Springboard @ Cleveland Public Theatre 10/09/11
New plays don’t just spring on the stage, glowing and perfect after falling from a writer’s pen–or voice recorder. At least for most of us they don’t. The Cleveland Public Theatre’s Springboard series features staged readings of new plays so that authors can see what happens when they turn their precious words over to actors and directors. After the show, audience members are encouraged to talk to the authors and even fill out comment slips.
When I went on an October Sunday afternoon the plays were “Horse Latitudes: Poetic Monologues for Women” by Elise Geither and “Revenge is a Dish Best Served . . . with Friends” by Monica Miles-Morgan. We were directed upstairs to large rooms over one of the CPT theatres where makeshift wooden bleachers faced the stage. The actors performing in the two short plays carried scripts (that seems to be a rule for staged readings). After we watched the plays, CPT staff member Rose Sengenberger prompted the not-too shy audience to give reactions and responses to what they had seen. Since it was stressed that the plays are works-in-progress, print reviews [this is not a review of the plays] are banned. Everyone’s a critic. Many commented on the characters, how they struck (or did not) a familiar chord in their own lives, and how — had it been their own work — they might have staged it. All in-person comments were welcomed and the atmosphere was friendly and lively.
The October CPT development series, which featured eight works with two performances each, is part of an effort by Raymond Bobgan, producer, and others at CPT to create a stronger connection between audiences and playwrights and to breathe new life into new play development (a 25-year tradition) at CPT.
What’s the next step? November 3-5 the Leap/Conceive project sponsored by CPT will offer quick takes from seven other shows that are being developed. The “Leaps” are described as “part vaudeville, part rehearsal” on the CPT web page. For titles and more information see http://CPTonline.org. If you’ve ever wanted to “talk back” to a play, here’s your chance.
Laura Kennelly is a freelance arts journalist, a member of the Music Critics Association of North America, and an associate editor of BACH, a scholarly journal devoted to J. S. Bach and his circle.
Listening to and learning more about music has been a life-long passion. She knows there’s no better place to do that than the Cleveland area.