Musical Theater Update

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1 Is this not displaying correctly? View it in your browser. April 2014 In This Issue Musical Theater Update Eighth Annual TMPF Meet the Playwrights What's Coming Up? Interested in Playwriting? Star Grams An Invitation to All Did You Know? Musical Theater Update I am pleased to report to you about two important events in connection with the School of Theater s ongoing development of its musical theater certificate program. The first is to alert you to an invitation that you may have already received inviting you to a special event on Saturday, May 3rd for the express purpose of supporting our musical theater program. It is called Spotlight on Cabaret and Comedy and will feature both the Mason Cabaret and the Mason Improv. The event is co-sponsored by the City of Fairfax s Spotlight on the Arts and all of our proceeds will go to support our musical theater program. The cost is $35 per person and will start with a pre-performance champagne reception. After the performance there will be a second reception serving wine, coffee and dessert where you will be able to meet and mingle with our student performers.

2 The venue is Old Town Hall in downtown Fairfax City and there is ample free parking available. For further information contact Kathryn Hansen at or The second event to report is the return of our musical theater program to the Center for the Arts Concert Hall stage. Following the successful production of Into the Woods last year, the School of Theater and the School of Music will be presenting four performances of the Tony Award (Best Musical) winning musical The Mystery of Edwin Drood. The show will run Friday through Sunday, October 24 26, so mark your calendar now. We will give you further details in the fall. And one final note, don t forget our Annual Ten Minute Play Festival on Friday and Saturday, April See you at the theater. Eileen Duggan, President Friends of Theater at Mason The 8th Annual Ten Minute Play Festival An Insider's Look at Organized Chaos: All about the Festival" Cody Clarke Production Coordinator, Ten Minute Play Festival The Ten Minute Play Festival (TMPF) process begins about a week after the previous year's festival has ended. The management and artistic directors meet to discuss improvements and scheduling for the upcoming festival. Using this system, we have successfully added additional technical rehearsal time as well as a dress rehearsal to the process. We then get a few months off. Over the summer, Clayton Austin, as the School of Theater's production manager, finalizes the performance dates. In early October, the artistic directors meet with management again to finalize the scheduling for the next few months.

3 The first real push involving students other than myself and Bree (Brianna St. Clair) occurs in mid-november with the "Call for Playwrights." This is the announcement for the playwriting competition. The plays are due shortly after we return from Winter Break, allowing playwrights to have the holiday in order to write. This year, we received 35 submissions. The plays are then distributed to the Reading Committee, which consists of Rick Davis, Mary Lechter, and Suzanne Maloney. They take two weeks to read the plays on their own, then they meet to figure out which plays will be best suited for the festival. This year, they selected eight plays. A quick note about Rick, Mary, and Suzanne. Heather McDonald is typically the artistic director for the Ten Minute Play Festival. However, this semester she is on sabbatical, while she collaborates with Arena Stage's "The Playwrights' Arena." In her absence, Rick Davis, Mary Lechter, and Suzanne Maloney have stepped up to serve as the festival's artistic directors. As soon as the plays are announced, Bree and I place copies of the scripts in both the Theater Office and the Mason Players Lounge and release the "Call for Directors", a notice stating that anyone interested in directing needs to read through all eight of the plays and send a proposal to Rick Davis. Rick then scheduled interviews with all those interested and determined which directors would be best suited for each play. While the artistic directors are searching for directors, Bree and I are searching for assistant stage managers (ASM). Due to the magnitude of the festival, it requires that we have four ASMs, more than any other Mason Players production over the course of the year. This enables each ASM to work with two shows- managing rehearsals, writing reports, keeping track of additional needs. This year our ASMs are Kathryn Rodgers, Maggie Rodgers, Blake Taft, and Conor Terry. The playwrights all meet with Suzanne Maloney in order to discuss revisions. They work with her in order to ensure their plays are all that they can be. But that's not all. Designers are also assigned to each of the shows. The designers are all pulled from the current design classes. This means that students enrolled in costume design act as the costume designers for the festival, students in sound design as the sound designers, etc. Designers begin reading and re-reading the scripts and developing preliminary plans, anxious to speak to their directors once they're announced. Overseeing the designers are the members of the design faculty- Clayton Austin, Scenic; Autum Casey, Lights; Howard Kurtz, Costumes; and Kevin Dunayer, Sound. After directors have been chosen, the artistic directors, management team, playwrights, and directors all meet. This gives us a chance to explain how the festival operates, how directors and playwrights should work in tandem, and answer any other questions anyone might have. We then have a week to prepare for auditions.

4 Auditions for TMPF rely solely on cold readings from the eight scripts. This means that each director/playwright team works together to select a monologue and scene from their script to be performed by auditioners. It is often a long night, but we wind up seeing a variety of interesting and diverse talents. Each year, there are many students who solely audition for TMPF, as opposed to the other Mason Players shows. Two days after auditions, we have casting, overseen by Mary Lechter. This is a difficult process as we have eight plays to cast. I suppose it's similar to a draft pick. The directors have worked with the playwrights to determine their top three choices for each role. There are a lot of deals and trades between the shows; and in the end, everyone is satisfied with their cast. The casts are then contacted immediately, as our first rehearsal is the following day. The first rehearsal is more affectionately referred to as the "Big Read." This is one of the few rehearsals where the entire company gathers. Playwrights, actors, directors, and designers from all of the plays meet in order to read through every one of the scripts. This year I believe we have about 75 students working on the festival. This is also the night where the artistic directors determine the order in which the eight plays will be performed, but they keep it to themselves for a few more days. Following the readings, the actors are released and the remaining members of the company have our first production meeting. This serves as an opportunity for designers to meet and talk with their directors in order to get the designs in motion. Following the Big Read, the production coordinator (that's me) works to determine the rehearsal schedule. Rehearsals are held in four locations, in two hour blocks- one from 6-8pm and one from 8-10pm. This means that all eight plays could be rehearsing on any given night. The rehearsal schedule is based on the actors' and directors' availability. This means that I go through over fifty students' individual schedules in order to form one viable rehearsal schedule. The main goal is that each play receives the same amount of rehearsal time in roughly the same styles of rehearsal spaces. It's like a daunting logic puzzle. The next two weeks are devoted to rehearsal. On the first Friday, we have our Designer Run. We run through all eight plays again (this time in order) enabling the designers to see what the directors have done thus far. This enables the designers to complete their designs, as they now know what the play is actually going to look like on its feet. The following Monday, we begin tech. We devote three days to technical rehearsals, allowing each show the same amount of time to set level, program, and run cues. On Thursday we have our dress rehearsal and on Friday we open. As the production coordinator, I took care of the planning and scheduling processes, but once we get into tech, it's Bree's show. She is responsible for the running of the show. She calls the cues and controls the chaos of all eight shows, allowing for extremely smooth performances. We have three performances Friday, April 25 at 8 PM and Saturday, April 26 at 2 PM and 8 PM. Immediately after, we strike and begin the process for next year's festival.

5 In short, the Ten Minute Play Festival is like well-organized chaos; but it's the most beneficial chaos the School of Theater produces. It gives first-time directors, designers, actors, and stage managers the opportunities they need. They are, and will always be, two of my favorite weeks of the year. Cody Clarke is a senior theater major. He has served as the scenic designer for The Rover (2014), Six Characters in Search of an Author (2013), and A Bad Year for Tomatoes (2012). He has also worked on the Ten Minute Play Festival in management capacities over the past four years. He is a member of the Mason Improv Association, a teaching artist with Acting for Young People, and the Production Intern at Synetic Theater. Upon graduating in May, he will begin an internship at the Kennedy Center. Type to enter text

6 Meet The Playwrights Christina Collins "The Last Midnight" Directed by Ruthie Rado The Play: A clock chimes every night at midnight in the old widow s house. The servants dread this chiming because it means the widow will have another one of her hysterical fits. But the servants don t know that each time, the widow is reliving the most important hour of her life. One night, when the servants decide to dispose of the clock, the old woman doesn t fret. Instead, she takes out a shoe, ancient but glamorous, and the audience relives that famous hour along with her, as well as the little-known events that happened after it. At once enchanting and shocking, The Last Midnight presents a character many may recognize from a fairy tale. But this re-imagining shows us her actual end a part two, if you will because no story ends at happily ever after. And the real ending is not what anyone expected.

7 Christina Elaine Collins is a Pushcart Prize-nominated fiction writer and an MFA candidate at George Mason University. Her fiction can be found in various literary periodicals such as Jve Magazine, and Poiesis Review, as well as in anthologies from Tenebris Books and Fey Publishing (forthcoming). She has been a writer-in-residence at the Kimmel Harding Nelson Center for the Arts as well as the Art Commune program in Armenia. She is excited to see her love for writing and theater come together on stage with The Last Midnight, which has been adapted from her short story of the same name, originally published in Jabberwock Review and nominated for the Pushcart Prize. Alex Galloway "Slumber Party" Directed by Emily Gruver The Play: A scary story to tell in the dark. Alex Galloway is a junior film student from Fairfax, Virginia. He has been involved in several Mason Players productions and is a founding member of the student produced T heater company Peasant Theater. Alec Hennerberger "conversations/heartbeats" Directed by Eric Schlein

8 The Play: A young man grapples with his old wounds, and struggles to learn how to handle the passing of his mother, 15 years ago. Alec Henneberger is a senior theater major from Burke, VA. This is his first attempt at playwriting. He primarily works as a director and sound designer. Andrew Reid "Monsters Calling Home" Directed by Madison Landis The Play: Monsters Calling Home is dark look into the tragic last day of school for certain individuals. Teachers and students delve into their stories and recount their final thoughts. They vocalize what it feels to be confronted by your worst fear. Andrew Reid is a junior theater major with a concentration on writing/dramaturgy for stage and screen at George Mason.

9 Jessica Silver "Muff n' Stuff" Directed by Dustin Prisley The Play: Jack and Eve have immediate chemistry in this classic "boy meets girl in a coffee shop" scenario, but will the spark lead to more? Jessica Silver received her BA in journalism and theater from George Mason University. She has acted in various plays, television shows, and short films, both on and off campus. She loves writing fiction and has had a ten minute play produced at Philly's Primary Stages in Philadelphia. She is excited to have another in GMU's 2014 TMPF Aaron Sulkin "The Ninja Play" Directed by Rebecca Wahls The Play: It's about ninjas. Aaron Sulkin is a senior philosophy major, theater minor and is very happy to be participating in TMPF. He is going to miss GMU theater and would like to take this opportunity to thank all his friends and family that made these past four years so memorable.

10 Kathryn Wherry "Don't Look in the Pantry" Directed by Roman V. Barrosse The Play: "Don't Look in the Pantry" is a silly play about the difficulties of unexpected intergalactic visitors and how two kids from the suburbs might handle such a situation - without telling mom, of course. Kathryn Wherry is a senior theater student at George Mason University. She has participated in a number of shows, including The Elephant Man, Barefoot in the Park, and Into the Woods, all from the technical side and enjoyed it greatly. She hopes to continue working on her various writing projects and participating in theater after graduation. Zach Wilcox "Give Thanks" Directed by Halah Zenhom

11 The Play: "Give Thanks" is the story of a not-so-traditional family that is just trying to uphold their Thai Thursday tradition. When the son's best friend since childhood gets drunk and more offensive than usual, the limits of how forgiving the family can be are tested. Zach Wilcox is a junior theater major from the Eastern Shore of Virginia. Most recently, he has played the Doctor in Woyzeck and a Gypsy Troubadour in The Merchant. He works as a Teaching Artist for Acting for Young People. He is a member of the theater honor society, Alpha Psi Omega. This is his first time as a playwright in the Ten Minute Play Festival. Alpha Psi Omega, the theater honors fraternity, will be selling Star Grams at the upcoming production of The Ten Minute Play Festival. Star Grams are a fun way to send a message to a cast member during the show. Star Grams are $1 and can be purchased at the table set up right outside of TheaterSpace. Proceeds from Star Grams are split between Relay for Life (The American Cancer Foundation) and Alpha Psi Omega. Interested in Playwriting? The Writing Group is hosted by the Hub Theatre's Suzanne Maloney and Casey Bauer, a recent Mason Theater graduate currently interning as an assistant to the Hub's artistic director. This meeting of student playwrights is an initiative between Suzanne, Casey, the

12 Hub and the School of Theater to provide an outlet for playwriting students to share their work and receive feedback from their peers. The hope is that this group could lead to workshops and potential public readings through the Hub or the School of Theater. The group meets every Friday at 4:00 PM in the theater conference room in the Performing Arts Building on George Mason's campus. Currently they are mostly student based but the group is open to all interested playwrights. An Invitation To All Spotlight on the Arts Founded in 1985 as a collaboration between the City of Fairfax and George Mason University, the Fairfax Spotlight on the Arts Festival aimed to enhance the community s awareness of the many arts and cultural opportunities in Fairfax and encouraging expansion of the arts through supporting fledgling arts organizations in the community. Spotlight s 29th season will kick off on Friday, April 25, 2014 and run until Sunday, May 17, On May 3, Spotlight on the Arts and the School of Theater invite you to join us for an evening of show tunes, improv and more Proceeds benefit Mason's musical theater program.

13 What's Coming Up? George Mason University s School of Theater is proud to announce our Season of Innovation Schedule Almost, Maine (Mason Fringe) by John Cariani Directed by Nerissa Hart Cariani s series of short plays explore the sudden thunderclap of love and the scorched earth that sometimes follows, set in a remote, mythical almost-town called Almost, Maine. October 1 & 3 at 8 PM October 4 at 2pm TheaterSpace Every Fringe Performance is Pay What You Can The Blue Room (Mason Fringe) by David Hare Directed by Alex Galloway Based on Arthur Schnitzler s La Ronde, The Blue Room is a played out through ten intimate circular scenes of love and betrayal, through a succession of characters whose sexual lives enmesh like a daisy chain. A meditation on men and women, sex and social class, projection and desire. October 2 & 4 at 8 PM October 5 at 2 PM TheaterSpace Every Fringe Performance is Pay What You Can

14 The Mystery of Edwin Drood (Mainstage Series) A Musical by Rupert Holmes based on the unfinished novel by Charles Dickens Directed by Ken Elston Musical Direction by Dennis Layendecker During this raucous, time-bending, gender-bending, interactive journey, the players of London s Music Hall Royale put on their flamboyant rendition of an unfinished Dickens murder mystery. The giddy playfulness of this play-within-a-play draws the audience toward one of Drood s most talked-about features: an audience vote (by free downloadable app, no less) on the identity of the murderer in a most unusual and hilarious finale October at 8 PM October 25 at 2 PM October 26 at 4 PM Center for the Arts Concert Hall October 31-November 1 at 8 PM November 1 at 2 PM Hylton Performing Arts Center Merchant Hall In the Next Room or the vibrator play (Studio Series) by Sarah Ruhl Directed by Ruth Rado A stimulating, funny and provocative play set in a prim upper class Victorian home at the dawn of electricity, where a gentleman doctor has invented an extraordinary and mysterious device for treating hysteria. This smart comedy ponders marriage and intimacy, and what it truly means to find connection. November 20, 21, 22 at 8 PM November 22, 23 at 2 PM TheaterSpace Dido (Queen of Carthage) (Studio Series) by Christopher Marlowe Directed by Rebecca Wahls Between the destruction of Troy and the founding of Rome, Queen Dido built the magnificent city of Carthage. One of Marlowe s most fascinating plays, inspired by Virgil s Aeneid, this retelling of the tragic love of Dido for the Trojan hero Aeneas, unfolds in verse written by one of the great playwrights of the Elizabethan Age. February 26, 27, 28 at 8 PM February 28 and March 1 at 2 PM TheaterSpace

15 An Experiment with an Air Pump (Mainstage Series) by Shelagh Stephenson Directed by Mary Lechter This contemporary consideration of art and science takes place on the eve of two very different centuries, but within the same house. Furtive romance, farcical commotion, and dark secrets infuse this unique examination of women s roles in medical research and the ethical challenges unfolding in the subjects of anatomy in 1799 and in genetics in March 26, 27, 28, April 2, 3, 4, at 8 PM March 28, 29, April 4 at 2 PM Harris Theatre The Annual Ten Minute Play Festival The tradition continues as student directors, dramaturgs, and actors present their fellow student writers newest works in an intense ten-day process that culminates in a presentation that shines a light on the storytellers of the next generation. April 24 and 25 at 8 PM April 25 at 2 PM TheaterSpace Did you Know? According to Best College Reviews, the Hylton Performing Arts Center made the Top 25 Most Amazing College Campus Theaters, calling it an architectural splendor. Rick Davis, Executive Director of the Hylton Performing Arts Center and Associate Dean of the College of Visual and Performing Arts, says that he was surprised, but delighted about the designation.

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