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Teens' plays take the stage
Gorilla Theatre produces four award-winning plays by area students and gives staged readings of six others.
By LEA IADAROLA
© St. Petersburg Times,
published June 21, 2001
Today through Sunday, the winners of the Young Dramatist Project 2000 will have their single-act plays produced at the Gorilla Theatre, complete with professional sets, actors and directors.
Aubrey Hampton, Gorilla Theatre's co-producer, created the writing project to introduce young people to the theater.
The winning plays were selected based on format, imagination, style and consistency of plot and characters. Along with having their plays produced, the winners were awarded a $250 cash royalty and received an associate membership in the Dramatists Guild.
A few of the winners not only get to see their plays onstage but have been able to participate in the process by attending rehearsals and assisting the directors.
The first play up is by 17-year-old Tampa Preparatory student Andrew Romaner. He is working with director Paul Hutchison on the production of his play Picture in Picture. The play explores the presence of media in our lives. Andrew said he is enjoying participating in the production because he can see where his view differs from the director's.
"I get to see the director's interpretation of what I've written," Andrew said. "It makes me wonder how much I am aware of when I'm writing."
Next up is 18-year-old Blake High School graduate Chris Rutherford. He will be working with director Jorge Acosta to produce his comic piece Anonymous, which is about a support group for people with social difficulties such as stuttering, shyness, hypochondria and bed-wetting.
"It is a lot of fun because I can assist the director," Rutherford said. "I am there the whole time, and I can change and fine-tune the script. . . . I'm still rewriting, and everyone complains because they say I rewrite too much."
Next is Blake High School student Jennifer Malnic's philosophical play Mad Libs. Directed by Jim Rayfield, the play compares the arbitrary nature of the word game with life's unpredictability.
The final and longest play, Waiting Room, was written by 15-year-old Tampa Preparatory student Makenzie Condon. Directed by Steve Mountan, managing director of the Gorilla Theatre, the play is set in a hospital waiting room and addresses the various personal problems of the characters and how they interact with one another.
Several plays won honorable mentions: Bush Visits, by Gigi Alex of Academy of the Holy Names; The Roar of Silence, by Lee Ettleman of Berkeley Preparatory School; The Bully, by Edwin LaMour and Guillermo Campos of Webb Middle School; They Call Me Jamal, by Michael Rivera of Webb Middle School; Untitled, by Angelina Mantia of King High School; and Custody, by Shanna Tumbleson of Blake High School.
Each of these plays will be given a staged reading before the winning performances.
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WHAT: Gorilla Theatre presents winning plays written by teens from the Young Dramatist Project.
WHEN: 7 p.m. Thursday; 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday; 3 p.m. Sunday.
WHERE: Gorilla Theatre, 4419 N Hubert Ave., Unit D, Tampa
COST: $12 adults; $10 for students and seniors (over 55).
CONTACT: (813) 879-2914 for reservations.
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