The O-town Scene - Oneonta, NY
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Orpheus takes new works from the page to the stage The Oneonta theater group’s annual playwright competition seeks to grow playwrights Theater is always pushing the envelope. Sure Shakespeare is still around. So are the Greek comedies and Roman tragedies. But theater is about exploring new concepts and ideas. It’s about getting a theater company out of its element and taking the audience on a journey. And that is what this weekend’s Orpheus Theatre Playwright Project Competition and perfor- mance of last year’s winner, “Lenah,” is all about. “We’ve been here 27 years, and there’s a standard set of things that we do and we do really well and keep plugging away with,” said competition organizer and “Lenah” direc- tor Sarah Lynn Serafin. “But the whole new works thing is a big buzz word, and I kept hearing there were a lot of local playwrights around.” So three years ago Orpheus extended its mission to include “to foster and develop new works” with its now annual Play- wright Project Competition. Each year, between six and 25 never-produced scripts are submitted to Orpheus from all over the country. First place _ a live stage production. Once the submission deadline passes, the scripts are given to a panel of volunteers. While reading the anonymous volumes, each judge gives feedback to the playwright while judg- ing characters, story development and story arc. The field is then narrowed to three fi- nalists, which are read during the festival by live actors in front of an audience, which is open to the public. “We want to put a voice to the work. It’s one thing to read something; it’s another to hear it,” Serafin said. “It helps bring it to life that much more.” PLAY TIMES Orpheus Theatre Playwright Project Competition at Foothills Performing Arts and Civic Cen- ter on Market Street in Oneonta Debut Production “Lenah,” 8 p.m. Friday and 2 p.m. Sunday. Tickets: students/seniors ($10), general admission ($15) Info: 432-9392. 2011 Finalists’ Readings “Up to Their Ears,” by George Freek , noon. “Sally in Futureland,” by George Naylor, 2 p.m. “The Oracle,” by Ellen D’Acquisto, 4 p.m. The winner of this year’s competi- tion will be announced at Sun- day’s performance of “Lenah.” A new panel of judg- es will choose the win- ner based on strength of the previous criteria, production value, au- dience feedback and a willingness to work with the organization to improve the play. “It gives us a good idea if they are willing Cassandra Miller Area actors rehearse a scene at Orpheus Theatre’s rehearsal space from ‘Lenah,’ the winner of last year’s playwrit- ing competition. In the foreground are Adrienne Wise, who plays Lenah, and Tim Shupperd, who plays Lenah’s love interest, Sam Nash. The play will be performed at 8 p.m. Friday and at 2 p.m. Sunday at Foothills Performing Arts and Civic Center in Oneonta. (Wise is an associate managing editor of The Daily Star.) to budge. We’re really looking for plays that they want to develop,” Serafin said. “We’re hoping that the playwrights are willing to work with the producer and workshop it and get the best performance.” The inaugural festival in 2009 consisted of only readings. But in 2010, the weekend-long event extended to include the first stage performance of “Just Kidding” by Scott Icenhower, the competition’s 2009 winner. Last year, Ellen D’Acquisto’s “Lenah” took home the top prize, and Serafin said it has been really fun working with the Arizona-based playwright throughout the year building toward this weekend’s debut. “It’s a real collaborative process, sharing our visions,” she said of communicating with D’Acquisto. “We agree, we dis- agree and we help build each other’s visions.” “Lenah” is the story of the hardships endured by a Jewish woman in Russia around the turn of the 20th century. For Serafin, it has been a challenge. The script boasts numerous locations, a robust cast list and meticulous historical informa- tion. With two Jewish weddings happening onstage, Serafin has had to do lots of research to stay accurate, learning infor- mation like rabbis not being allowed to touch women. “Last year’s winner was a comedy on the verge of farce (which is easier to pull off),” Serafin said. “This year’s winner is heavy. It has its moments. It’s got some really tense mo- ments. It’s got some really nice moments. “One of the judges billed it, ‘Fiddler on the Roof’ meets ‘Kiss Me Kate,’” she said. “It has the drama of ‘Kiss Me Kate’ and the lifestyle of ‘Fiddler.’” This year’s finalists include D’Acquisto, who used to live in the area; George Freek, a prolific, Illinois-based playwright; and George Naylor, a 62-year-old area resident whose play wasn’t even supposed to be in the competition. Serafin said Naylor had submitted his script just to have someone read it and it accidentally got mixed in with the works for the competition. Serafin sees potential for the event to continue to grow in the coming years. “Originally it was about local playwrights, but as we’ve received works from out of town, I don’t see a need to limit it,” she said. “My goal is really to help these people and take their words from the page to the stage.” This year’s competition and festival are dedicated in memory of Norma Hutman. Norma passed away in a house fire recently and was a huge supporter of the arts in the Oneonta Community, especially Orpheus Theatre, and a playwright herself. _ Trevor Hayes March 17, 2011 O-Town Scene 19