Page 24 - the NOISE April 2015

ORIGINAL THEATRE
SHOWERS THE APRIL ARTS SCENE
ABOVE, FROM LEFT: The cast of Flagstaff Youth Theater’s Production of Joseph & the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat prepares for their upcoming performance; Scott Kennedy & Gill Green will be playing Dara & Sebastian in Seth Muller’s Celestial Navigations.
STORIES BY CALEB McCLURE & CLAIR ANNA ROSE
PHOTOS BY C.A. ROSE
PLAYWRIGHT CAFÉ TRIO
Since its debut, Theatrikos’ Playwright Café has delivered original plays by local playwrights to the Flagstaff commu- nity, and is now gearing up for its Second Annual Original Play Contest (deadline May 1), with a second contest for high school and college students, the Playwright Café Junior 10 Minute (deadline April 1).
Last year’s contestant and playwright Seth Muller, whose play Monsters was performed in the Playwright Café, shares his thoughts on the theatre community in Flagstaff and the flood of playwrights who have burst onto the scene recently.
“One of the driving factors in recent years has been the Northern Arizona’s Playwriting Showcase. It’s a 10-minute play contest that is open nationally but populated by dozens of local writers who try their hand at writing for the stage each year. The seven best ones are selected and brought to life by local actors and directors at Theatrikos and the NAU Department of English around the end of August. Also, The- atrikos kicked off Playwright Café, which gives a forum for lo- cal playwrights and authors to test stage work without the pressure of competition or the constraints of length.”
This April three plays will be performed at Charly’s in the Hotel Weatherford — Beep in the Night by Lynn Timmons Ed- wards and directed by Paul Kulpinski, Leftovers and Celestial Navigations by Seth Muller.
Mary Guaraldi is directing both Leftovers and Celestial Navi- gations. Over coffee we talk about the upcoming plays and her involvement. Ms. Guaraldi and Mr. Muller have worked together in the past, and are now looking forward to working together again.
“I really think new play work is very difficult because as a director of a new play you’re trying to help a playwright ac- complish their vision,” Ms. Guaraldi tells me. “A lot of directors make the mistake of trying to have the playwright write what they would have written if they were the playwright. What I usually do is talk to the playwright after I’ve read their play to see if I feel the same way about it that they do, if it’s about the same thing and then I try to work with them by asking ques- tions and by being an audience for them. The hardest thing about being a director is to always look at something with new eyes, as if you’ve never seen it before.”
“Seth and I make a great team, and I admire what he does,” says Ms. Guaraldi. “I think he has a fresh vision. What makes something new to us as an audience is when a playwright can take a subject matter — boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets girl — and tilt it just a bit and that skewing of a familiar theme makes it new.”
Mr. Muller’s plays follow two very different couples. Left- overs is a story of a husband and wife, named The Husband and The Wife, in the depths of a pattern repeated so much its begun to wear a groove in their life. “Of all the plays I have at- tempted short and long, Leftovers is the most conceptual,” Mr. Muller says of his play. “They (the characters) have the same set of conversations over and over. The first half of the play is them repeating those same lines, stuck in their rut. Then, the
husbandleavesonbusinessandhereturnsreadytogetback into the groove. But the wife breaks the cycle and reveals something that throws the relationship out of orbit.”
Celestial Navigations is set at the US Naval Observatory in Flagstaff. “It’s about a scientist who falls for a Bohemian girl,” Mr. Muller explains. “The two of them start crossing paths. Sebastian comes in for night observation, although no longer necessary, and Dara sticks around past her shift to bask in the wonder of the observatory and its artifacts. The play is the post-coital, cosmos-infused talk after the two give into each other. Gill Green and Scott Kennedy are confirmed for these roles. I’m excited to see what this talented real-life couple will bring to the play.”
The Playwright Café’s production of Beep in the Night, Left- overs and Celestial Navigations will be a one night only event on April 26 at 6:30PM at Charly’s in the Hotel Weatherford. For more information on either playwright contest or to submit an entry email drew@theatrikos.com.
THEATRE IN TECHNICOLOR
What is the commonality between rock ‘n’ roll, theater and the Bible? Joseph & the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat. Flagstaff Youth Theater will be performing this genre-melt- ing production in April.
Joseph & the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat is a musical adaptation of the Biblical story commonly known as Joseph and his Coat of Many Colors told in Genesis of the King James Bible. It’s one of the first musicals written by legendary British composer and playwright Andrew Lloyd Weber in 1965. Weber is also responsible for composing the music in the infamous plays Cats, Phantom of the Opera, and Jesus Christ Superstar.
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat combines almost every thinkable genre of music to tell one cohesive story from rock ballads, reggae, hip-hop, country and funk, and all of the dialogue is spoken in song.
Youth Theater is much more than entertainment for the community. According to Flagstaff Youth Theater owner, di- rector, and choreographer Sara Drye it is an artistic medium, which helps to develop young people into healthy confident adults. “It gives them a sense of ownership of their talent as well as a place in the community,” said Ms. Drye. This is Flag- staff Youth Theater’s second performance of the musical, and has many returning actors for the show.
Lane Norton, 17, was part of the kid’s choir the first time the theater group put on the show in 2011, and because of a love for theater she is back as one of Joseph’s 11 brother’s wives. “I just love everything about it. I love the people. They’re like family, and it’s just fun and we just have good times,” said Ms. Norton.
Besides giving the children of Flagstaff a unique growing opportunity, Flagstaff Youth Theater also provides service to the community. Every production the company puts on is ac- companied by a canned food drive. Since, 2006 the theater company has helped to donate over 2500 pounds of food.
Joseph & the Technicolor Dream Coat will be performed ev- ery Friday through Sunday beginning April 10 through April
26attheFlagstaffHighSchoolMainAuditorium. Attendees are encouraged to bring a canned food item for donation. FlagstaffYouthTheater.com
REGIONAL THEATER COMPETITION
Theatrikos Theater Company will be hosting the 2015 Amer- ican Association of Community Theater’s state & regional theater competition. The competition takes a lot of organiz- ing, so “It’s quite a feather in our cap,” said Stan Sutherland, treasurer for Theatrikos and one of the event’s main organizers.
There are three companies competing for the State title, Theatrikos Theater Company from Flagstaff, performing Al- most Maine, The Prescott Center for the Arts from Prescott, performing Seatbelts Required and The Pinewood Players from Munds Park, performing Cactus Flower. The winner goes on to challenge New Group West from San Diego, California. Performing a one-man-show called I Am My Own Wife for the regional title the next day. The winner of the regional compe- tition is then eligible to compete in the national competition in Grand Rapids, Michigan. In accordance to AACT rules all of the performers and companies in the show must be amateurs.
Each company has 10 minutes to build their set in a 100-square-foot area and then 60 minutes to perform. Going over the time limit will result in disqualification. The theater companies have a choice to perform any type of production
from musicals to one-man-shows. Professional adjudicators in- cluding two from Northern Arizona University — Dr. Kathleen McGeever department chair of the Theater Department, and Dr. Ann Cummins, a creative writing professor who runs the Northern Arizona University 10-minute Playwriting Showcase.
In addition to the competition there will be workshops for interested thespians on acting techniques, writing and direct- ing. Flagstaff’s own TheatriKids plan to open the show with a performance of scenes from Shakespeare’s The Temptest.
The state competition starts April 24 with the regional compe- tition the following day. The show is $25 per person per day, and will be located at Theatrikos Theater Company at 11 W Cherry Ave. For more information call 928/ 774-1662. Theatrikos.com
AND MORE! ...
April at Theatrikos is a busy month. Through April 12, The- atrikos presents Funny Money by Ray Cooney and directed by Alisa Carlson. Show times are Fridays & Saturdays at 7:30PM and Sundays at 2PM.
Christina Gutierrez-Dennehy will be directing Doubt: A Parable written by Patrick Shanley. This Studio Perfor- mance will take place on April 17, 18 & 19. Both performanc- es will take place at the Doris Harper-Whit Community Play- house 11 W. Cherry Ave.
The inaugural Playwright Café Junior performance will be held at Seven Ate Nine presenting The Gold Key by Antonio Chavez on April 19 (time TBA). Theatrikos.com
| Clair Anna Rose is getting her tickets booked now. clair@thenoise.us
24 • APRIL 2015 • the NOISE arts & news • thenoise.us