Aspiring Tucson playwrights delve into troubled relationships, a decades-old slaying, family dynamics and the ultimate alternative to divorce — murder.
Throw in a greed, deception, teen angst and the unending question of “how do I love thee, let me find another” and you have the lineup for the 2024 Old Pueblo Playwrights' New Play Festival.
Ten playwrights will present staged readings of 11 original works over two weekends — April 4-7 and April 12-14 — at St. Francis in the Foothills, 4625 E. River Road.
Old Pueblo Playwrights has been hosting the new works showcase at least 30 years, said the group’s president, John Vornholt. This year’s event is dedicated to an alumnus, Philip Levere, who died in October. Levere retired from a 35-year cooking career and took up acting, playwrighting and screenwriting in the latter years of his life.
This year’s playwrights participating in the New Play Festival, standing from left, David Sewell, Melvin Hector and Gavin Kayner; sitting, Sydney Flynn, Liisa Rose, Debra Vassalo and Larry Gutman.
The 2024 festival will feature works by newcomers, including the debut of Scott Berg’s “There But By the Grace,” which explores family dynamics when it comes to caring for a member with Alzheimer’s; and the teen angst-ridden “Anything that Doesn’t Kill You,” by University of Arizona geriatric medicine specialist Dr. Mel Hector.
There also are works by New Play Festival veterans, including Sydney Flynn, Vince Flynn, Gavin Kayner, Liisa Rose, Debra Vassallo and the group’s former president, Dave Sewell.
The festival does not present fully-staged performances of the new plays, instead focusing “on the script — like Hamlet said, the play’s the thing,” Vornholt said in a written release.
“Plays are performed just once, script in hand, with minimal blocking, props, set pieces and lighting,” he explained. “And our post-performance ‘talk backs’ give audiences a thought-provoking workshop experience.”
Vornholt, himself a best-selling author, actor, playwright, director, producer, screenwriter, journalist and co-founder of Active Imagination Theatre, will direct Larry Gutman’s “Danish Pastry.” Regina Ford of Green Valley’s Santa Cruz Shoestring Players returns to direct Rose’s “Exit Bag” and Tucson actress Joanne Anderson will direct “Ripples,” the latest work by veteran Tucson actor and 2023 Festival Coordinator David Zinke.
Admission to the festival is free, although donations are accepted. Those attending are advised to arrive 15 to 20 minutes early.
The lineup:
7 p.m. Thursday, April 4: Debra Vassallo’s “Gathering the Flock” — Bethany is frantic that her dad is about to make some choices that could sever family bonds, ruin his evangelical empire and send him to prison.
7 p.m. Friday, April 5: Gavin Kayner’s “The Unpronounceable Name of God” — When a custodian finds a script in the trash, it permeates his thoughts to devastating effect.
2 p.m. Saturday, April 6: Vince Flynn’s “The Crush of Sally Tarish” — Sally once loved Bob, but she’s now in love with Mateo — or is she?; Sydney Flynn’s “Plan B” — Hijinks ensue when Don tries to get rid of his wife Rita; Kayner’s “Two Persons Singular” — A couple deals with the residue of their marriage.
7 p.m. Saturday, April 6: Larry Gutman’s “Danish Pastry” — A young man and his family — and his on-again, off-again girlfriend — try to make a life for themselves from the Vietnam era to Ronald Reagan’s heyday.
2 p.m. Sunday, April 7: Mel Hector’s “Anything that Doesn’t Kill You” — Growing up is so much harder than it used to be or has to be for teens.
7 p.m. April 12: Liisa Rose’s “Exit Bag” — Assisted suicide is thrown into the mix of the sandwich generation and a multigenerational household in this family drama.
2 p.m. April 13: Dave Sewell’s “The Benevolency Provides” — Life under a brutal regime is more precarious for siblings Len and Arwen than their parents could have ever imagined.
7 p.m. April 13: Scott Berg’s “There but by the Grace” — It’s not easy to care for a loved one with Alzheimer’s, especially as you try to fix a troubled relationship and rediscover the importance of family.
2 p.m. April 14: David Zinke’s “Ripples” — This one is loosely based on how a gay man’s 1976 murder impacted Tucson’s gay community, with music by Pat Bracken.
For more information on Old Pueblo Playwrights, visit facebook.com/oldpuebloplaywrights.
Michelangelo’s “David” has been a towering figure in Italian culture since its completion in 1504 and a defining achievement of the Renaissance.
But in the current era of the quick buck, curators worry the marble statue’s religious and political significance is being diminished by the thousands of refrigerator magnets sold around Florence focusing on David’s genitalia. #michelangelo #art #italy #renaissance
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