Love new theater? No problem in South Florida

New play (and musical) work is on the rise in Palm BeachCounty thanks to an award-winning theater and a new venture led by an old hand at script development.

Palm Beach Dramaworks is seeking submissions of new, unproduced plays for its developmental lab The Dramaworkshop. Scripts can be submitted from Nov. 1 through Jan. 31, and those chosen may get workshops, staged readings or developmental productions — or all three things. Guidelines are at www.palmbeachdramaworks.org/dramaworkshop. Launched in 2014, Dramaworkshop has already done work on Buried Cities by Jennifer Fawcett, Blue Train by Andrew Rosendorf, Psycho and Dummy by Cliff Burgess and Domestic Animals by Jennifer Faletto. The upstairs at Dramaworks’ home in the Don & Ann Brown Theatre, 201 Clematis St., West Palm Beach, is being remodeled into a second stage, where Buried Cities will get the first developmental production.

In Boca Raton, the new Theatre Lab run by Louis Tyrrell (founder/artistic director of Florida Stage and the Theatre at Arts Garage) is launching its series of concert-style musical presentations and play readings. The first event in the Making Musicals series, Fugitive Songs by Chris Miller and Nathan Tysen, will be presented at 7:30 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday. Following that will be presentations of Vote for Me: A Musical Debate by Drew Fornarola and Scott Elmegreen (7:30 p.m. Oct. 24, 2 p.m. Oct. 25), and Shining Lives by Jessica Thebus, Andrew Pluessand Amanda Dehnert (7:30 p.m. Nov. 7, 2 p.m. Nov. 8).

Theatre Lab’s Play Slam series begins at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 21 with a reading of Bakersfield Mist by Stephen Sachs. That will be followed by a reading of Informed Consent by Deborah Zoe Laufer Oct. 28, American Hero by Bess Wohl Nov. 4 and Soldier’s Heart by Tammy Ryan Nov. 11.The readings are at Parliament Hall on the campus at 777 Glades Rd., Boca Raton. Admission is $20 ($10 students). Call 800-564-9539 for tickets; for Theatre Lab info, call 561-297-4784 or visit www.fau.edu/theatre/theatre_lab.php.

NEW MUSICAL

Speaking of fresh theater, Coral Gables-based Area Stage is opening a showcase production of the new musical The Ballad of Janis Matthews and The Dodo Scouts. With a folk-rock score by Rachel Dean, the original story and musical book are by the multi-talented Giancarlo Rodaz, son of artistic director John Rodaz and producer Maria Banda-Rodaz. The playwright is also the show’s director and its set and lighting designer.

Set in 1968, the musical follows the perils faced by a lost scout troop trying to find its way back to camp on a perilous trail through the RockyMountainNational Park. Performances are at 8 p.m. Friday-Saturday and 5 p.m. Sunday through Oct. 25 at Area Stage, 1560 S. Dixie Hwy., Coral Gables. Tickets are $20 and $25 (students pay $10).   For information, "Call 305-666-2078 or visit www.areastagecompany.com.

 (Photos of William Hayes, Louis Tyrrell and 'The Ballad of Janis Matthews")

24-Hour Theatre is back, as art with a heartfelt purpose

South Florida theater's most creative benefit, the 24-Hour Theatre Project, returns this evening for one night only, with the aim of helping one of the theater community's own. Eight playwrights spent the late hours of Sunday and wee hours of Monday writing short plays spun from titles on a list created by the Naked Stage's artistic director, Katherine Amadeo.  And Monday night at 8 p.m. at Palm Beach Dramaworks, the results of their sleepless creativity will unfold with participation from many of the region's finest artists.

Theater fans who fork over $30 for a ticket ($50 for VIP seating and a poster) will get to see the only performance of eight brand-new works.  And they'll be helping to put a dent in the considerable medical expenses of Dana Castellano, a Women's Theatre Project board member who has waged a fierce fight with cervical cancer since January.

In July, when the community came together to perform a benefit dubbed The Dana Plays, Castellano explained her deep love of theater.

"The more I was around theater, the more I loved it.  You see an amazing show and use your imagination, which is something we lose just going to the movies," said Castellano, who had emergency surgery a few weeks ago.

As for what you'll see tonight if you make the trek to West Palm Beach, here's the rundown.

Antonio Amadeo, who co-founded the Naked Stage with his wife and pal John Manzelli, is the author of Coin-Operated Boy, which is being staged by Thinking Cap Theatre founder and artistic director Nicole Stodard.  Alex Alvarez, Tracey Barrow-Schoenblatt, Troy Davidon and Matthew Korinko are in the cast, and Amanda Bartmon is stage managing.  Andie Arthur's The Monsters of Madison Avenue, directed by Slow Burn Theatre's Patrick Fitzwater, features Noah Levine, Kevin Reilley, Barbara Sloan and Shane Tanner, with Stephanie Meskauskas as stage manager.

Tony Finstrom's The Last Viking, staged by Steven Chambers, features Meredith Bartmon, Sally Bondi, Julie Kleiner and Lourelene Snedeker, with Kent Wilson stage managing.  Michael Leeds is the author of May Divorce Be With You, which will be staged by Margaret Ledford. In that cast are Michelle Brino, Niki Fridh, Christina Groom and Joe Kimble, with Shonna Rash as stage manager.

Michael McKeever's offering is Last Trip on the Mothership, staged by Amy London and featuring Clay Cartland, Dave Corey, Sabrina Gore and Adam Simpson, with Louis Brady stage managing. David Nail has written a play titled Soul Control, to be staged by Barbara Bradshaw.  Laura Hodos, Margot Moreland, Rick Peña and Josh Stoughton are in the cast, and Nikki Hudak is stage manager.

Karen Stephens' play is titled Phineas Finds His Way.  Kim St. Leon directs Beverly Blanchette, Nick Duckart, Jeni Hacker and Pierre Tannous, with Rachel Chin stage managing.  Matt Stabile is the author of Life, in 140 Characters or Less.  Andy Rogow is staging the play, and cast features Nanique Gheridian, Amy McKenna, Ann Marie Olson and Skye Whitcomb, with Patrick Rodriguez as stage manager.

All of the artists are contributing their time and talents to one of the theater community's signature annual events.  And this year, that art is in service of someone widely loved and admired.

Palm Beach Dramaworks is located at 201 Clematis St., West Palm Beach.  For tickets, call 561-514-4042, ext. 2, or visit the Dramaworks web site.

Art takes on a deeper purpose in 'The Dana Plays'

Dana Castellano has been a familiar figure in South Florida's theater community for a number of years, from the time she was in a long relationship with an actress until the present day, when her real-life drama is rivaling almost anything you could see on stage.

In January, Castellano was diagnosed with Stage 4 cervical cancer, and she has literally been engaged in the fight of her life ever since.  She has endured the surgery, the chemo, the radiation, the treatment-caused illness like the feisty warrior she is.  When she learned what she was facing, she invited family and friends (many via Facebook) to join her on "Team Chaos," an unofficial support group whose motto is, to paraphrase, screw cancer.

A woman with lots of body art and piercings, Castellano decided to turn what might be an otherwise traumatic part of cancer treatment -- shaving her head -- into a party.  She invited friends in the theater community, including Antonio and Katherine Amadeo, the couple behind The Naked Stage and the 24-Hour Theatre Project.  And there, the idea for The Dana Plays -- a benefit with an artistic twist -- took shape.

"I said, 'Let's  do it. Let's take theater and use it to raise awareness.'  Antonio is so fast, he just ran with it. I'm just speechless.  It blows me away how not even an hour-long conversation could blow up to become something so huge," says Castellano, 45. 

For his part, Amadeo says, "Dana wanted us to consider doing a large fundraiser...that would raise awareness and funds for the American Cancer Society, since they had done so much for her during this tough time.  She was so excited by the idea. Of course we said yes."

What has evolved is an evening of original short plays by South Florida writers to be presented in a one-time-only event at 8 p.m. Monday.  Miami Theater Center, 9806 NE Second Ave., Miami Shores, is hosting the evening, and the South Florida Theatre League is presenting the program, which will raise funds for both Castellano and the American Cancer Society.

"What I love about The Dana Plays is that it is not only another place where the community can band together, but it's one where we're focusing on something bigger than just our artistic community," says Andie Arthur, executive director of the Theatre League and one of the evening's playwrights.

And participation by the theater community is vast.  Works written for the occasion are So I Was Wondering by Christopher Demos-Brown, Lyd by Jessica Farr, The Purple Troll by Tony Finstrom, F**k You, Cancer! by Avi Hoffman, The Opponent by Michael McKeever, Wearing Hope by Deborah  L. Sherman, Ex-Communication by Matt Stabile, We're in the Money by Paul Tei, Be Nice to Me, My Girlfriend Has Cancer by Arthur and one more by Demos-Brown.

Amy London and Hoffman will direct a host of South Florida's finest actors in the readings:  Barbara Bradshaw, Elena Maria Garcia, Gregg Weiner, Sally Bondi, Elizabeth Dimon, Sofia Citarella, Clay Cartland, Jeffrey Bruce, Harriet Oser, Angie Radosh, Andy Rogow, Dave Corey, Niki Fridh, Michaela Cronan, Arielle Hoffman, George Schiavone, both of the Amadeos, and Stabile.

Through her work as a board member of The Women's Theatre Project, Castellano has become a contributing member of the theater community, a person with a deep passion for the art form.

"The more I was around theater, the more I loved it.  You see an amazing show and use your imagination, which is something we lose just going to the movies," Castellano says.

And of the Amadeos, she says, "They are the dynamic duo of theater, Batman and Robin."

The inspiration for The Dana Plays will be in the audience on Monday with her friends and extended family.  She's ready to use her imagination, ready for whatever she sees.

"It will be hard to watch these plays.  But I'll be sitting there with a handkerchief or a box of Kleenex," she says.

Admission to The Dana Plays is $15, with additional donations welcome.  For information, call 305-751-9550 or email Andie Arthur at [email protected].

UM's Ring Theatre cooks up a hot 2014-2015 season

The University of Miami's Jerry Herman Ring Theatre has put together an intriguing, musical-dominated season for 2014-2015, including a pair of productions likely to draw South Florida's most passionate theater lovers.

We already know about the one off-campus show, the southeastern premiere of the Tony Award-winning Peter and the Starcatcher.  The Peter Pan prequel, based on the Dave Barry-Ridley Pearson novel for young readers, is part of next season's Theater Up Close programming at Miami's Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts.  Henry Fonte, producing artistic director of the Ring, will stage the show, which is a collaboration with the Arsht running Oct. 9-26 at the center's Carnival Studio Theater.

The season's other big news is a brand-new Carmen, an in-development musical with book and lyrics by Moisés Kaufman, the Tectonic Theater Project artistic director who oversaw creation of The Laramie Project.  Co-produced by the Ring and Tectonic, the piece is set in Cuba in 1958, with Georges Bizet's classic music given an Afro-Cuban makeover by Arturo O'Farrill.  The fresh take on Carmen runs Nov. 12-23.

Also part of the Ring's five-show season are the William Finn-Rachel Sheinkin musical The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (Sept. 24-Oct. 4), Clare Boothe Luce's tart comedy The Women (Feb. 18-28) and the lavish season-ending musical Oklahoma! (April 15-26).

Season memberships are now on sale at $100, a savings of 20 percent.  Individual tickets, which go on sale Sept. 2, are $25 ($22 for seniors, $10 for students).  The Ring is located at 1312 Miller Dr. on the University of Miami campus in Coral Gables.  For more information, call 305-284-3355 from noon to 5 p.m. Tuesday-Friday or visit the Ring web site.

(Photos show Henry Fonte, above, and Moisés Kaufman)

Miami Theater Center, City Theatre seeking new work

Two South Florida companies, the Miami Theater Center and City Theatre, are putting out the call for new projects (MTC) and plays (City).

The Miami Shores-based MTC is asking artists from varied performance disciplines to submit project ideas for its 2014-2015 SandBox Series.  Funded by a $100,000 Knight Arts Challenge grant, the series will allow artists to develop and present new, sometimes experimental work.

Those with ideas should submit a biography, an artist's statement, a written project narrative, a two-minute video of themselves describing the project and two brief video clips of prior work.  All projects must be new, and applicants have to be at least 18 and eligible to work in the United States.

Applications are due by 6 p.m. Feb. 14.  To complete an online application, visit MTC's web site. Applications and supporting materials must be sent to the Miami Theater Center SandBox Series, 9806 NE Second Ave., Miami, FL 33138.  Questions should be directed to series producer Octavio Campos at [email protected].  The five artists chosen by a panel of theater professionals will be announced in July, and residencies/performances will take place from October 2014 to June 2015.  All selected artists receive a commissioning fee, three weeks to rehearse and the opportunity to present six performances over two weekends.

Miami's City Theatre is reprising its successful LBGT-themed Shorts Gone Wild project and is seeking new 10-minute plays for Shorts Gone Wild 2.  The rules:  The plays must be new works never produced in South Florida.  Each writer is limited to one submission of a play running 10 minutes or less (10 pages maximum), with no more than six actors required.

Scripts must have a title page with the title, writer's name, email address, mailing address and phone number.  A cast listing, set requirements, synopsis, short playwright biography and information on any productions outside of South Florida are also required.  Submissions can be made online as a single PDF document, and the deadline is Jan. 24.  No materials will be returned, but those whose work is being considered will be contacted by City Theatre and Island City Stage.  For City Theatre info, call 305-755-9401; for Shorts Gone Wild 2 questions, email Susan Westfall at [email protected]. 

 (Photo of Octavio Campos by Mitchell Zachs)

24 Hour Theatre's plays are in the works

The hour glass -- well, the 24-Hour glass -- is off and running for the 2013 edition of The Naked Stage's popular 24 Hour Theatre Project.  Artistic director Katherine Amadeo and this year's eight playwrights gathered at Palm Beach Dramaworks Sunday evening so the writers could choose play titles and, randomly, directors and actors for the brand-new short plays that will get their one-night-only world premieres at 8 p.m. Monday.

The playwrights' mode right now?  Creativity laced with panic.

What will you see if you go to the show on Monday?

South Florida Theatre League executive director Andie Arthur is writing The Legend of Hitchhiker Jones, which will be directed by Kutumba Theatre Project's Kim Ehly.  Margery Lowe and her hubby Clive Cholerton are in the cast, along with Matt Stabile and Nanique Gheridian.

Christopher Demos-Brown, whose new full-length play Fear Up Harsh gets its world premiere Nov. 7-24 at Miami's Zoetic Stage, is writing Till Beth Do We Part.  Island City Stage artistic director Andy Rogow is directing Meredith Bartmon, Beverly Blanchette, Irene Adjan and Gregg Weiner in the play.

Mad Cat playwright, actor and company member Jessica Farr is writing Area 54, which will be directed by The Project Theatre's David Hemphill.  Adam Simpson, Wayne LeGette, Clay Cartland and Mia Matthews are in that cast.

Playwright and Silver Palm Awards executive committee member Tony Finstrom is writing The Curse of Willoughby, which Michael Leeds is directing.  That cast features Tracey Barrow-Schoenblatt, Karen Stephens, Niki Fridh and Shane Tanner.

Playwright, actor, designer and Zoetic Stage co-founder Michael McKeever is writing The Seven Deaths of Rhona Banks.  Desmond Gallant will direct Cliff Burgess, Abby Perkins, Dave Corey and Pierre Tannous in that one.

Marj O'Neill-Butler's play is The Ritual, which will be staged by Adalberto Acevedo.  Alex Alvarez, Noah Levine, George Schiavone and Patti Gardner are in the cast.

Actor and Promethean Theatre founder Deborah Sherman is writing Unearthed.  Leland Patton will direct the play, which features Laura Hodos, David Meldman, Sally Bondi and Barry Tarallo.

Mad Cat founder Paul Tei is creating a piece titled Smile as the Hearse Goes By.  Kim St. Leon will stage it, and Nick Duckart, Amy McKenna, Lela Elam and Natalia Coego are the actors.

This creative gathering of South Florida's far-flung theater community happens at Dramaworks' Don & Ann Brown Theatre is at 201 Clematis St..  General admission tickets are $30, VIP tickets (with reserved seating and a souvenir poster) run $50.  For info or tickets, call 561-514-4042, ext. 2, or visit the Dramaworks web site.

 

 

 

 

'From Scratch' celebrates new plays

One of the milestones in the developmental life of a new play -- a high-profile staged reading -- happens Sunday for the four playwrights in Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs' Playwright Development Program.  Four writers mentored by award-winning playwright Deborah Zoe Laufer will hear their works read at the From Scratch festival at the Deering Estate at Cutler -- and you can take it all in for free.

First up at noon is Andie Arthur's The Secret of the Biological Clock, a piece recommended for teen audiences.  It centers on 16-year-old Jasmine, a girl determined to find her real dad with the help of a teen detective.

Flashing LIghts, a play by Edward G. Excalibur, is next up at 2 p.m.  That one is about a woman whose marriage is falling apart as she battles insomnia and binge eating.  Adult language is part of this play and the next two.

Susan Westfall's Two Weekends, which will be read at 5 p.m., is about change that affects old friends "confronted by love, loss and the arrival of the new neighbor lady."

The final reading, at 7 p.m., is of Vanessa Garcia's The Cuban Spring.  In it, Siomara Gonzalez faces an identity crisis that threatens her, her marriage and her oldest child.

The historic Deering Estate at Cutler is at 16701 SW 72nd Ave. in Miami.  For more information, call 305-235-1668, ext. 233, or visit the facility's web site.

(Photos show Deborah Zoe Laufer, top, and Vanessa Garcia)

 

Girl Play 2013 is a varied look at life from a lesbian perspective

The Women's Theatre Project, based for its main stage productions at the Willow Theatre at Boca Raton's Sugar Sand Park, has long included plays with lesbian themes and points of view in the work that it does.  Girl Play, a festival of short-play readings, is part of that mission, and this year's fourth edition happens June 21-23.

Sixteen short plays are included in the lineup, with eight read on Friday starting at 7:30 p.m. and eight on Saturday at 7:30 p.m.  Audiences will pick their favorites, and those plays will get a second reading on Sunday at 2 p.m.

This year's plays, chosen from more than 100 submissions, are Joan Lipkin's Are You Married?, Sharon Goldner's Based on True Events, Donna Hoke's Cake Top This, Rahti Gorfien's Diaphanous, Dian "MJ" Perrin's Dyke Tracy, Detective, Karen L. Lewis' Gallery Postmortem, Jan O'Connor's Gayby's Playdate, Ruth Dyck Fehderau's Hildie and Hilda Go for a Walk, Tabia Lau's In the Water, Penny Jackson's Palpitations, Barbara Lhota's Personal Penchants, Eileen Tull's Semi-Circles, Kathleen Warnock's Sharing the Pie, Patricia Milton's Stonehenge, Michelle F. Solomon's Taste of Thai and Carol Mullen's Zero Mile Mark. 

Directing the readings are Genie Croft, Marj O'Neill-Butler and Kim Ehly.  Ehly isn't just directing four shows -- she's also playing the lead in Dyke Tracy, Detective.  The other actors in Girl Play 2013 are Sally Bondi, Casey Dressler, Lela Elam, Noah Levine, Ann Marie Olson, Barbara Sloan, Karen Stephens, Carol Sussman, Pilar Uribe and Elayne Wilks.

The festival takes place at Art Gallery 21 at the Woman's Club of Wilton Manors, 600 NE 21st Ct., Wilton Manors.  Admission is $15 for one program, $25 for two and $35 for three.  Patrons on Saturday and Sunday will be given a parking pass because of the Stonewall Festival taking place those days (otherwise, parking would be $10).

For more info or tickets, call 1-866-811-4111 or visit the Women's Theatre Project web site.

Also note:  This festival is intended to be festive, so show up at least a half-hour early for drinks, music and an art exhibit.

Durang's Tony winner, McCraney play top GableStage season

A little earlier than is his custom, GableStage's Carbonell Award-winning artistic director Joseph Adler has put all the pieces of his new season puzzle together -- and the lineup for 2013-2014 is full of enticing titles.

Hot from its Tony Award as Broadway's best play last Sunday, Christopher Durang's Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike will be produced at GableStage next spring.  Durang's smart satire of Anton Chekhov's characters and themes will run May 17-June 15, 2014.

The new season begins Nov. 23-Dec. 22 with Aaron Posner's still-running Off-Broadway hit My Name Is Asher Lev.  Based on a novel by Chaim Potok, the play focuses on a talented Jewish painter torn between his Hasidic upbringing and his dreams of artistic success.

Next is Miamian Tarell Alvin McCraney's set-in-Haiti adaptation of William Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra.  A collaborative effort of the Royal Shakespeare Company, New York's Public Theater and GableStage, the play will be presented by GableStage at Miami Beach's Colony Theatre Jan. 11-Feb. 9.

Katori Hall's The Mountaintop, a play set at Memphis' Lorraine Motel on the night before the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, runs March 15-April 13.

After the Durang play, Samuel D. Hunter's The Whale takes audiences into the world of a 600-pound recluse and his angry teenager daughter.  That one runs July 19-Aug. 17, 2014.  The next season wraps up Sept. 20-Oct. 19, 2014, with David West Read's The Performers, a play about high school friends reconnecting at the Adult Film Awards in Las Vegas.

(And a side note: GableStage's current season isn't over yet.  David Lindsay-Abaire's Good People runs July 20-Aug. 18, with Stephen Karam's Sons of the Prophet closing out the 2012-2013 season Sept. 21-Oct. 20.)

GableStage is offering its new lineup to current subscribers for $225 and to new subscribers for $260, and with each subscription, theatergoers get an additional complimentary ticket to one show.  Single ticket prices will be going up for the new season, and a subscription provides a savings of nearly 40 percent.

The theater is located in Coral Gables' historic Biltmore Hotel at 1200 Anastasia Ave.  For information, call the box office at 305-445-1119 or visit the company's web site.

(Photo of the Broadway production of Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike by Carol Rosegg; photo of Tarell Alvin McCraney by George Schiavone)

New Theatre's Martinez debuts 'Road Through Heaven'

Ricky J. Martinez, the artistic director at New Theatre, has been working on a trilogy of plays for a long time -- over 10 years, actually, starting before his graduation from Miami's New World School of the Arts.

The first play, Sin Full Heaven, debuted at New Theatre in 2007.  Now another one, Road Through Heaven, is getting its world premiere at New Theatre this weekend (the third, Heavenly Hand, is still to be produced).

Like the others, Road Through Heaven is part of what Martinez calls In God's Land: An Island Trilogy.  It is set on "a forgotten island" in the Caribbean, focusing on three people whose lives become entwined:  Jesus (Javier Cabrera), a 21-year-old who was orphaned at the age of 12;  Dolores (Evelyn Perez), a tough woman in her late 30s; and Victor (Martinez), a hard worker devoted to his woman and, increasingly, to the younger man.

"I wrote the plays because, as a first generation Cuban-American, I was trying to figure out who I was," says Martinez.  "I was influenced in this one by images of mules, men, the sky, the occult, unconditional love, balance and the suspension of time."

Martinez hadn't intended to play Victor, but when the production was moved to May and the actor who was originally cast became unavailable, director Margaret M. Ledford convinced the playwright to take on the role.

"I told him, 'I think you're perfect,'" she says.  "This is a very haunting script.  The magical realism takes everyday relationships and has them [ascend] onto an ethereal plane."

Martinez calls Ledford "an amazing visionary.  She sees that the play is more than lyricism. She can extract the realism too."

Road Through Heaven has its first performance at 8 p.m. Friday, then gets its press opening at 8 p.m. Saturday.  The show runs through June 2 at the Roxy Performing Arts Center, 1645 SW 107th Ave., Miami.  Regular performances are 8 p.m. Thursday-Saturday, 1 and 5:30 p.m. Sunday (no evening show this Sunday).  Tickets are $40 ($35 Thursday and Sunday evening).  Students 25 and younger can get $15 rush tickets, based on availability, and the deal on opening weekend is even better:  The first 25 students under 25 get in free.

For information on New Theatre and Road Through Heaven, call 305-443-5909 or visit the company's web site.

(Photo of Javier Cabrera, Evelyn Perez and Ricky J. Martinez by Eileen Suarez)