Hamilton-Gibson Blog

Blogger Clare Ritter

A 10 minute play.

 

What a deceptive title.

 

What exists onstage for a mere 10 minutes (give or take) is the culmination of so much.  For me, it has been over two years to reach this week as a playwright.   I have acted and directed in several of the 10 minute play festivals, dating back to before we called them "Tales of Tioga".   Simple easy ways to keep myself involved....as if I needed an excuse!   Many asked me after we started the yearly "Tales" if I was writing a play.  I am not sure why so many seemed to think I would be any good at writing, as I did not write for any other purpose. Last year my daughter and I attended the play workshops together and submitted plays.  Her play was chosen for production, mine was not.

 

Natalie Kennedy's blog from the other day spoke of how precious our characters become to an author.  I could not let my little play die!   I took the evaluations from last years entry and reworked my little play, attended more workshops and spent time with my husband recrafting the conversations.  More lines cut, more words changed, more adjustments to movement, more of this here, less of that there.....from my heart and mind to the paper.

 

A 10 minute play.   A small slice of time written down for others to act out, and others to view.  No time for complicated character development, and most definitely not time to tell you "the rest of the story"  Just a glimpse into a moment of time in the lives of some people you may know, or may like to know.....or hope to never see again.  From the paper to the stage

 

Join us some time over the next two weekend as six of us put before you our little 10 minute plays.  A piece of ourselves that we offer for your viewing, from the stage to you.

 

Clare Marie Ritter has been with Hamilton-Gibson since 1997.  Actor, Director, Costumer, and volunteer at large.  She lives in Blossburg with her husband Michael, who lovingly accepts and supports her involvement with H-G productions.  She currently homeschools her three children, works at the family business and tries to keep up with it all.

Blogger Larry Biddison

With the Festival of Short Plays nearly upon us again, it’s a good time to write about how all this began.

It’s not that Hamilton-Gibson had never had an original play contest or had never produced original local plays before 2007. Indeed that has been going on for some time; in addition to the many original scripts written by Thomas Putnam, the works of other local playwrights were featured in 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, and 2005. But these were weren’t necessarily10-minute plays, nor were they staged as an evening of all-original plays.

The playwriting workshop presented in 2004 by Canadian author Sheldon Currie put the thought in my head. “We could do that,” I said to myself. But the real impetus came two years later.

Following the success of the 2006 “Taste of Tioga” springtime food celebration on the Green, I proposed to H-G that for 2007 we piggyback on the idea of “taste” and offer visitors an evening of original plays about Tioga County. It would be an occasion to

showcase the talents of regional writers alongside other special products and services that give Tioga its unique “taste.”

So, with further incentive from Kasey Cox and Kevin Coolidge, H-G announced a Taste of Tioga Playwriting Contest with prize money for the first place winner provided by Kasey and Kevin’s From My Shelf Books, along with the guarantee that the winner’s play would be produced.  

Seeing a need to introduce beginning playwrights to the art and craft of preparing manuscripts, I conducted four playwriting workshops for H-G between November 2006 and February 2007. There was an excellent turnout at all four sessions. It was great to see so many creative people inspired by each other. And, later, when they came together to hear their plays read aloud and critiqued by fellow writers, the progress was amazing. As a result, a total of thirteen scripts met the March 1^st deadline and were forwarded to a panel of independent judges in the American Association of Community Theatres. In late March auditions were held for six plays selected for production, one of which was the contest’s prize-winning play, although which of the six was not revealed until opening night.

When the springtime food celebration was discontinued, we decided to change the name of our contest and festival from “Taste of Tioga” to “Tales of Tioga.”  However, the plays produced clearly provide audiences with a taste of life—real or imagined—in our county. Only minor changes have occurred in the contest or the festival since the first year. 

The winning play of that first year was “The Dancing Fool,” by Christine Heiny. The other five were “Ruth and Izzie,” by Natalie Quinn; “The Immigrant,” by David Milano; “I’ll Be Home for Your Birthday,” by Pamela  and Rob Kathcart; “It’s a Dog’s Life,” by Natalie Kennedy; and “When Joan Came to Town,” by William A. Kovalcik.

In 2008 the winning play was “The Search,” by Natalie Kennedy. The others were “The Break-In,” by Alex Borzok; “Grist for the Mill,” by Melva Calaman; “Three Sisters in the Back Seat,” by Katherine Mattoon; “Burnin’ Signs,” by Noyes Lawton; and “Reconstructing Honor,” by Alan Goodhue. The sponsor in 2008 was again From My Shelf Books.

The winning play in 2009 was “The Cart,” by Bob Borzok. The others were “Affected By The Moon,” by Dolores Anthony; “Striking Differences,” by Natalie Kennedy; “No Mirrors,” by Patricia Ritter; “It’s About Time!” by Natalie Quinn; and “The Ghost Of North Hall,” by Andrew Clark. The 2009 sponsor was Nickerson Construction.

The six plays being produced this year (in order of production) are “A Tree to Be Desired,” by Dolores Anthony; “Awaiting Romance,” by Clare Marie Ritter; “Barracuda,” by Samuel O’Brien; “Love And Robbery On The Tioga Express,” by Steve Bickham; “Nessmuk Revisited,” by Audrey Patterson; “The Devil Wore Flannel,” by Natalie Kennedy. The 2010 sponsor, Laurel Health System, will make the award at the conclusion of the performance on opening night, May 14.

During the first three years of the festival, the plays were performed on a simple stage in 100 Main, the former Davis Furniture Store. This year we are fortunate to mount them in the Warehouse Theatre, also a simple stage, but more importantly, a comfortable and efficient venue. For those of you reading this before the run is over, please check H-G’s home page to learn the dates, times, and admission details!

 

LARRY BIDDISON, twelve years into retirement after a 35-year career teaching English, has acted and directed off and on since college days, including a summer with Mansfield Festival Theatre and, in recent years, with Hamilton-Gibson Productions. Since 2000, he has coordinated H-G’s two annual Canadian theatre excursions, the playwriting contest, the short play festival and, with wife Barbara, the Acting Up! program. In 2009 he had minor roles in OUR TOWN and THE LARAMIE PROJECT. Larry serves on the H-G Board of Directors as Secretary.

Blogger Stephen Bickham

I've had quite a few short acting parts with H-G, but as the writer and director of a play in this festival, it's thrilling to experience the entire creative process from the beginning idea  to opening night on the stage. My cast is wonderful--better than I could ever expect, and one of my key actors is 54 years younger than I. I feel that HG has given me a chance to interact with a diverse group of wonderful individuals. There's no people like show people.

STEVE BICKHAM is a long time HG enthusiast. He has been seen on stage in several productions. Most recently Steve was the unforgettable Doc O'Connor in "The Laramie Project". In TALES OF TIOGA, Steve is directing a play he wrote entitled, "Love and Robbery on the Tioga Express".

Blogger Tom Reindl

The Short Plays have provided me with a GREAT opportunity to "expand my horizons" and tap into my left brain potential.  Being and engineer, I have spent most of my life in the world of science, numbers and reality, but I have always felt that something was missing.  Several years ago, a good friend of mine convinced me to try playing a part in a Short Play that he wrote.  He said I was "perfect" for the part of a detective that got to meet Marilyn Monroe.  I only had a few lines to remember, I thought it would be fun to try something new, and a chance to meet Marilyn Monroe…! How could I resist that?

Well, the acting bug bit me and the rest is history.  I tried another Short Play the next year, then stepped up to small parts in several full plays. Now I can't get enough.  I've had the chance to be a Minister, a British Lieutenant in India, an Amish farmer, even a talking ghost!  Where else can you experience such a wide, and wild(!), slice of "life" than by stepping into someone else's skin on stage?

I have found acting to be challenging, but amazingly rewarding.  There is no rush bigger than stepping onto stage in front of real people, delivering your performance with no errors (well, not that they notice, anyways), and getting a laugh, a rousing applause or, God willing, a standing ovation at the end.  It's such a great break from the stressful, often boring and tedious, life of business and engineering.

I've met many wonderful, talented people that I never would have know had Inot gotten into the Ham-Gib scene.  We all stress over the lines we can't seem to get right.  We laugh at all the mistakes we make.  We all spend countless hours memorizing lines, rehearsing parts, working out how to move on stage or change scenes.  We all get to help form the world the playwright and director are trying to create.  Then, all of a sudden, it all comes together and WOW!  We really did it!   Suddenly, it was all worthwhile.

Try it out!  Open your horizons!  Find your true potential! Find out how exciting and how much fun it can be to join the team of talented, enjoyable people performing on the Hamilton-Gibson stage.  Start small with the Short Plays, then try moving up to something bigger.  I look forward to meeting and performing with you!

TOM REINDL has been seen on the HG stage many times. Don't miss your opportunity to see him play the role of Bob Hogan in "A Tree to be Remembered" during Tales of Tioga.

Blogger Natalie Kennedy

Have you ever watched one of those chainsaw artists work? From a rough hewn log, his chainsaw bites off huge chunks of wood to rough out the shape of his subject. As those gathered around the roped off area watch, he smoothes edges and adds detail, removing smaller and smaller pieces of wood until the final sculpture is revealed in its finished state. The artist often says the sculpture was always inside; all they did was remove the extra wood.

Can you imagine the courage it takes to begin such a venture? Guts, I’m telling you; it takes guts.

The Short Plays are a lot like that. It takes guts for the author to dive into a computer and bring forth a play with nothing more than an idea. Actually, that’s the easiest part of the whole process.

Next they take their creation, often crafted with large pieces of their spirit and heart, in front of a group for a critique. That often results in huge chunks of the play, favorite pieces of dialogue, and parts of the plot altered to near-unrecognition. So the wise playwright keeps going, smoothing the rough parts and honing the action until the play is sent off for a round of judging and (invariably) another round of critiquing.

Next the director (if the author is not a control freak like myself who wants to manage every step of the process) and actors get hold of it it and it evolves again. New layers of meaning are uncovered, some heretofore unsuspected. The ideas and actions of the performers add more layers of texture to the production. Costumes, lights, sounds enhance the experience.

But performing arts aren’t complete until they’re performed in front of an audience. That’s the true test. Are the jokes funny, the story line poignant, a change in character achieved? Does the audience walk away thinking about something never questioned before?

I love the Short Plays. They’re the stories of Tioga County – real and imagined – told in our voice, brought to life by our neighbors in front of an audience of our friends. And somewhere, along the way, we learn a little more about ourselves and what lies inside.

Natalie Kennedy has been involved with Hamilton-Gibson for many years.  She is an Actor, Director, Playwright and now...a Blogger! Be sure to see Natalie's most recent play, "The Devil Wore Flannel" at this year's Tales of Tioga.