2/29/2008 12:23:00 PM Playwrights' Festival tackles taboo subjects skillfully
Keira Matkins discovers the possibilities in her part as The Kid in DD Wigley’s play “Apple.” The Playwrights’ Festival runs through Sunday, March 9. --Photo by Shelley Randall
Producing a new play is much like making homemade bread. It starts with a playwright's mix of words carefully kneaded, after which it is patiently allowed to rise in the consciousness of the director and actors during rehearsal, then concluded with a fully baked performance.
This year's three plays in the 12th annual Playwrights' Festival are done to perfection.
If you think this festival is amateur work, think again. All three works were faithfully tended by all concerned, bringing forth perhaps the strongest slate of plays this festival has seen in all of its 12 years.
First on the playbill is DD Wigley's play "Apple." Wigley, also a poet and writer, clearly has an ear for dialogue as she captures the nuances of a couple (Ezekial Wakefield and Heather Poulsen) arguing about everything and nothing in the second scene. The play alternates between scenes of these two as they discuss the most intimate experience of their lives together, and scenes of a young girl (Keira Matkins) conversing with God (John Clise) on the other side of the stage, separated by a portal. As the play unfolds, so also does its topic and the connection between the two staged factions.
"Apple" is a marvelous take on a highly charged subject without taking sides or a political stand, and its actors carry it off brilliantly. Matkins made a charming choice as The Kid from beginning to end, without being cloying, executing her stage directions like a pro.
Next up is "Veteran's Day" by Judith Glass Collins. This is a raw and powerful story of two Vietnam vets (Ian Keith and Raven), working together in a Washington, D.C., bar, who find themselves in the company of a visitor (Patti Quintero) on Veterans Day. This story confronts the ugly remnants of an unpopular war, and the building tension onstage is palpable. Some audience members were brought to tears by the characters' revelations and tribulations.
Director Denise Fleener pulls the best performances I've seen yet from all three of these actors, especially Raven, who expertly played the emotional range of his character, Gunny, while resisting any urges to take it over the top.
After intermission is Sandy Diamond's play "Eight Women, or The Bears," a rollicking, fast-paced account of one woman's (Marcy MacGregor) experience with breast cancer. Here, Diamond -- a playwright with three wins and two honorable mentions in the festival thus far -- has taken a terrifying life-threatening experience and successfully turned it into a farce, inserting her sly wit in places only Diamond is capable of imagining.
MacGregor does a great job conveying the lack of control anyone with serious illness experiences, and her supporting cast (Micheal Cavett, Doug Taylor, Ramon Dailey and Kathi Taylor) wheel through the surreal madness with much delight.
These three plays, each with its brilliant angle on taboo subjects, work well together to present a complete package. There are some "how did they do that?" moments and strong images that made for interesting discussion in the Q&A sessions after both the Friday and Sunday performances.
In addition to the work onstage, the theater's remodel added 20 more seats; however, opening night was a packed house, making it still prudent to buy tickets in advance. The new lobby was a big hit as well. It was a difficult task to pull off three great new shows and this remodel simultaneously, but the deeds are now done, giving testament to how far Key City Public Theatre will go to push the envelope into the dramatic stratosphere it continues to reach for.
Key City Playhouse is located at 419 Washington. Performances run Feb. 22-March 9 at 7 p.m. Thursdays, 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, and 2:30 p.m. and Sundays. General admission is $15; $10 for students.
Advance ticket sales are handled by Quimper Sound, 230 Taylor. Flexpass vouchers and gift passes can be exchanged for tickets at Quimper Sound.
For more about the show or schedule, call 385-7396 or visit www.keycitypublictheatre.org.
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