Back when we began planning the Suburban Summer Theatre Surge, Andrew and I knew we wanted to invite the south shore community into the workshop process for a new play.
Workshops are often closed-door affairs – directors, playwrights, and actors rework and rewrite without the prying eyes of an audience. What if we don’t think of the audience as “prying eyes,” though? What if we see them as collaborators who are just as important as any member of the cast or creative team? After all, our goal at Artists From Suburbia is to bring people of all experience levels and backgrounds into the performing arts’ creative process, and we know that not everyone wants to or can get up on stage or work behind-the-scenes. We decided to fully tap into south shore community theatre’s potential by opening our workshop process to the community, allowing audiences to give feedback to help develop a new play over the course of the summer. Given the success of his play “The Werewolves,” (it’s even going to Manhattan Rep this summer!) we invited Alex Moon back to write “Les Nuls,” a new comedy exploring revolution, strife, and mayhem at an 18th-century Parisian café. After a successful public reading, the creative team is preparing for the second reading on July 10 at the Brockton Public Library, and we’re excited to delve into the process for these three reasons: 1. There’s Humor Remember all the dead bodies on stage during “The Werewolves”? Forget them. While “Les Nuls” explores dark themes and turbulent times in French history, Alex approaches them with a lighthearted tone to address the ludicracy of violence, war, and classism. We’re excited to tackle these tough topics with a sense of humor - after all, we all need a laugh, especially on a Monday night in south shore suburbia. 2.There’s Community A community-based theatre initiative can’t exist without inviting our entire community into the creative process. While the playwright, cast, and creative team have been making discoveries in the rehearsal room the past few weeks, we’re excited to see the insights that our fellow south shore community members bring to the piece. Every audience member interprets a play differently, so we look forward to hearing reactions and suggestions as we got back to the drawing board before our next staged reading. 3. There’s Talent We were overwhelmed this year by the caliber of performers that came to audition, and we’re happy to have so many talented artists involved with the reading. Additionally, we have Corinne Mason and Ally Madden, the creative team behind “The Werewovles,” returning as director and dramaturge respectively. We’re excited to see the talents of all these dedicated artists culminate on stage for south shore community theatre audiences to enjoy. You can still reserve free tickets for the second staged reading of “Les Nuls” on Eventbrite. We hope to see you there! Gavin Damore is a cofounder of AfS and oversees all outreach and communications.
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Pride Month With South Shore Theatre
When we put out a call for plays addressing “unheard melodies,” we received numerous entries exploring the lives of GLBTQ individuals. After much deliberation, we finally settled on two plays for our second evening of original one-act plays on June 9 at the East Bridgewater Public Library: John Minigan’s “Easter at the Entrée Gold” and G.L. Horton’s “The Gender Agenda.” We’re thrilled to present these works as part of our Suburban Summer Theatre Surge. We believe it’s important to have queer representation in the south shore community theatre scene, especially during National LGBTQ Pride Month. Here’s why we’re particularly excited for these staged readings: Easter at the Entrée Gold John Minigan’s play explores two Catholic school teachers struggling with their sexualities, but unlike many plays that address the tensions between religious teachings and queer identities, the tribulations of main characters Leverett and Peter don’t vilify the Catholic Church. Rather, Minigan explores the characters’ nuanced predicament through a conversation at a luxurious Montreal hotel. Minigan’s play also addresses oppression’s long-term effects. When rumors about Leverett’s sexuality emerge among his students, the stress becomes too much, causing him to drive up to Canada to isolate himself. Our society tends to think of oppression as a overtly hateful act, such as a taunt or an assault, but more often, It manifests as years of microaggressions. “Easter at the Entrée Gold” provides a short glimpse into the consequences of small, everyday words and actions. We think this is important to explore with south shore community theatre. The Gender Agenda Representation of transgender individuals typically skews young. Older transgender individuals obviously exist, and many were pioneers in the queer liberation movement, but we don’t always see this represented through theatre, arts, and media. We’re excited to tell a story of a trans individual who isn’t in their 20s with G.L. Horton’s “The Gender Agenda,” a play exploring the life of Jan, a church-going woman who socializes with women upwards of 30 years old. “The Gender Agenda” also disrupts typical narratives of trans* lives by exploring Jan’s intersecting identities. Jan doesn’t frequent usual queer spaces. She’s a tech professional and a Christian, seeking validation in these not-always-queer-friendly spaces. As much as queer spaces are important and necessary, some queer individuals want to be able to socialize and work in cisgender-dominant spaces. Horton’s play shows how something many people take for granted – being involved with a community church group – is rife with difficulty for trans* individuals. Interested in exploring these south shore community theatre works with us during Pride Month? Be sure to reserve your free tickets to our evening of staged readings. We’re already half-way sold out, so don’t wait to take part in Artists From Suburbia’s Suburban Summer Theatre Surge! Gavin Damore is cofounder of AfS and currently serves as communications manager. |
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AuthorBlog posts are written by various members of Artists from Suburbia's productions and staff. Archives
July 2017
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