Playhouse picks finalists for annual FutureFest
Will the Next Great American Play have roots in Dayton? Find out July 19-21 when the Dayton Playhouse presents its 29th annual FutureFest.
The nationally recognized, all-volunteer festival will present six new, unproduced plays, evenly split between staged readings and fully staged productions, written by playwrights from across the country. Of the 353 scripts submitted, narrowed from a field of 12 semifinalists, the six finalists are:
The Princess at Midnight
Slated: p.m.
Playwright: Linda Ramsay-Detherage of Commerce, Mich. Ramsay-Detherage won the 2014 FutureFest for “Sugarhill.”
Story: In 1850s Detroit, a dressmaker and his wife must decide whether or not to help a mute runaway slave escape to Canada.
Style: Historical drama Director: Dorothy Michalski Format: Fully staged Drone
Slated:
10 a.m.
Playwright: Norman Matthews of New York City
Story: Drone pilot and former fighter pilot Mike Powell becomes conflicted during his
Friday, July 19 at 8 Saturday, July 20 at surveillance of Salar Khan, a Pakistani suspected of being a Taliban insurgent.
Style: Contemporary family/ military/political drama Director: Craig Smith Format: Staged reading
Which Way the Wind Blows
Slated:
3 p.m.
Playwright: Robert Weibezahl of Westlake Village, Calif.
Story: A police officer has a crisis of conscience as friendship and memory collide. Style: Contemporary drama Director: Abe Bassett Format: Staged reading
Saturday, July 20 at
On the Horizon
Slated:
8 p.m.
Playwright: Shelli Pentimall Bookler of North Wales, Pa.
Story: A look at the crew of the British steamship the SS
Saturday, July 20 at Californian that watched the Titanic sink on April 15, 1912. Style: Historical drama Director: Annie Pesch Format: Fully staged
Fall With Me Slated: Sunday, July 21 at 10 a.m.
Playwright: Jared Eberlein of Northfield, Mass.
Story: In 1932 Baltimore, an African-American World War I veteran faces a crucial decision.
Style: Historical drama Director: Dawn Roth Smith Format: Staged reading Men Overboard Slated: Sunday, July 21 at 3 p.m.
Playwright: Rich Orloff of New York City. Orloff was a 1993 FutureFest finalist for “Veronica’s Position.”
Story: A generational account of three Jewish brothers, their ailing father, and a vulnerable 13-year-old and his Bar Mitzvah tutor.
Style: Contemporary comedy with dramatic undercurrents
Director: Janet Powell Format: Fully staged
The six finalists, all works in progress, will be professionally adjudicated based on several criteria including dramatic concept, character/language, plot, and page-to-stage. Forty percent of the vote will be based on the judges’ initial reading of the script. The remaining 60 percent will come from the judges’ revised ranking at the festival. This year’s panel of adjudicators will be announced at a later date.
In addition, the members of the final playreading/selection committee included Sinclair Community College director/ professor Kimberly Borst, former Muse Machine advisor and veteran FutureFest attendee Sue Elsner, former educator in English and veteran FutureFest attendee Chuck Knickerbocker, FutureFest co-founder Dodie Lockwood, and Human Race Theatre Company co-founders Kevin Moore and Scott Stoney.
“We have a nice variety of plays this year that present different challenges,” said Fran Pesch, FutureFest program director. “We have a lot of dramas this year, but it’s particularly great to have two returning playwrights.”
Pesch, who memorably costarred in Olga Humphrey’s 2017 winner “Magnificent Hubba Hubba,” remains proud of the many successes that have enabled the festival to be a significant launching pad for budding playwrights. In fact, Beau Willimon, the 2005 winner for his extraordinary political drama “Farragut North,” my personal choice as the best overall play in the festival’s history, received an Academy Award nomination for best adapted screenplay for “The Ides of March” and five Emmy nominations as executive producer/writer of Netflix’s “House of Cards.” Also, Molly Smith Metzler, a 2009 finalist for her comedy “Carve,” is currently a writer/producer of “Shameless” (Showtime) and has also written for such TV shows as “Casual” (Hulu) and “Orange is the New Black” (Netflix).
“This festival is extremely special,” Pesch said. “In this part of the country FutureFest is a one-of-a-kind play festival, especially for a community theater. If you love theater, if you want to see new works, or are simply interested in or concerned about the future of theater, FutureFest is the place to be.”
Weekend passes are priced at $100. Last year’s passholders will receive letters beginning the first week of June. Weekend passes and individual tickets will be available to the general public in mid-June.
Auditions for the staged readings will be held Monday, May 20 at 7 p.m. Auditions for the fully staged productions will be held Tuesday, May 21 at 7 p.m. Auditions will be held at the Playhouse, 1301 E. Siebenthaler Ave., Dayton. In total, 39 diverse actors are needed (27 male, 12 female). For a complete synopses and breakdown of character descriptions, visit daytonplayhouse.com.