2/25/2009 9:53:00 AM Playwrights' Festival as great as ever
Major Black (Peter Wiant) is obsessed with battles of a different sort in “The Bingo Wars,” one of three one-act plays by local writers premiering at the 13th Annual Playwrights’ Festival, now playing through March 8 at Key City Playhouse. Photo by Eligius Wolodkewitsch
By Kathie Meyer of The Leader
The craft of playwriting is alive and well in Jefferson County. Opening last weekend at Key City Playhouse was the 13th annual Playwrights' Festival, and it was everything we've come to expect from the One-Act Play Contest, staged in the fall, and its subsequent February production - an evening of excellent theater.
The show opens with "The Red Bike," written by seasoned playwright Jack O'Connor. Here we have Lawrason Driscoll playing an ornery old grandfather to Gerry Coker's Richie, the son of Jessica Rice's character, Kim. This is a tight little story of a family's attempt at reconnection and redemption, and all three actors are pitch-perfect in their roles, aided by realistic dialogue.
The second play, "The Bingo Wars," was written by another veteran of the festival, Flip Wingrove. Based on an actual experience, the story revolves around the sole recreation available for soldiers in deployment. In this dramatization, Peter Wiant steals the show with his frenetic antics. Young actors Mikaela Euro and Freeman Luoma hold their own against the more experienced Wiant and Jay Page.
"Signs of Change" concludes the festival with a good old-fashioned David and Goliath-themed western written by James Daly. With this ensemble cast, I especially loved Marj Iuro's portrayal of Dolly the saloon owner, the inventive use of the set design for scene changes, and the clever way additional actors literally popped out on stage for the appropriate scenes.
It was all just another standard night of theater in our Dream City until a Seattle woman in the front row opened her mouth and began to pepper the cast and playwrights with questions during the Q&A session. While she raved about the quality of Port Townsend theater - and later vowed to return for more shows - I realized how much I've come to take for granted the growth experienced by the community theater scene since I moved here almost 10 years ago and began my association with KCPT.
We forget that other small communities simply don't have what we have. When outsiders come here with fresh eyes (and money to give to our local economy) and sing praises for our local theaters' efforts, it's as if someone has elbowed us in the ribs. We sit up straight with surprise, and we come back to the party with renewed energy for something we've mistakenly come to consider an ordinary, everyday occurrence. At $15 a ticket ($10 if you're a student), this is a real bargain.
Festival performances run through March 8 on Thursdays at 7 p.m., Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m., and Sundays at 2:30 p.m. For the pay-what-you-wish performance on Thursday, Feb. 26, advance tickets are available at full price, and donations are accepted at the door for the remaining seats on a first-come, first-served basis.
All advance ticket sales are handled by Quimper Sound Music and Media, 230 Taylor St., 385-2454. FLEXpass vouchers and gift passes may be exchanged for tickets at Quimper Sound. Key City Playhouse is located at 419 Washington St.
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