THE PLAY’S THE THING

By Shirley M. Carolan, ATM-G

Shakespeare said it best “The play’s the thing!”  While I might not use that quote in the same context as Hamlet, it nevertheless describes how I feel about plays. They are thoughts and ideas, blended into a cohesive story and action, sprung to life to entertain and enrich our lives.

This week I had the unique opportunity and privilege of seeing one of two plays, “S.R.O”  a work- in- progress, by playwright Michael Eichler at the New Village Arts Theatre, Carlsbad, CA.  It came about because of a new program, which is a collaboration between Playwrights Village:  Playwrights Project and New Village Arts, of public readings of plays.

What made this event so special is that theatre professionals and the audience were given the rare opportunity to ask questions of the playwright and give their constructive feedback, on what they saw and heard, as well as suggest ideas for character expansion and plot when the reading was over.  I must say I thoroughly enjoyed the play and concurred with all the comments given. The ending came as quite a shock and was totally unexpected! Now, the writers will hone their visions and incorporate the feedback so that the final production can be presented July 27-29 at the New Village Arts Theatre.

Unfortunately, I was unable to attend the premier reading, the evening before, of the play “Beginner’s Heaven” by playwright Tim Jones. I’m sure it was equally interesting and entertaining. Now I look forward to seeing the final production July 20-22.

For more information please contact New Village Arts Theatre, located at 5787 State Street, Carlsbad, Ca, 760-433-3245, www.newvillagearts.org; Playwrights Project:  619-239-8222, www.playwrightsproject.org.  

We are so fortunate in north San Diego County, particularly in the “golden triangle” of  Carlsbad, Oceanside and Vista, to have wonderful theatre surrounding us presenting everything from comedy, drama, musicals, to Shakespeare.  Oceanside has two theatre companies, the Star Theatre Academy, and the Oceanside Theatre Company; Vista also has two companies, the  Moonlight Stage Productions and the Avo Playhouse. 

Why not make this summer memorable by attending and enjoying one of these productions.  Better yet, if you have out-of- town summer visitors, and who doesn’t, why not treat them to a night at the theatre?   You’ll be so glad you did. Perhaps I’ll get to see you at one of these events.    

Shirley M. Carolan, ATMG
Writer ● Speaker ● Artist
artistwithaflair@att.net
Phone/Fax: 760-732-0663

http://www.shirleycarolan.com
http://www.angelscross.blogspot.com
http://www.smcarolan.blogspot.com

Copyright© 2012 by Shirley M. Carolan. All rights reserved. To reprint any part of this article simply contact Shirley Carolan at artistwithaflair@att.net. Thank you.