An Evening of 10 Minute Plays

May 19, 2005 performance, by Pat Nichols

The Townplayers of Pittsfield, inaugurated a new venue Friday May 19 when they presented An Evening of 10 Minute Plays at the Lichtenstein Center for the Arts in Pittsfield. The final performance is on Saturday May 21, 2005.

One short play after another, all by different authors, charmed the audience of about 60 people, made them laugh, applaud and perhaps see themselves in the stories being played out against a minimum of props, against a wall toward the back of the building.

The first play, Mrs. Sorken, by Christopher Durang, featured Bobbee Lacasia, long time member of the group, who led the audience through a trip toward understanding the different facets of drama. She noted its beginnings in Ancient Greece, the influence of William Shakespeare, as she moved around peering over the top of her glasses and inserting levity into a topic often weighty.

"What is Drama," she asked facetiously, then explained it as "a way to cure our nausea." But she added, knowingly, "people need the theater light."

Siobhan, by John Augustine, explores the idea of identity, what people think about other people. (Denise Roller as Siobhan, pokes fun at AA meetings where she knows she is tired of "being spiritual." Lost in a morass of possible jobs, not sure what she wants to be, she imagines herself as a "temp," instead of a toilet cleaner in a nursing home. `"Who am I?" Not what everyone thinks, she knows, but she struggles with an elusive identity. "I don’t know who I am but I am who I am."

Anything For You, by Cathy Celesia, showcases two woman meeting for lunch. Lynette (Wendy Walraven) fidgets in her chair, yearns for an affair. Gail (Melissa Hatch) discourages her. The dilemma of sexual identity arises as they the women banter back and forth about their relationship and eventually reach a conclusion about their confusion.

Judgment Call, by Frederick Stroppel, brings three men on stage for an umpiring clinic. One, Harvey, (Kevin Wixsom) a famous baseball umpire, another, Joe (Ryan Boivin) about to become an umpire and a third, Frank, (Teddy Aspen) who agonizes over a call he made and wished he hadn’t. Harvey’s confidence contrasts with Frank’s remorse over his call and carries the weight of the story. Frank’s fears emerge but also his perception of the good and bad of the intense involvement in umpiring, the possible loss or perspective and knowledge of the rest of the world.

The Man who Couldn’t Dance, by Jason Ketims, reunites Gail and Eric, once lovers, who meet again at a small dinner party hosted by Gail and her husband. They reminisce, he can’t stand to look at her baby, he disparages her lifestyle. He admits poignantly "I can’t dance." He knows he is insecure, that the love of his life, Gail, married another man. But he grows from their brief encounter.

The fine acting, the minimal setting, the quality of the plays all come together to provide an intimate evening, when life’s common problems surface and understanding grows not only on stage but in the audience.

Kevin Wixsom directed all the plays.