Wednesday, May 31, 2006

a peek at PFF

A peek at the beginning of tomorrow's *Inlander* article on the 23rd annual Playwrights Festival Forum at the Civic, including one paragraph that had to be cut for space and some random notes that never made it into the published story:

Revising Playwrights

THEATER
The Civic’s Studio Theatre offers a festival of brand-new works: four one-acts and a full-length play
MICHAEL BOWEN

The four-one acts at this year’s Playwrights Festival Forum, as always, offer a grab-bag of premises: A playwright yells at a critic who ridiculed her play. A man ponders the meaning of a spiritual dream. The Tooth Fairy reluctantly comforts a troubled little boy. Four creatures in the Garden of Eden wonder why they’re getting blamed for what Adam and Eve did.
Instead of (as in the past) eight one-act plays (on alternating evenings of four playlets each), this year’s Playwrights Festival Forum at the Civic offers a total of four one-acts (all presented on three successive evenings, June 8-10) followed by three performances of a single full-length play (June 15-17).
The playwrights may be amateurs, but their works have earned their recognition. A committee selected the four winning one-acts from more than 70 blind submissions; and while 25 other dramatists vied for a single spot in the juried full-length-play competition, it was Spokane’s own Will Gilman who won the opportunity to see his play, Sonnet 23, produced.
At least four of the dramatists will be in attendance. The fifth — Carl Williams, a frequent Playwrights finalist in recent years — has to travel all the way from Houston, after all. (The one-acts competition is nationwide, with the other three finalists representing California, Oregon and Washington. Full-length play submissions were accepted only from writers living within a 500-mile radius.)


***


more from Festival Director Bryan Harnetiaux:

on the new format of PFF:
"This the first time we're doing it this way, as an experiment. hoping that it's worthwhile.
We really wanted an opportunity to see if there would be sufficient entries [for the full-length-play competition] that would justify limiting it [to the region].

on changes to PFF:
"We're in the process of reimagining this festival. We're going to look very closely at it and then tinker a bit. We've got two more years before the 25th anniversary. We have made the conscious choice not to publicize the festival in the national publications. I mean, we’re doing this out of the trunk of our car -- it’s largely volunteer." If PFF were "to go national," says Harnetiaux, "then you need a staff. But Sandy Hosking has done us a great service by spreading the word on the Internet."

on Maynard Villers, longtime PFF Director:
"We miss Maynard. I gather he had a conflict with "Lion in Winter" over at Ignite! Maynard participated in early committee work, but for the first time in many years, he won't be director this year. We miss him. It was certainly amicable, and I, for one, hope he returns. There's a lot of front-end work in this festival, coordinating it all -- with two separate committees reading plays ... there's a lot of administative work."

on the Festival's producer:
"Janice Abramson is our producer, and she doesn’t get nearly enough credit for what she does. I would be lost without Janice."

on *York*:
"David Casteal will be doing four shows of *York* at the 78th Street Theater (in New York City) July 6-9."

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