Thoughts on the closing of Studio Roanoke
Posted by Dwayne Yancey in News, Uncategorized on July 16, 2012
Studio Roanoke, a black-box theatre in downtown Roanoke, Va. The theatre, which specialized in new works, is closing.
Studio Roanoke, which for three years has put Roanoke on the map as a venue for new plays, is closing. The Roanoke Times has the sad news here.
The theatre’s founder and chief patron, Kenley Smith, is moving to Nashville and plans to sell the building that housed the non-profit community theatre.
Faced with trying to mount a new season with no home and without what is surely its main donor, the board has voted to close.
Sadly, most theatre goers in the Roanoke Valley won’t miss Studio Roanoke, because most of them likely never attended a show there. Roanoke Valley theatre companies such as Showtimers and Attic Productions play to strong houses, but they perform the standards. (Full disclosure: My wife, Trina, is directing one of those standards, “The Sound of Music,” at Attic, opening July 26.) The market for new plays is quite small. Some shows at Studio Roanoke drew well, others did not, but even drawing well meant 30 to 60 people (which was a full house for most stage configurations.) On the other hand, if you look at the 990 tax forms for Studio Roanoke, you’ll see that ticket sales generated nearly $32,000 in 2009 and $28,500 in 2010 (figures for 2011 not posted yet.). With a different business model, you ought to be able to run a non-profit theatre on that kind of revenue. You just can’t do it on ticket revenue alone, though. Read the rest of this entry »
Video: “The Keys to the Universe Next Door”
Posted by Dwayne Yancey in News, Photos, Productions, Uncategorized, Video on July 9, 2012
Part 2 of my account of Overnight Sensations 2012, the annual 24-hour play project at Hollins University. (You can find part 1 here, along with background here.)
When I drew “science fiction,” my first thought was to do a baseball play. I figured it’s not what people would expect. However, I did baseball last year, when I drew horror (see “Strong As a Bull,” about baseball and steroids.). Still, I started quizzing the cast on whether they were right-handed or left-handed, just in case.
At that point, I hadn’t had a chance to study the bios of the seven cast members to see what special talents they had. Most of them I knew already. Then director Drew Dowdy whispered into my ear that Becky Marshall was an opera singer. Not just an opera singer, but an adjunct faculty members who teaches the History of Opera at the University of Virginia.
That cinched it. How could I let such a rare and exquisite talent go unused?
So my script dealt with . . . opera.
The basic plot: Twenty years ago, a scientist discovered how to unlock the door to an alternate universe. All it takes is a sonic key, and he used his opera-singing wife to sing the notes that open the door. Problem is, that door slammed shut — with her on the other side, trapped in a horrible alternate universe. Now, he’s trying to find someone with the same, clear voice to sing those same notes so he can rescue her. Hence, “The Keys to the Universe Next Door,” which attempts to channel H.P. Lovecraft.
The script (with help from Drew Dowdy’s expert direction) makes use of Becky’s incredible voice. We see Martha Boswell (who was in my piece last year) on stage, able to see and hear this universe, but with no one able to see or hear her.
The biggest challenge I found was dealing with a 7-person cast. That’s bigger than we’ve had in the past. I had several ideas which I liked but quickly discarded because I didn’t think I could make them work with seven actors. Even in my first draft, one actor had only three lines (I fixed that in the Saturday morning revisions.)
The audio here isn’t the best, but you’ll get the idea, I hope.
Here’s the full cast, and some still photos:
* Professor Arthur Wellington: Michael Mansfield
* Theodora, his daughter: Theano Mavroidis
* Martha, his wife: Martha Boswell
* Mrs. Marshall, an opera singer: Becky Marshall
* Cassandra, her daughter, and an aspiring opera singer: Emma Sala
* Agent One, a mysterious federal agent: Jason Burton
* Agent Two, equally mysterious: Blair Peyton
Becky Marshall and Emma Sala
Michael Mansfield, center, flanked by Blair Peyton (left) and Jason Burton (right)
Photos from Overnight Sensations 2012
Posted by Dwayne Yancey in News, Photos, Productions, Uncategorized on July 9, 2012
For the fourth time, I took part in Overnight Sensations, the annual 24-hour play project sponsored by the Playwrights’ Lab at Hollins University in conjunction with Mill Mountain Theatre and other arts organizations in the Roanoke Valley.
The drill is the same each year: The writers, directors and casts gather on Friday night (this year at Hollins, since Center in the Square is undergoing renovations). The writers draw randomly a director. The director draws a cast. And then we alternate drawing a genre, a setting and a theme.
Then it’s off to write. On Saturday morning, the directors and writers assemble for a production meeting at 8 a.m. About noon, the actors arrive for an afternoon of rehearsal and then at 8 p.m., the curtain goes up.
It’s always a fun show and a great chance to work with some talented people, from both around the Roanoke Valley — and the whole country.
This year my director was Drew Dowdy, whose work I’ve admired on Roanoke stages before but whom I didn’t really know. He turned out to be fantastic. Between us, we then drew “science fiction,” “nursing home” and “overcoming weakness.”
I’ll have more to say about the script I produced — “The Keys to the Universe Next Door” — in the next post.
Until then, are some photos –– courtesy of the Playwright’s Lab — from this year’s event: Read the rest of this entry »
Video: Overnight Sensations 24-hour play project
Posted by Dwayne Yancey in News, Uncategorized, Video on July 5, 2012
For the fourth time in sixth years, I’ll be one of the writers in “Overnight Sensations,” the 24-hour play project organized by the Hollins University playwriting program in conjunction with Mill Mountain Theatre.
In previous years, I’ve written these scripts:
*2007: “Stuck on You,” a farce about a glue gun gone bad at a prom.
*2010: “A Vampire Soap Opera,” which is pretty much what it sounds like.
*2011: “Strong as a Bull,” a horror piece about steroids and baseball — in the 1800s.
Here’s a video from last year’s ceremonies — that’s me in the funny hat. Most of the footage is from when we drew casts, themes, genres and so forth from a hat (not mine!)
I also have some still photos from the 2010 event (which produced “A Vampire Soap Opera”) here.
Finally, arts writer Mike Allen of The Roanoke Times has more about this year’s Overnight Sensations on his Arts & Extras blog.
Photos from my two scripts in “Gone in 60 Seconds” Festival in New York
Posted by Dwayne Yancey in Photos, Productions, Uncategorized on June 11, 2012
Michael Colby Jones and Eugene Solfanelli
I had two pieces in this year’s New York edition of the “Gone in 60 Seconds” Festival of one-minute plays, produced June 8-9 at Brooklyn College.
Both dealt with baseball.
“Sunset in North Dakota” dealt with two minor leaguers in that Midwestern state, one seeing his career setting along with the sun — the other seeing only a short right-field fence. It’s a cutting from a longer version I did at No Shame Theatre in Roanoke, Va. in summer 2011.
“The Uniform” is also bittersweet. A baseball coach is at the first practice after cuts, watching his team run laps, when he notices a kid that didn’t make the team running as well. When the coach calls him over, he discovers a misunderstanding. The coach had said he didn’t have a uniform for the player; the player took that literally and made his own.
The festival plans to post video later this summer.
Jay Nickerson and Sergio Ang in “The Uniform”
Photos from “57 Hours in the House of Culture”
Posted by Dwayne Yancey in Productions, Uncategorized on June 5, 2012
From left: Dmitri the musician, Olga the cosmetic clerk who entered the theatre (whose legs are visible), Ivan the usher, Irina an audience member, Barayev the terrorist and Fatima the Black Widow. Not visible are audience members Andrei and Svetlana).
Here are the official production photos (courtesy of David Gross) from my show about the Moscow theatre siege, “57 Hours in the House of Culture,” that was produced at Studio Roanoke in May 2012.
Scripts to be produced in festival in New York and Great Britain
Posted by Dwayne Yancey in News, Uncategorized on June 2, 2012
As previously reported, I’ve got two scripts this year in the “Gone in 60 Seconds” Festival in New York City — a festival of one-minute plays.
Now I can pass on that I’ve also got three scripts being done in the U.K. edition of the same festival.
Both the New York pieces deal with baseball: “The Uniform” and “Sunset in North Dakota.”
The three U.K. pieces don’t: “Liberal Arts Pirates” deals with career advice, “Busier Than” deals with cliches, and “Scouting Report” deals with buzzards.
The U.S. shows will be June 8-9 at Brooklyn College; the U.K. show will be June 16 in Halifax, England.
Audience reaction to “57 Hours in the House of Culture”
Posted by Dwayne Yancey in Productions, Reviews, Uncategorized on June 2, 2012
The “wreckage” of the theatre. The audience entered to find chairs overturned and the space littered with programs (in Russian), water bottles and candy wrappers.
The goal of the recent Studio Roanoke production of my script about the Moscow theatre siege — indeed, the goal of the script itself — was to make people feel like they were really there.
So the audience entered the lobby to find . . . a video of the actual production of “Nord-Ost” playing on a television screen . . . still photos of the Moscow production were posted . . . audience members were handed a program that was in Russian . . .and two soldiers in Russian military garb blocked the doors until showtime — when they quickly donned gas masks, threw open the doors and ran into the theatre space.
As audience members followed, they found cast members “dead” around the theatre . . . chairs overturned, and the floor littered with debris — water bottles, candy wrappers. I am indebted to Kenley Smith, Studio Roanoke’s founding patron and playwright in residence, for helping me visualize all of this, and to director Brian O’Sullivan for pulling it off.
I attended almost every night of the show (my son’s baseball schedule kept me away on two nights.) Most of the audience members I heard from “got” the concept; a few did not. One night, one woman sniffed “they didn’t do a very good job cleaning up the theatre after the last show” and appeared to be completely serious. Another night, one audience member, on his way out, started picking up the trash!
Other reactions: I’m told one audience member wiped away tears on opening night when Olga was shot. And I was there another night when a woman suffered a panic attack as soon as she entered the space and declined to see the show.
Here’s a summary of some other feedback that people have posted on Facebook: Read the rest of this entry »
Scripts accepted for productions in New York and Roanoke
Posted by Dwayne Yancey in News, Uncategorized on May 20, 2012
My show on the Moscow theatre siege — “57 Hours in the House of Culture” — is off to a fantastic start at Studio Roanoke. And now I have other production news to report:
* Studio Roanoke has announced its new season, and my Christmas show about the origin of Santa Claus, is among of the offerings. “Klaus” isn’t something for the children. It attempts to explain where Santa Claus came from. Here’s the description I wrote for Studio Roanoke’s calendar:
A holiday play for a mature audience, it is a dark and humorous tale of the origin of Santa Claus. Where did he come from? Set in the early 1700s when the Jacobite movement to overthrow the German-born Hanoverian kings of England and restore the ousted Stuart family to the throne was still very much alive, and involves physics, philosophy, treason against the king, a love story, and some cooking.
Studio Roanoke is also extending the shows in its next season from two weeks to three, reflecting a popular demand for more weekend shows (and fewer weekday ones.)
You can find the entire season on the Studio Roanoke website.
* Meanwhile, I’ve also had two pieces accepted into the annual “Gone in 60 Seconds” festival in New York City. This is a festival dedicated to one-minute plays. This year it runs June 8-9 at Brooklyn College. Both of my scripts accepted this year deal with baseball: “The Uniform” and “Sunset in North Dakota.” The latter is a one-minute version of a five-minute piece that I had done at No Shame Theatre in Roanoke, Va. last summer.
These upcoming productions join ones previously announced for other scripts in Maryland and Oregon.
Review for “57 Hours in the House of Culture”: “It ain’t Oklahoma!”
Posted by Dwayne Yancey in News, Productions, Reviews, Uncategorized on May 20, 2012
Dan Smith — editor of Valley Business Front — has posted this review of “57 Hours in the House of Culture,” my show about the Moscow theatre siege,” on his personal blog.
Some of the key thoughts:
“I’ll simply say that this one was not my cup of tea, but I applaud everybody involved for their work and their obvious passion. Most of those in the audience seemed to thoroughly enjoy the production.
Give it a shot. It ain’t “Oklahoma” but it ain’t supposed to be. This is real theater.”
There was a previous review from Heather Brush of the Cave Spring Connection who called the show “the most interactive show I’ve seen.”
dwayneyancey 