Ten Minute Plays May 16th, 17th, 18th
Crested Butte Mountain Theatre presented another round of locally written, produced, directed and acted Ten-Minute Plays this Spring. The theme this year was "Backstage at the Theatre" and was intellectually stimulating, provocative and entertaining. The all LOCAL cast, crew, directors and playwrights did a fabulous job of creating and presenting an interesting show.
THE TEN-MINUTE PLAYS
THE GOLDEN CRITTER by Bob Puglisi. Older actor, Mike, arrives backstage, drunk, moments before curtain call and deflates his co-star, Robby’s, hopes of winning a Golden Critter Award for his performance.
CAST: Bob Puglisi, Director; Ian Wrisley, Mike; Zane Wrisley, Robby.
The play is inspired by many evenings of being backstage witnessing actors who have injested intoxicants prior to the performance as well as an opportunity to poke fun at the Golden Marmot Awards.
DO I NEED A NEW PUPPY? by Kathryn Vogel with original poetry by Julie Barker. Diana and Jane start talking backstage at a poetry festival. When Diana enthusiastically describes her son, Robert, a charming young man with gorgeous brown eyes, Jane understands why her son, Raul, came home so late on Thursday and is making a back-up plan. CAST: Kate Vogel, Director; Tricia Seeberg, Jane; Kate Vogel, Diane.
This play was inspired by conversations with my cousin, Julie Barker, who taught high school for many years in eastern Washington State. From her I learned about the large number of Mexican young people who live in the US without family or legal resources, and about adult adoption. Not incidentally, Julie writes poetry.
TWO ACTORS WALK INTO A BAR by Al Vogel. In 1925, at the famous Scopes “ Monkey Trial”, a young school teacher (named Scopes) was tried for teaching about evolution, in violation of Tennessee state law. After spirited prosecution and defense by famous attorneys he was found guilty. However, largely because of the huge publicity about the trial, Scopes’ conviction was overtruned by the State Supreme Court two years later. The law itself was not removed from the books until 40 years later when another teacher sued for reinstatement to his job after being dismissed for teaching about evolution in 1967. In 1955 a play about this trial entitled “Inherit the Wind” was written by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee. It played on Broadway for two years and has been revived twice subsequently. Three major movies have been made of it. Our play takes you backstage at the end of a run of “Inherit the Wind”. The two main characters, the opposing lawyers, are winding down before going to join the cast party.
CAST: Al Vogel, Director; Ian Wrisley, Brady; Jack Gibbons, Drummond.
Similar issues of denial of science and creationism, under the guise of “intelligent design”, persist today, as does religious fundamentalism attempting to force beliefs and actions on the unwilling who have different religious and scientific persuasions.
THE SECRET LIFE OF PUPPETS by Bill Tintera. The play is a slightly surreal rendition of what happens backstage when no one is around at the Puppet Theater. And it relates a strange event that occurred one day when people inter- vened in the secret life of puppets
CAST: Bill Tinterra, Director; Rich Driscoll, Leonard the Lion Tamer and Prince a puppeteer; Kai Reeves, Trotmeister the Bareback Rider; J.J. Reimer, Barker the Ring Leader and Spangler a puppeteer; Sharon Reimer, Daring the Trapeze Artist; Bill Tinterra, McMurphy the Theater Manager; Tuck, Bonkers the Clown.
CREW: Sharon Reimer, Set; Bill Tintera and Sharon Reimer, Puppets; Rich Driscoll, Lighting; Ann Tintera, Stage ManagerWhen I wrote the play I naturally thought first of a puppet show. But the surreal twist came about from considering the possibilities of an empty theater inhabited only by puppets where no one sees what can really happen in the minds of circus characters on a January night with nowhere to go and plenty to do.
THE STRANGERS by Eric Ross. An intelligent, emotional woman is strangely attracted to and repulsed by a conniving yet imbecilic degenerate.
CAST: Eric Ross, Director; Maggie McCarty, She; Brian McLain, He.
I was inspired to write this play after reading an article, written by Steve Church, in the CB News, about free living in Costa Rica.
THE TEN-MINUTE PLAYS
THE GOLDEN CRITTER by Bob Puglisi. Older actor, Mike, arrives backstage, drunk, moments before curtain call and deflates his co-star, Robby’s, hopes of winning a Golden Critter Award for his performance.
CAST: Bob Puglisi, Director; Ian Wrisley, Mike; Zane Wrisley, Robby.
The play is inspired by many evenings of being backstage witnessing actors who have injested intoxicants prior to the performance as well as an opportunity to poke fun at the Golden Marmot Awards.
DO I NEED A NEW PUPPY? by Kathryn Vogel with original poetry by Julie Barker. Diana and Jane start talking backstage at a poetry festival. When Diana enthusiastically describes her son, Robert, a charming young man with gorgeous brown eyes, Jane understands why her son, Raul, came home so late on Thursday and is making a back-up plan. CAST: Kate Vogel, Director; Tricia Seeberg, Jane; Kate Vogel, Diane.
This play was inspired by conversations with my cousin, Julie Barker, who taught high school for many years in eastern Washington State. From her I learned about the large number of Mexican young people who live in the US without family or legal resources, and about adult adoption. Not incidentally, Julie writes poetry.
TWO ACTORS WALK INTO A BAR by Al Vogel. In 1925, at the famous Scopes “ Monkey Trial”, a young school teacher (named Scopes) was tried for teaching about evolution, in violation of Tennessee state law. After spirited prosecution and defense by famous attorneys he was found guilty. However, largely because of the huge publicity about the trial, Scopes’ conviction was overtruned by the State Supreme Court two years later. The law itself was not removed from the books until 40 years later when another teacher sued for reinstatement to his job after being dismissed for teaching about evolution in 1967. In 1955 a play about this trial entitled “Inherit the Wind” was written by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee. It played on Broadway for two years and has been revived twice subsequently. Three major movies have been made of it. Our play takes you backstage at the end of a run of “Inherit the Wind”. The two main characters, the opposing lawyers, are winding down before going to join the cast party.
CAST: Al Vogel, Director; Ian Wrisley, Brady; Jack Gibbons, Drummond.
Similar issues of denial of science and creationism, under the guise of “intelligent design”, persist today, as does religious fundamentalism attempting to force beliefs and actions on the unwilling who have different religious and scientific persuasions.
THE SECRET LIFE OF PUPPETS by Bill Tintera. The play is a slightly surreal rendition of what happens backstage when no one is around at the Puppet Theater. And it relates a strange event that occurred one day when people inter- vened in the secret life of puppets
CAST: Bill Tinterra, Director; Rich Driscoll, Leonard the Lion Tamer and Prince a puppeteer; Kai Reeves, Trotmeister the Bareback Rider; J.J. Reimer, Barker the Ring Leader and Spangler a puppeteer; Sharon Reimer, Daring the Trapeze Artist; Bill Tinterra, McMurphy the Theater Manager; Tuck, Bonkers the Clown.
CREW: Sharon Reimer, Set; Bill Tintera and Sharon Reimer, Puppets; Rich Driscoll, Lighting; Ann Tintera, Stage ManagerWhen I wrote the play I naturally thought first of a puppet show. But the surreal twist came about from considering the possibilities of an empty theater inhabited only by puppets where no one sees what can really happen in the minds of circus characters on a January night with nowhere to go and plenty to do.
THE STRANGERS by Eric Ross. An intelligent, emotional woman is strangely attracted to and repulsed by a conniving yet imbecilic degenerate.
CAST: Eric Ross, Director; Maggie McCarty, She; Brian McLain, He.
I was inspired to write this play after reading an article, written by Steve Church, in the CB News, about free living in Costa Rica.