Review Written by Paul Adam Smeltz
The Shawnee Playhouse in Shawnee on the Delaware, PA presented The Worthington Players’ production of the Original One Act Plays who won their 2012 Playwright Competition as part of The Shawnee Original Playwright Series (SOPS). The annual event is a result of inviting playwrights to send in their original works, forming a panel to select the finalist, presenting the chosen plays in a series of staged readings, and tallying the votes received from the viewing audiences to determine which plays will be presented as full productions. This process not only gives a local playwright an opportunity to have his/her work presented on The Shawnee Playhouse stage but also gives the audiences who frequent the venue a chance to experience some new and interesting work.
This year’s selections for the One Act Presentations were a comedy titled, “Getting Out The Green” written by Paul Kodiak, a dramatic piece titled, “Succession” by Charles White, and another comedy piece titled, “Real Friends Help You Move” written by Kenneth (K. K.) Gordon. The theatrical experience of watching the debut of these new plays was an interesting one although some of the work presented proved to be lacking in some areas. Some of this may have been due to the written work itself while some of it could be attributed to the direction the particular production was given. Still, each play was worthwhile seeing if only for the fact it was something new.
“Getting Out The Green” written by Paul Kodiak is a light comedy which parodies the environmental movement. It features a radio theater producer named Dusty Walker (as portrayed by Christopher Roche’) and his sound effects and engineer Skeeter (as portrayed by Rob Eilenberger Howell) who presents a radio drama titled, “Getting Out The Green.” The actors in the radio drama are David Schappert as Elroy (who also served the entire production of the one act plays as the theater’s technical director) with Paul Prevlovsky and Steve Hellman as his brothers Bunky and Lee and Eileen Cohen as Ma (their mother).
The genuinely funny lines in the play brought about a nice mixed of laughter from the audience although it was difficult to get into the idea one was a part of a radio drama audience. There were some lines of stage directions read which made the experience resemble more a staged reading than a radio drama production. However, as the play progressed, the characters and their behavior become more believable and the audience was drawn deeper into the play and the actions of the characters.
This was very subtly done and had a great effect upon those viewing the piece. After reflecting on the production, one can speculate the apparent difficulties in suspending our disbelief in that we were watching a play within a play inherent early in the production was purposely placed there to enhance the effect that eventually became evident as a well written piece emerged. In any case, the acting and direction the play received by Gillian Bender made for a very pleasing theatrical experience.
While the second play which was titled, “Succession” written by Charles White had some moments that were pleasant to watch, the overall work was a bit lacking. According to the Author’s and Director’s notes in the playbill, the piece is about the challenges an older person faces when opportunities one once had seems to evaporate in favor of a younger generation. It also intended to address the “cut throat attitudes often dealt with in the theatre.” In this reviewer’s view, the play tried to say a great deal about a topics it intended to convey while remaining too unfocused to explore any of them adequately in the amount of time the play took to be performed.
“Succession” begins in an office of a theatrical director named Billie Simpson (as portrayed by Michelle Backus) who is about to give a part to a young actor named Steve Harrison (as portrayed by Jamal Reynolds). They are joined by an older actor named Marcus Chandler (as portrayed by Clifford S. Reynolds) who considers himself so established that he feels he has no need to audition for a “role that is his.” After all, the director is his wife.
Marcus become jealous of his young theatrical rival who maintains a humble demeanor throughout the exchange but manages to retain his place in the play and his ability to perform in the coveted role. The scene changes to a later time as the play presents an awards ceremony in which Steve is honored for his performance and announces he has accepted an offer to work in film. The play ends with the award’s presenters (Billie and Marcus) miffed by the news.
It was also mentioned in the author’s notes that the play is based upon the characters and themes of film, “All About Eve.” This reviewer has never seen the film but wonders if doing so would had made the play more enjoyable. It’s rather doubtful since a 90 minuet to 2 hour film would have spent more time exploring the themes it embodied than this slightly brushed depiction of stereotypical life in the theatre did.
In spite of this reviewer’s misgivings of the production, I found the acting was very well done especially the singing performance given by 11 year old Jadyn Lynah. Her voice and rendition of the song she performed during the awards ceremony was superb. However, her presence in the piece did nothing for the play except to bring a sense of enjoyment of her talents to the audience and unnecessarily established to the audience they were watching an awards ceremony. As pleasing as the performance was, perhaps the time it took for Ms. Lynah to sing her song could have been better utilized to flesh out the themes of the play more thoroughly. The play was directed by Kevin Hillman.
The final production of the Original One Act Plays was the play “Real Friends Help You Move” written by Kenneth (K. K.) Gordon. The piece proved to be an amusing one with an interesting twist on the title. It’s about a young woman named Holly (as portrayed by Jessica Santos) who has a problem she seeks help from her sister, Molly (as portrayed by Erica Stripp), with. She killed a man named Brad (as portrayed by Mark Pinder) and needs help moving him. The play is well acted and direction provided by Amy Cramer brought a smile to the face of many members of the audience including this reviewer. It was a nice way to conclude one’s visit to the Shawnee Playhouse.
The Worthington Player were established in 1999 and is the non-musical contingent of the Shawnee Playhouse. They present a variety of semi-professional theatrical productions from January through May working with community members to bring a quality-working atmosphere for those participating in the production and a quality performance for those attending. Their Original Playwright Series is one of the many programs the offer to the community.
The Worthington Players’ production of the One Act Plays who won their 2012 playwright competition continues its run at The Shawnee Playhouse in Shawnee on the Delaware, PA until Sunday January 13th. In addition to the One Act Plays presented during The Shawnee Original Playwright Series (SOPS), a full length play who won the 2012 playwright competition titled, “Handy Dandy” written by William Gibson will be presented at The Shawnee Playhouse January 18th - 27th. Staged Readings for the finalist of this year’s competition will take place March 8th - 29th.
Other Shawnee Playhouse presentations will be the Worthington Players’ production of “The Obituary I’m Dying to Write” taking place February 1st - 10th, The Shawnee Playhouse special presentation of “Anything Goes” taking place February 15th - March 3rd, The SCOMC production of “Dancing at Lughnasa” taking place March 8th - 17th, The Worthington Players’ Productions of “An Easter Cantata: A Musical Celebration” taking place March 22nd - 31st and “The Best of Broadway” taking place April 5th - 14th, The Center Stage Players’ production of “The real Thing.” taking place April 19th - 28th, and The Worthington Players’ Productions of “Sin, Sex, and the CIA” taking place May 3rd - 19th and “Mozart - A Musical Timeline” taking place May 11th - June 15th.
The productions were stage managed by Stephanie Hellman with Elizabeth Guarnieri and Aaron Pappalardo serving the production as its technical crew. The producers of the productions presented at The Shawnee Playhouse are Ginny and Charlie Kirkwood while the group sales manager is Mary Horn. Becky Haskell serves as the playhouse’s Sales and Marketing Director. Please contact The Shawnee Playhouse at 570-421-5093 or Explore their Facebook Page at www.facebook.com/shawneeplayhouse?ref=ts&fref=ts for more information and to reserve your ticket for their upcoming presentations.
Those who enjoy the Passionate Art Lover level of membership in The Forwardian Arts Society are offered a $3.00 discount off the admission fee of The Shawnee Playhouse Featured and Headlined Productions. Those who have seen the productions mentioned in this review are welcomed to share their thoughts and reflections by leaving a comment with this posting. To learn more about The Forwardian Arts Society and all they have to offer, please explore their website at www.theforwardianartssociety.com.
Photograph provided by The Shawnee Playhouse.
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