Playwrights' Festival Details
We are thrilled to bring 5 fresh new works from local playwrights to our beautiful 67 seat black box theater! Below are the details about each play and its characters. We hope you will plan to attend (you can get the whole weekend for just $50 and only $30 if you are a student!) and encourage you to consider auditioning as well. Audition and show dates are on our Home Page - see you at the Playhouse!
A NEW DAY (A One Act play) by Emma Montieth
Director: Geralyn Kozel Frishman
TALK ABOUT LOVE by Joe Harper
Director: Eugene Celico
ON A WHITE ELEPHANT by Ben Jolivet
Director: Eugene Celico
IMPRESSIONS OF A SUMMER by Elizabeth Kudlacz & Sara Morrison
Director: Lisa Foss
MAGPIE by Laura Thoma
Director: Derek Corriveau
*A NEW DAY- Friday, November 4th 6:30pm
SYNOPSIS: A NEW DAY is a play about two elderly ladies, Diane and Bertha, who have been friends for 60 years. The two friends are brought together by their love for knitting and their tradition of going to the annual Knit-a-thon. However, this year, Bertha makes a big mistake. This makes Diane furious but instead of making a scene she waits to confront Bertha in the nursing home. The two argue, Diane wanting an apology and Bertha being confused of what she is apologizing for. Will they resolve their differences? Will they remain longtime friends and will their memories endure “memory loss?”
CHARACTERS:
BERTHA BROOKS- A tall older woman in her mid- 80’s recently placed in and assisted living facility.
DIANE ZERCACKOWITZ-A short older woman in her late 70’s to early 80’s.
NURSE #1- A young man in his 20’s.
NURSE #2- A tall man in his early 30’s.
*TALK ABOUT LOVE – Friday, November 5th 7:15pm
SYNOPSIS: In the chance meeting of two former lovers, Bill Wilson and Jane Grossman, memories collide. Despite the years that have passed without communication, some feelings remain; but after one refutes the recollections of the other, a disagreement ensues. When Jane, with no explanation, doesn’t show up for work the next day, detectives are called in. Their investigation is more about the nature of love and less about whereabouts. One question remains: Is love a thing of the past?
CHARACTERS:
DAVIS HARPER – A city detective, 30 yrs.
BILL WILSON- A Journalist, 50 yrs.
DEENA CAPOZZA- A waitress, 30 yrs.
JANE GROSSMAN- A lawyer, 45 yrs.
JESUS SOTO- A city detective, 45 yrs.
ALICE HASTINGS-A lawyer, 45 yrs.
MICHAEL GROSSMAN- Jane’s husband, 45 yrs.
SHERIE KOSLOWSKI- A bookstore employee, 35 yrs.
*ON A WHITE ELEPHANT- Friday, November 5th 8:30pm and Saturday, September 11th 9:00 pm
SYNOPSIS: It’s summer 1938 and the Newport social season draws to a close. At the last possible minute, Mitzi receives an invitation that could change her status and her life. This might be the chance the young, nouveau riche debutante has been waiting for, when the gates of the golden, fairy tale realm of the social elite open wide for her. That’s if she doesn’t make a fool of herself. And if her snarky-but-well-intentioned maid doesn’t ruin her chances. And if those gathering clouds on the horizon don’t fortell one of the greatest natural disasters in New England history. If she can survive all that, surely this is her time to shine. She knows she can do it! …Kinda. Set on the eve of the great hurricane of 1938, in the dying years of the Gilded Age, On A White Elephant is a comedy about hope, class, and searching for a place to belong.
CHARACTERS:
MITZI- In her 20’s. An heiress, new to her money. Anxious and earnest.
FAY- Her Maid. 40’s or 50’s. Salty and smart.
*IMPRESSIONS OF A SUMMER- Saturday, November 6th 6:30pm
SYNOPSIS: “What does an artist need…? He needs time…time to work on nothing but his art. And every once in a while someone has to feed him and wash his shirts…” So says Francis Knowles to his fellow artist Jack Willoughby as they embark upon their stay at a bucolic, albeit ramshackle, New England boarding house during one halcyon summer in the early 1900s, at a time when impressionism is transforming the painter’s world. Doting landlady, Miss Lydia, welcomes an eclectic mix of established and aspiring artists and friends to her chaotic home. Premier artist, William Townsend, has brought not only his talent to town but also his ego and an unhappy wife. Over the course of a day, evening and morning after, the evolving relationships between guests are woven into a colorful tapestry that culminates in an elaborate party complete with celebrity poet. And although William achieves artistic success, it is coupled with a personal loss. At the end of it all, art goes on.
CHARACTERS:
FARMER WELLS- Older man wearing overalls
WILLIAM TOWNSEND-Disheveled middle aged artist
ENID TOWNSEND-Attractive middle-aged woman
JASPER WALTERS- Handsome, near middle-aged art student
IRIS BAKER- Teenage art student from neighborhood
MAGGIE- Older Irish housemaid
LYDIA BARROWS- Matronly, kindly patroness of the artist retreat
JACK WILLOUGHBY-Young art student
FRANCIS KNOWLES-Middle-aged magazine illustrator
MARY COSGROVE-Stylish, attractive young woman
AMY LOWELL- Brusque, mannish middle-aged woman
THEODORE GOODWIN-Brash middle-aged man
*MAGPIE – Saturday, November 6th 7:30pm
SYNOPSIS: MAGPIE is a story of identity, transformation, and sacrifice. With the support of her therapist, Maggie is beginning to claim her own story. Risking her troubled relationship with her mother, she searches to learn more about the father she doesn’t know. But can she summon the strength to find the one thing she needs the most…herself!
CHARACTERS:
MAGGIE- Late 20’s
MAMA- Maggie’s mother
THERAPIST- Maggie’s male therapist