Playwrights’ Round Table will present Native Voices: Future Shock at Imagine Performing Arts Center ( 1235 Oviedo Mall Boulevard, Oviedo Florida.) Seven brand new play will be presented by Florida Authors. The website outlined the production as, “A future of AI that knows everything about you. Where AI can decide whether you’re worthy of life. A future of transporters, and clueless ghosts, and murder by chocolate, and how to get in touch with your feline self. And of course, just making your way in a world that changes by the day.”
Director, Chuck Dent invited me in to sketch a tech rehearsal which was my only option since tech went late until 11pm. When I entered two actresses were performing a scene seated at a table. I believe one actress was Susan Woodbury, who I admired for a previous performance I had seen of Control of the Dirt. The other actress was Olivia Rocha. I blocked them into the sketch but then erased them since the scene ended shortly after I started sketching. In general the two were anxious about loosing one another. Susan remained quite animated for such a controlled scene. The larger context of the scene, I may never know.
The stage was reset for a whole new production, which seemed to be film noir detective themed. A Femme fatale actress was quite proud of her large black wig. She was actually quite comedic. In tech the actors don’t really run lines, they just pose in certain scenes of the play so that the lighting tech can figure out what color and intensity of light to use. For me as an artist, it was perfect since, the actors would stay still for extended periods allowing me to sketch them. The challenge came when the theater would go black repeatedly between new light settings. Once the director and light tech were in agreement the settings, they would be set as a cue of the show. The actors must be eternally patient since they were their as mannequins rather than actors. They knew how to keep the rehearsal light and playful.
As I prepared to leave, another play directed by Jac LeDoux, was being set for a tech run through. I can’t really offer any review about the shows. I am not even certain which of the shows I saw. I can say the film Noir looked fun, with a kidnapping, and the female lead clicking a rifle upstage. I suspect it was her partner who was kidnapped but that was never fully established in the rehearsal. I have so many questions and want to see the shows for the answers.
Playwrights’ Round Table will present 7 new plays by local playwrights Nov. 1-3 at the Imagine Performing Arts Center, in Oviedo. Tickets are $20 general admission$ 15 seniors, students and military with ID, and $10 for theme park employees with ID. Tickets may be purchased at the theater or online.