Thursday, March 8th, Jenni Mundy and I had our "She Speaks" event, celebrating International Women's Day. It took place at The Registry Theatre, a lovely 160 seat theatre.
The turnout wasn't what we had hoped, but the people that were there, could not have been better.
We presented seven pieces in various stages of production. They were all written by women. Some were short plays, complete. Some, were pieces that will grow into maybe a one-act, or a full length play, but are yet to be written. Others were scenes or fragments from full length plays. All rough. All new. All unproduced. We had fourteen actors involved, some reading several roles. It was wonderful, as always, to see the actors push themselves, but wonderful also, to see the playwrights to direct. I challenged the playwrights to stage their reading the way they wanted. The only thing I asked was the scripts remained in hands. I told the actors, even if you learn your lines, hold the script. Without the script, expectations become too high for this kind of event. So there were props and costumes and some blocking.
After the plays, there was a talk-back session with five of the playwrights present, and the other two, having someone sit for them. Although the audience didn't ask a lot of questions, I may have scared them with my 'rules', the playwrights were thrust into a lively discussion about process, and what the reading did for them.
The audience were very enthusiastic. There were some quintessential local theatre people in the audience, so good for playwrights and actors. And the comment I think I heard most was, when are you going to do this again? Seems, like me, the audience likes all stages of the process. The talkback was good, but I might have frightened some people out of asking anything with my 'guidelines', so it turned more into a playwright's discussion, which was very interesting.
It was a blast working with Jenni, by the way, the most gracious trip I've ever witnessed, and the entire thing was loads of fun. Theatre people who attended where handing out business cards to actors, and I was approached by a director to see the remainder of my play, so the net-working was great.
Here is a line-up of the show.
Brianna's Quest (Act 1, Scenes I & II)
by Shirley Barrie
performed by Arlene Thomas, Kristopher Bowman, Nicholas Cumming and Tracey Kenyon
Are women the gentler sex? The spirit of a Viking warrior is trapped in the body of a struggling actress who gets a job impersonating a futuristic computer game heroine.
Color Me Fuchsia (fragments)
by Lea Daniel
performed by Shelah Ranalli & Paddy Gillard-Bentley
To stay or to go - images of obsession.
Down Memory Lane
by Francine Dick
performed by Shirley Barrie & Carol Lewis
An innocent gift and a woman confronts a dark secret from her past.
Opaque ( Act: I Scene: I)
by Paddy Gillard-Bentley
performed by Arlene Thomas, David Antscherl & Carol Lewis
Coping with life badly.
The Sun is a Neon Sign (Act: I Scene: III)
by Grace Kary
directed by Jascha Narveson
performed by Gary Kirkham & Paddy Gillard-Bentley
A great poet, Federico Garcia Lorca, and a great city, New York, share a breakdown on their first date.
The Death of Suzie Lau
by Tamara Knezic
performed by Lindsay Stewart & Bruce Wolff
Two ordinary guys struggling with everyday sacrifices.
On the Edge
by Jenni Mundy
performed by Carolina Miranda & Kristopher Bowman
How well do two people really know each other?
Paddy Gillard-Bentley
