comedy by Jeff Schmoyer titled Bubble Boy Dates, about a smart alecky "bubble boy" who ventures forth in his protective suit to find a date, including one girl who has an aversion to being touched (making her the "perfect woman" for him). People liked the ambiguity regarding his last "date", as it wasn't clear whether the girl really was from Alpha Centauri or had only been told that by her parents. Lots of laughs in this one.
Next came a couple more scenes from Tim Phillip's Prohibition-era romance Notes From the Heart. I'm not going out on a limb here to say that the scene between Tracy Hunziker's society matron Abigail and Roy Kieffer's piano player Paul was the steamiest one we ever had ("Did someone turn the heat up?" Charlie Ammen wondered.) The discussion itself also got a little hot. Some audience members argued that Abigail should be given a big explosive moment with her husband over the abortion he forced her to have, while others said that, considering the times, it should be handled more delicately.
We finished up with the beginning of my new museum farce I Want My Mummy (I promise I'll change the title to something more original). We were introduced to all of the characters, including the meek security guard, two stupid robbers, a hard-driving newspaper reporter and three teenage filmmakers. Ashley Crockett did an especially commendable job bringing out the wackiness of the Egyptian priestess Pei-Nin-Dah-Nekh. I also got some great suggestions for plot twists which I'm now considering.
Our next meeting is Monday, August 11. See you all then!
Last night was no exception. We had 25 people show up, and were lucky enough to add actor Jenny Maloney of Springs Ensemble Theatre and writer/actor Anne Krill, a long-time acting teacher from San Diego, to our growing family (Anne told me Annette Bening and Brian Stokes Mitchell were two of her students.)
We also had a great big bunch of plays: 7 this time, which we got through in just over 2 1/2 hours.
We opened with the beginning of Deirdre Gilbert's intriguing dystopian comedy, By Hook or By Crook, By Book or By Nook. In it, she shows us a future world in which all books but the electronic Nook is banned by the government. Deirdre made the bold choice of having the dead-tree books portrayed by actors. Deirdre is considering changing the title to the metric equivalent of Fahrenheit 451. How does Celsius 233 sound?
After that, we read the hilarious comedy Expectations by Grant Swenson. This short play centered around a jerky guy being visited by the women of his past. This premise has been explored in film before, but the witty dialogue ("I couldn't handle the drama and I was a theatre student!") made this feel fresh, with Grant making effective use of oblique dialogue. The audience especially loved the sharply-drawn contrasts among the characters.
Next up was a new scene from August Mergelman's Dracula adaptation The Count. In this version, Van Helsing is a woman--an interesting choice brought humorously to life by Ashley Crockett. Although August maintained the verse form that is his signature (iambic heptameter, for you poetry geeks), it was much less noticeable here. August said that his composing partner may not want to continue with this project, so August will probably make this a straight play.
We followed that with four vignettes from Sue Bachman's heartwarming play about a mother and daughter in the 1950's, tentatively titled Mother Hunger. Sue did a great job balancing the mother's inner warmth with a tough outer shell, avoiding the syrupiness that often weakens works like this. And kudos to Sallie Walker for capturing both sides of this fascinating woman. The audience enjoyed the good-natured rivalry between Missy and her mischievous little brother--a new addition this month--and hopes to see more of the boy
After that we read a short comedy by Jeff Schmoyer titled Bubble Boy Dates, about a smart alecky "bubble boy" who ventures forth in his protective suit to find a date, including one girl who has an aversion to being touched (making her the "perfect woman" for him). People liked the ambiguity regarding his last "date", as it wasn't clear whether the girl really was from Alpha Centauri or had only been told that by her parents. Lots of laughs in this one.
Next came a couple more scenes from Tim Phillip's Prohibition-era romance Notes From the Heart. I'm not going out on a limb here to say that the scene between Tracy Hunziker's society matron Abigail and Roy Kieffer's piano player Paul was the steamiest one we ever had ("Did someone turn the heat up?" Charlie Ammen wondered.) The discussion itself also got a little hot. Some audience members argued that Abigail should be given a big explosive moment with her husband over the abortion he forced her to have, while others said that, considering the times, it should be handled more delicately.
We finished up with the beginning of my new museum farce I Want My Mummy (I promise I'll change the title to something more original). We were introduced to all of the characters, including the meek security guard, two stupid robbers, a hard-driving newspaper reporter and three teenage filmmakers. Ashley Crockett did an especially commendable job bringing out the wackiness of the Egyptian priestess Pei-Nin-Dah-Nekh. I also got some great suggestions for plot twists which I'm now considering.
Our next meeting is Monday, August 11. See you all then!
Tuesday, June 10, 2014
Eight is just right
Wow. That's the only word to describe last night's meeting. We had 23 attendees--the most we've had since last June--welcomed one new writer and two new actors and read 8 plays. And yet, we still got done around 9:30pm. The discussion was lively and constructive and did not run overlong for any of the plays.
We opened with Bell, Book and Kindle by our newest writer Deirdre Gilbert. This short comedy centered around an older woman dealing with the trauma of replacing her beloved book collection with a Kindle given to her by her devoted husband. It's a clever idea that was charmingly executed in this little nugget of a play.
After that we read the finale of my restaurant comedy, Million Dollar Meatballs, in which the stolen diamonds are discovered and the bungling thieves get what's coming to them. There was a lot of discussion about the huge number of stage directions. I felt they were needed because the play is a farce with tons of physical comedy, but some of the actors felt they got in the way of the reading, making it impossible to tell if the dialogue worked on its own.
That was followed by Sue Bachman's short slice-of-life dramedy, Giving Her the Raspberries. The play was based on an old memory of Sue's in which a young girl (Sue?) ran away from home after being scolded by her mother. The audience felt this play presented a beautiful picture of a mother's love and thought that Sue nailed the childlike cadences of a 2-year-old's speech. Jess Weaver did a wonderful job capturing the innocence of the child.
Next up was the beginning of August Mergelman's adaptation of the Dracula story, The Count. The play featured August's famous rhyming couplets, which resulted in some sing-songy presentations, but August informed the actors that the rhyme scheme should be ignored during delivery. The audience was torn about the heavy use of narration, but everyone seemed to like the creepy mood that was set.
We then read a couple scenes from Tim Phillip's romantic drama Abigail Finds Love. Here Abigail knocks out her domineering husband so she could meet the young piano player Paul. The audience as intrigued by this developing relationship and were really looking forward to seeing where it goes next.
We followed that with the finale of Grant Swenson's Oz-reboot, And Your Little Dog, Too. The story wound up satisfactorily, maintaining the playful spirit that has been the script's biggest strength since the beginning. People also liked that rather than staying home, Dorothy and Toto were ready to go out on more adventures at the end.
After that we read a rewrite of a scene from Jess Weaver's sex dramedy Just a Game. It got a ton of laughs, especially during an explicit scene at the breakfast table. The consensus was that the dialgoue was sharp and the characters were all very well-drawn.
We finished up with Grant Swenson's 1-minute comedy Sampled, in which two fathers reflect on life as their children whack away at a pinata. The idea was fresh, and the twist at teh end got a big laugh form the assembled throng. The problem? 1-minute plays are so short, it's hard to find anything to discuss.
Our two new actors were welcome additions. David Olson excelled in roles ranging from a hard-nosed cop to Dracula himself. And Megan Rieger brought a sassy spunk to her portrayals.
We'll be getting back together on Monday, July 14. See you then!
We opened with Bell, Book and Kindle by our newest writer Deirdre Gilbert. This short comedy centered around an older woman dealing with the trauma of replacing her beloved book collection with a Kindle given to her by her devoted husband. It's a clever idea that was charmingly executed in this little nugget of a play.
After that we read the finale of my restaurant comedy, Million Dollar Meatballs, in which the stolen diamonds are discovered and the bungling thieves get what's coming to them. There was a lot of discussion about the huge number of stage directions. I felt they were needed because the play is a farce with tons of physical comedy, but some of the actors felt they got in the way of the reading, making it impossible to tell if the dialogue worked on its own.
That was followed by Sue Bachman's short slice-of-life dramedy, Giving Her the Raspberries. The play was based on an old memory of Sue's in which a young girl (Sue?) ran away from home after being scolded by her mother. The audience felt this play presented a beautiful picture of a mother's love and thought that Sue nailed the childlike cadences of a 2-year-old's speech. Jess Weaver did a wonderful job capturing the innocence of the child.
Next up was the beginning of August Mergelman's adaptation of the Dracula story, The Count. The play featured August's famous rhyming couplets, which resulted in some sing-songy presentations, but August informed the actors that the rhyme scheme should be ignored during delivery. The audience was torn about the heavy use of narration, but everyone seemed to like the creepy mood that was set.
We then read a couple scenes from Tim Phillip's romantic drama Abigail Finds Love. Here Abigail knocks out her domineering husband so she could meet the young piano player Paul. The audience as intrigued by this developing relationship and were really looking forward to seeing where it goes next.
We followed that with the finale of Grant Swenson's Oz-reboot, And Your Little Dog, Too. The story wound up satisfactorily, maintaining the playful spirit that has been the script's biggest strength since the beginning. People also liked that rather than staying home, Dorothy and Toto were ready to go out on more adventures at the end.
After that we read a rewrite of a scene from Jess Weaver's sex dramedy Just a Game. It got a ton of laughs, especially during an explicit scene at the breakfast table. The consensus was that the dialgoue was sharp and the characters were all very well-drawn.
We finished up with Grant Swenson's 1-minute comedy Sampled, in which two fathers reflect on life as their children whack away at a pinata. The idea was fresh, and the twist at teh end got a big laugh form the assembled throng. The problem? 1-minute plays are so short, it's hard to find anything to discuss.
Our two new actors were welcome additions. David Olson excelled in roles ranging from a hard-nosed cop to Dracula himself. And Megan Rieger brought a sassy spunk to her portrayals.
We'll be getting back together on Monday, July 14. See you then!
Tuesday, June 3, 2014
Free preview of THE GOAT
The good people at Springs Ensemble Theatre are offering all Drama Lab members a killer deal: a free ticket to the preview of Edward Albee's The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia?
Not sure if you're a Drama Lab member? Let's put it this way: if you've ever attended one of our meetings, you are!
Edward Albee is one of the great American playwrights, best known for his 1962 drama Who's Afraid of Virgina Woolf? The Goat is one of his more recent works, having premiered in 2002. An unflinching exploration of contemporary social taboos, this Pultizer-nominated, Tony-winning drama is about an architect whose marriage crumbles after he falls in love with--you guessed it--a goat.
The preview is at 7:30pm on Wednesday, June 11. To reserve your seat, call the box office at 719-357-3080 and tell them you're with the Drama Lab. Only 25 seats are being held for us, so you'll have to act fast.
Tuesday, May 13, 2014
Springtime in the Rockies
I don't know if the surprise spring snowstorm kept people at home, but last night we had just 11 people attend. Still, it was an extremely productive meeting. We read five plays, had some of our deepest, most passionate discussions yet, and put away a boatload of cookies.
We started with a 10-minute play from Barbara Summerville titled Auntie Verna. This touching drama vividly portrayed the troubled relationship between a hard-nosed older woman and her niece, a frustrated actress.
Next we read the opening of Tim Phillips' new romantic drama, Abigail Finds Love. The play is set in 1920's Chicago, and the audience loved how it evoked this setting through both action and dialogue. Tim told me that the play is based on the Biblical story of David and Abigail, but this is handled so subtly you'd never guess.
We followed this with four more scenes from my restaurant farce Million Dollar Meatballs. Here the bumbling jewel thieves figure out where the diamonds are hiding. Fortunately, most of the gags seemed to hit their mark.
After that we read a new scene from Jess Weaver's meaty drama Just a Game. Buck Buchanan was hilarious as a touchy-feely therapist trying to bring peace to the married couple at the heart of the piece. Some fairly raw emotions were on display, and Karann Goettsch made the most of a monologue in which her character rails against the husband for breaking the bizarre rules of their sex game.
We wound up with a rewrite of Charlie Ammen's short relationship drama Then and Now. This play melds two separate plays Charlie brought previously, and the audience loved how the two scenes worked together to deepen the other. Roy Kieffer was especially moving in a final monologue that took place at his late friend's grave.
See you all on June 9. And I promise that next time, we won't have any snow.
We started with a 10-minute play from Barbara Summerville titled Auntie Verna. This touching drama vividly portrayed the troubled relationship between a hard-nosed older woman and her niece, a frustrated actress.
Next we read the opening of Tim Phillips' new romantic drama, Abigail Finds Love. The play is set in 1920's Chicago, and the audience loved how it evoked this setting through both action and dialogue. Tim told me that the play is based on the Biblical story of David and Abigail, but this is handled so subtly you'd never guess.
We followed this with four more scenes from my restaurant farce Million Dollar Meatballs. Here the bumbling jewel thieves figure out where the diamonds are hiding. Fortunately, most of the gags seemed to hit their mark.
After that we read a new scene from Jess Weaver's meaty drama Just a Game. Buck Buchanan was hilarious as a touchy-feely therapist trying to bring peace to the married couple at the heart of the piece. Some fairly raw emotions were on display, and Karann Goettsch made the most of a monologue in which her character rails against the husband for breaking the bizarre rules of their sex game.
We wound up with a rewrite of Charlie Ammen's short relationship drama Then and Now. This play melds two separate plays Charlie brought previously, and the audience loved how the two scenes worked together to deepen the other. Roy Kieffer was especially moving in a final monologue that took place at his late friend's grave.
See you all on June 9. And I promise that next time, we won't have any snow.
Tuesday, April 15, 2014
An untaxing evening
It seems that everyone got their taxes done early, because we had an excellent turn-out last night, the night before tax day. Seventeen people showed up and it was an especially rambunctious bunch. We read five plays, ate lots of cookies, and witnessed some of the most moving performances we've seen all year.
We opened with the climactic scene from Grant Swenson's take on The Wizard of Oz, titled And Your Little Dog, Too. The pacing was excellent, keeping the action moving swiftly from the heroes' entrance into the castle to the final demise of the Green One.
Next came the finale of Tim Phillips' teenage relationship drama, Never Said. The interplay among Seth's three spiritual guides--Eros, Loki and Saint Augustine--was lively and fun, though some people felt there should have been more of a blow-up between Seth and the girl that he loves.
After that we read a couple of scenes from my restaurant farce Million Dollar Meatballs, which I'd first brought to the group two years ago. Several people wondered why the owner kept her addition of the ketchup secret and gave me some excellent suggestions for providing a stronger rationale.
Next up was a rewrite of the last two scenes from Sue Bachman's family drama Torn. The dialogue was very realistic and bristled with conflict. Roy Kieffer gave an electrifying performance as the troubled alcoholic, and much of the discussion centered around how to provide a stronger motivation for his seeking treatment at the end.
We finished up with Jess Weaver's 10-minute drama, If Stars Should Change, about an elderly couple reminiscing on their front porch. Jess had entered it in the Six Women Playwriting Festival but did not win, and the feedback she received suggested that the play may be too static and predictable. The group last night disagreed wholeheartedly, saying that they didn't see the twist coming and some of the attendees said they were brought near tears by it.
Our next meeting is Monday, May 12. See you then!
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