'Summerstock 2' showcases work of local playwrights
All Paige Namuth did was push send on her computer and she
became a playwright. Actually, there's more to it than that, but Namuth,
director of Antlers Alcohol and Drug Treatment Center in Lincoln, is a tad
modest.
She still can't believe people fuss over the stuff she writes.
"I'm a shy person," Namuth said. "I don't really enjoy (the attention), but (my daughter) has been leading me along here and pushing me into the arts world."
Namuth will be one of nine playwrights featured in "Summerstock 2," a festival of short plays, monologues, visual arts and live music.
The event, a collaboration between the Angels Theatre Company and Rough Magic Productions, begins a nine-performance run Thursday at The Loft at The Mill.
In January, Rough Magic and the Angels put out a call for original one-act plays and monologues addressing summertime themes of heat, travel and escape. They received 33 scripts and pared it down to 12 for the festival.
The works are warm, honest, sometimes silly and often thought-provoking.
Five directors and 24 actors will stage the works, including Namuth's daughter Lettie Van Hemert, a regular on the local theater circuit.
"The idea behind this is to give local actors another opportunity to perform," Angels co-founder Judith Hart said.
This year's "Summerstock" scripts are quite diverse.
They include Toberlin Burger's "Shadow of a Man," a comedy about a man whose life has become so dark his own shadow gives up on him, and Erin McLaine's "Wonderland," a humorous take on Alice and the rabbit hole.
Rough Magic co-founder Gregory Peters, who has a play and two monologues in the festival, said it's a great opportunity for all involved, especially the playwrights.
"There are big theaters in other places with play development, but there's not much for someone who's just starting out," he said.
Like Namuth.
Her play "Popcycle" is a meditation on the properties of color and flavor. And, yes, she's aware she misspelled popsicle. She did it on purpose.
"‘Popcycle' is part of the transportation through life," explained Namuth, who said it follows the "tricycle" and the "bicycle."
"There are two sticks," she said. "To share it and eat it with a friend you have to break it in two without breaking the popsicle," she said. "There's metaphor there. Somewhere."
Namuth then laughed.
"There's an actress that's going to be me, and a director that's going to tell her how to be me," she added. "Isn't that great? I get to sit in the audience and watch it happen.
"I can't wait."
Reach Jeff Korbelik at 473-7213 or jkorbelik@journalstar.com.
If you go
What: "Summerstock 2," Angels Theatre Company/Rough Magic Productions
Where: The Loft at The Mill, Eighth and P streets
When: 7:30 p.m. Thursday through June 13 and June 15-18
Tickets: $15, $7 for students and senior citizens; 474-2206 or http://www.angelscompany.org/
Note: An informal question-and-answer session will take place after the June 9 and 13 performances
She still can't believe people fuss over the stuff she writes.
"I'm a shy person," Namuth said. "I don't really enjoy (the attention), but (my daughter) has been leading me along here and pushing me into the arts world."
Namuth will be one of nine playwrights featured in "Summerstock 2," a festival of short plays, monologues, visual arts and live music.
The event, a collaboration between the Angels Theatre Company and Rough Magic Productions, begins a nine-performance run Thursday at The Loft at The Mill.
In January, Rough Magic and the Angels put out a call for original one-act plays and monologues addressing summertime themes of heat, travel and escape. They received 33 scripts and pared it down to 12 for the festival.
The works are warm, honest, sometimes silly and often thought-provoking.
Five directors and 24 actors will stage the works, including Namuth's daughter Lettie Van Hemert, a regular on the local theater circuit.
"The idea behind this is to give local actors another opportunity to perform," Angels co-founder Judith Hart said.
This year's "Summerstock" scripts are quite diverse.
They include Toberlin Burger's "Shadow of a Man," a comedy about a man whose life has become so dark his own shadow gives up on him, and Erin McLaine's "Wonderland," a humorous take on Alice and the rabbit hole.
Rough Magic co-founder Gregory Peters, who has a play and two monologues in the festival, said it's a great opportunity for all involved, especially the playwrights.
"There are big theaters in other places with play development, but there's not much for someone who's just starting out," he said.
Like Namuth.
Her play "Popcycle" is a meditation on the properties of color and flavor. And, yes, she's aware she misspelled popsicle. She did it on purpose.
"‘Popcycle' is part of the transportation through life," explained Namuth, who said it follows the "tricycle" and the "bicycle."
"There are two sticks," she said. "To share it and eat it with a friend you have to break it in two without breaking the popsicle," she said. "There's metaphor there. Somewhere."
Namuth then laughed.
"There's an actress that's going to be me, and a director that's going to tell her how to be me," she added. "Isn't that great? I get to sit in the audience and watch it happen.
"I can't wait."
Reach Jeff Korbelik at 473-7213 or jkorbelik@journalstar.com.
If you go
What: "Summerstock 2," Angels Theatre Company/Rough Magic Productions
Where: The Loft at The Mill, Eighth and P streets
When: 7:30 p.m. Thursday through June 13 and June 15-18
Tickets: $15, $7 for students and senior citizens; 474-2206 or http://www.angelscompany.org/
Note: An informal question-and-answer session will take place after the June 9 and 13 performances
© 2002-2006, Lincoln Journal Star and
JournalStar.com.
All rights reserved.
All rights reserved.