Spring Break
Playwrighting - A woman's perspective
Caitlin Doran
Issue date: 3/10/08 Section: Culture
Some marigolds, a robbery at stick point, a fourth set of nuptials- all seemingly unrelated themes played out in the 13th Annual Women's Playwriting Festival on Friday, March 7. The festival is sponsored by Potluck productions, a company founded to promote the progress of emerging female playwrights.
Potluck productions was founded by Glendora Davis and Joyce Slater over a decade ago and since then has produced over 100 short plays and monologues with a range of talented directors.
Composed of eight small works, the collection was a success as local actors represented the works of writers from all over the country.
Over the course of the festival, entries have come from all over the place - from Oregon to Maryland to Guam. The writers represented in the plays are almost as diverse as the topics discussed.
The topics of the play range from humorous to sentimental to heartbreaking as the lives of women are changed, reflected upon and ended. While the themes in the works seemed geared toward the female perspective, the chutzpah of certain male characters seemed to strike a note with the male members of the audience.
"Heirloom Blue," a play written by Robin Rodriguez, seemed to strike a chord with a number of women as it narrates the interaction of a mother (Lucille Windsor) and daughter (Melissa Johnson) in an oncologist's office after the mother is diagnosed with breast cancer. The implicit nature of the conversation is heightened as the mother reflects on the history of her breasts and what they mean to her as a woman.
Ann Wuehler's play, "Cinnamon Rainbow," has a more humorous note as Tony (Shaun Hennessy) becomes stranded on the highway and breaks into the apartment of Lucy (Ellen Loschke) in hopes of stealing money in order to repair his car. Instead of complying, Lucy turns the tables with an unexpected demand and Tony shocks the audience with his compliance.
Kristen French was especially moving as Mara, a Muslim body washer in Iraq whose words outline the process of preparing dead civilians for burial and the result of the war on her mental health.
Also in the play were Monique Simmons, who plays an American soldier and Madison Phoebe Joy, a reporting writing on the progress of the war.
UMKC was steadily represented, as five students were involved in the play, including Hennessey, Joy, Loschke, Janet Conner and Ari Bavel.
Perhaps the most significant part of the plays isn't the work itself but the dedication of the directors and writers to the execution of the festival as a whole. "We are so surprised by the number of submissions each year," Slater said. "It only seems to get better."
The play, directed by Richard Alan Nichols and continue to play through April 15 at the Just Off Broadway Theater. Tickets are $15.
cdoran@unews.com
Potluck productions was founded by Glendora Davis and Joyce Slater over a decade ago and since then has produced over 100 short plays and monologues with a range of talented directors.
Composed of eight small works, the collection was a success as local actors represented the works of writers from all over the country.
Over the course of the festival, entries have come from all over the place - from Oregon to Maryland to Guam. The writers represented in the plays are almost as diverse as the topics discussed.
The topics of the play range from humorous to sentimental to heartbreaking as the lives of women are changed, reflected upon and ended. While the themes in the works seemed geared toward the female perspective, the chutzpah of certain male characters seemed to strike a note with the male members of the audience.
"Heirloom Blue," a play written by Robin Rodriguez, seemed to strike a chord with a number of women as it narrates the interaction of a mother (Lucille Windsor) and daughter (Melissa Johnson) in an oncologist's office after the mother is diagnosed with breast cancer. The implicit nature of the conversation is heightened as the mother reflects on the history of her breasts and what they mean to her as a woman.
Ann Wuehler's play, "Cinnamon Rainbow," has a more humorous note as Tony (Shaun Hennessy) becomes stranded on the highway and breaks into the apartment of Lucy (Ellen Loschke) in hopes of stealing money in order to repair his car. Instead of complying, Lucy turns the tables with an unexpected demand and Tony shocks the audience with his compliance.
Kristen French was especially moving as Mara, a Muslim body washer in Iraq whose words outline the process of preparing dead civilians for burial and the result of the war on her mental health.
Also in the play were Monique Simmons, who plays an American soldier and Madison Phoebe Joy, a reporting writing on the progress of the war.
UMKC was steadily represented, as five students were involved in the play, including Hennessey, Joy, Loschke, Janet Conner and Ari Bavel.
Perhaps the most significant part of the plays isn't the work itself but the dedication of the directors and writers to the execution of the festival as a whole. "We are so surprised by the number of submissions each year," Slater said. "It only seems to get better."
The play, directed by Richard Alan Nichols and continue to play through April 15 at the Just Off Broadway Theater. Tickets are $15.
cdoran@unews.com
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