2/20/2008 12:15:00 PM KCPT opens 50th season with Playwrights' Festival
From left: Judith Glass Collins, Sandy Diamond and DD Wigley are the award winners in the One-Act Play Competition sponsored by the Port Townsend Arts Commission – Photo by Kathie Meyer
Former Mayor John Clise takes on the role of God and 9-year-old Keira Matkins is The Kid in a one-act play by Port Townsend resident DD Wigley.
Michael Cavett, a former Port Townsend Chamber of Commerce president, plays a doctor in Port Townsend resident Sandy Diamond's latest work.
Former City Councilmember Ian Keith and professional performing artist Raven are Vietnam War buddies in a piece by Marrowstone Island resident Judith Glass Collins.
Filled with illustrious local talent on the stage and behind the scenes, Key City Public Theatre's 12th Annual Playwrights' Festival is the place to see and be seen, as well as to celebrate the three local playwrights whose one-act plays premiere at Key City Playhouse this Friday, Feb. 22. The production opens Key City Public Theatre's 50th anniversary season.
Selected for this year's festival production from the 38 submissions by Jefferson County playwrights to the 2007 One Act Play Competition are DD Wigley's play "Apple," Judith Glass Collins' "Veterans' Day" and Sandy Diamond's "Eight Women, or the Bears."
Three women playwrights
"Apple" is Wigley's first play. Also a poet, Wigley was a finalist in the Washington Poets Association's 10th Annual Bart Baxter Performance Poetry Competition last April. With allusions to the biblical forbidden fruit, "Apple" is a surrealistic exploration of the search for meaning in human relationships with each other and our maker. DJ Adams directs a cast composed of John Clise, Keira Matkins, Heather Poulsen and Ezekial Wakefield.
"Veterans' Day" is based on Collins' experience as a trauma therapist treating veterans. Her recent work in drama therapy and her doctoral studies in clinical psychology inform her story of two Vietnam War vets (Keith and Raven) battered by wars fought at home and abroad who are dragged back into an unwelcome past by a mysterious stranger (Patti Quintero). Denise Fleener directs.
"Eight Women or, The Bears" makes Diamond a three-time winner and two-time honorable mention playwright in the One-Act Play Competition. A published poet and former artist-in-residence at Centrum, she creates in this play an exciting and terrifying roller-coaster ride for her main character (Marcy MacGregor) that leaves her searching for solace from her favorite childhood comedian (Douglas Taylor). Don White directs a cast that also includes Micheal Cavett, Ramon Dailey and Kathi Taylor.
Informal "AfterWords" discussions with the playwrights and members of the artistic staff and cast follow all festival performances. Please note that all three plays contain adult themes and may not be suitable for children.
"As a member of the audience, your responses to these new plays shape the works and affect their next incarnations," says Denise Winter, KCPT artistic director. "After all, these are the stories our neighbors are choosing to tell; these are the issues on our minds; these are the problems and triumphs we face -- and this is our forum to share them."
More seats, special events
Port Townsend's FairWinds Winery generously sponsors this year's festival. Also debuting are the results of an extensive off-season remodel of Key City Playhouse that added 20 new seats to the intimate theater, bringing the number to 66. Expanding into the space next door also created a spacious lobby, box office and concession stand.
New in 2008 are two special events associated with all main-stage shows. A "Second Saturday" pre-show wine-and-cheese reception in the new lobby with the directors and artistic director is held at 6:30 p.m. on March 1 (cost is $20; attendance is limited). And a Sunday morning brunch offers an opportunity to dine with the three winning playwrights. Brunch is served at 11 a.m. March 9, in KCPT's uptown offices before the final performance (cost is $50; attendance is limited).
Key City Playhouse is located at 419 Washington. Longtime patrons, please note that the new entrance is one door to the west. Festival performances run Feb. 22-March 9; Thursdays at 7 p.m., Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m., and Sundays at 2:30 p.m. General admission is $15; $10 for students.
For the pay-what-you-wish performance on Thurs., Feb. 28, advance tickets are available at full price and donations are accepted at the door for the remaining seats on a first-come, first-serve basis. This evening is sponsored by the Port Townsend Arts Commission to encourage accessibility to quality live theater for and by the community.
All advance ticket sales are handled by Quimper Sound, 230 Taylor. FLEXpass vouchers and gift passes may be exchanged for tickets at Quimper Sound.
For special event reservations or information about group sales and subscription packages, call 379-0195. For more about the show or schedule, call the KCPT show info line at 385-7396 or visit www.keycitypublictheatre.org.
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