GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE JANUARY 12, 1996

EVENINGS OUT

Two Ohio gay playwrights showcased in new plays festival

Cleveland Public Theatre's 14th Annual New Plays Festival, titled "Dreams and Fables" will bring a variety of lesbian and gay voices to the CPT stage.

The event features 11 new plays by local, national, and international playwrights. This year's festival offers a collection of plays inspired by myths and legends and aims to continue CPT's proud tradition of providing a forum for the often unheard, unlistened-to voices of minority and under-represented populations, including African-, Hispanicand Asian-American, and gay and lesbian artists.

Each play receives two staged readings over one weekend and is followed by an energetic audience discussion led by a moderator from the area theatre community. The audi-

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ence has an exciting and unique opportunity at the Festival to assist developing playwrights with what they need most-live feedback for their work.

Lesbian and gay images abound in this year's Festival, with new works by Aubrey Wertheim of Oberlin, Rane Ramon Arroyo of Youngstown, and Anne Harris of New York. Wertheim returns to CPT after five years with his new play, Costume Drama. In 1991, Wertheim's Make Way For Dyklings premeired at the ninth Festival and went on to a full production at CPT and the D.C. Arts Center in Washington. Costume Drama tells the story of a midwife in Restoration England who decides to make a career change. She takes advantage of the latest novelty in the theatre-women on

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stage in women's roles and forges her way as one of the first actresses on the English stage. The men who have made their living playing Cleopatra, Lady Macbeth and Juliet, however, are none too happy. In a world where gay men have traditionally found acceptance and support, they set out to reclaim their position from the women who have been traditionally shut out.

Costume Drama was awarded the Chilcote Award as "Most Innovative New Work by an Ohio Playwright." The award is given to two scripts that receive readings in the New Plays Festival. The playwrights of both scripts receive a monetary award, and one of the scripts is guaranteed full production in CPT's upcoming season. Readings of Costume Drama took place on Friday, January 5 and Sunday, January 7, but look for the work to possibly appear in CPT's schedule later in the season.

Rane Ramon Arroyo, a gay Puerto Rican playwright, scholar, and performance artist in Youngstown, brings his new work Emily Dickinson in Bandages to the annual festival. The play, a work of love and compassion, tells the story of Alice and Nicky's life together. All is warm, cozy, and complete, until Nicky starts showing up in Alice's dreams wearing a formal white evening gown. Meanwhile, Julio, a friend and neighbor, wishes he could trade his nightly prowls through the gay bars for the tranquility that Nicky and Alice seem to share. Readings of Emily Dickinson in Bandages will be read on Saturday, January 13 at 8:00 pm and Sunday, January 14 at 7:00 pm.

Lesbian playwright Anne Harris comes to CPT from New York City with her new work, Anna O. (A Dream Play). Harris is a cofounder of the Lesbian Exchange of New Drama, one of the most significant organizations of its kind in the country. Anna O., which is based on the book Empathy by Sarah Schulman, chronicles the life of a lesbian living in New York's East Village during the Reagan-Bush years.

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“This play culminates with Anna and a bunch of her friends marching on the U.N protesting the [Persian Gulf] war," Harris said. "Also, a lot of the book is about people dying of AIDS with no response from the government. In the course of the novel, Anna spends a lot of time going to AIDS memorials. She has a problem relating to lesbians--she finds that she relates better to gay men and she wonders why that is," Harris continued.

Harris described what she calls her "cosmic connection" with Cleveland. “I just had a play at Case Western Reserve University a couple of years ago. It was called Scenes from a Penitentiary. Everyone thought it was about a woman in prison, but it wasn't, so I changed the name to Bloody Mary, because it's about the second coming of Mary, not Jesus. She comes back as this foul-mouthed New Yorker in a red sequined dress. I had a great experience [in Cleveland] and met a lot of people."

Harris was keeping busy with regional productions in New York when CPT Festival Director Terence Cranendonk called her to submit a new work. "I don't know what this Cleveland connection is all about," Harris said. "It's always during these cold months. I don't know about that, but all right, we'll go with it."

Anna O. will have its reading on Friday, January 19 at 8:00 pm and Sunday, January 21 at 2:00 pm.

Cranendonk is excited about the Festival as well as CPT's upcoming season. "A big part of the new plays festival is that the playwright can continue to work on the play," He said. "What the audience sees is a staged reading, with minimal props and staging. The focus here is given to the words of the play."

Cleveland Public Theatre is located at 6415 Detroit Avenue. Admission to the Festival is $6 and $5 for students and seniors. Festival passes are available for $30 for six shows by calling CPT at 216-631-2727. ✔

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