2008 Woodie Awards
Playwrights search for talent en masse at 'Surfacing' festival
Actors audition for roles in six student plays
By: Megan Connelly
Issue date: 3/2/06 Section: LifeStyle
|
Writers and directors listened as students moved from station to station reading lines. By spending a few minutes at each table, actors were able to audition for all six plays in about 30 minutes.
Director Devon Schwab, a senior film production major, said finding the actors is only the first step of the playwright's process, and one that doesn't expect to very much difficulty.
"Working with the actor and writer and seeing how it changes, how it works best, is a really cool process," Schwab said.
He sat with playwright Steve Clemmons, a junior film production major, as they listened to potential actors read their lines.
Clemmons' play "Day of Days" was chosen by the committee out of several he submitted. It took him about a week to write, and now he plans on working with Schwab to tweak the play into its final shape for performance.
"The whole thing is rewarding," Clemmons said. "If the audience leaves with something or they're more open-minded to the theater process, that's the payoff."
"Day of Days" will be performed in a moving car, which will drive three audience members at a time around campus to view the play's two actors performing in the front seat.
The entire performance lasts about 10 minutes and will be running from 7 to 9:30 p.m. April 20. The other five plays will be performed in classic, theater style and will open April 21.
"We believe that the director's job in this festival is to really give life and dimension to the ideas of the playwright and, even more importantly, through rehearsal help the playwright create a more powerful play then what they started with," said Senior Director Phillip Allen, a junior film production major.
Finding the right collaborative balance is important to assembling the plays.
"We really want the playwrights to focus on making their plays stronger, and gathering ideas on how they may expand them if they decide to write a full-length version," Allen said. "As you can imagine, this can create some tension, so we work hard to develop a collaborative and supportive relationship between the playwright and the director."