THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, July 10, 1996 TAG: 9607100044
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MAL VINCENT, ENTERTAINMENT WRITER
LENGTH: 65 lines
``NEW IS NOT necessarily good, but, then, new is necessarily adventurous. It's a matter of risk-taking,'' Jeannie Burns Hardie, producer of ``New Plays for Dog Days'' was saying.
The five-play series features the opening of a world-premiere play each Wednesday night for the next month at the Generic Theater. The festival runs through Aug. 10 in the theater on 21st Street in Norfolk.
This innovative series boasts that unique quality - newness. With even Broadway churning out endless revivals of old favorites, the Generic's play-reading committee, headed by Anne Morton, has pondered close to 100 nationwide entries to choose the five that will premiere here.
``First of all, we wanted plays that were structurally sound,'' Hardie said. ``They had to be well written. Secondly, we wanted plays that reflected the Generic Theater itself - things that you would not see in the usual venue. We wanted them to have an edge. These are not middle-of-the-road scripts that would be likely to be produced elsewhere.''
Producing five new plays in four weeks is an amazing task, but Hardie says she's ready. ``The festival will be a showcase not just for new writers, but for new directors,'' she said. ``My job, after the plays were chosen, was to get the directors, choose the order, make sure what week actors could work. It had to be set up block by block - like a building under construction.''
The festival opens tonight with an evening of two one-act comedies.
``A Night in a Men's Room'' concerns a woman who accidentally locks herself in the men's room for the night. There she meets a man who is campaigning for this particular men's room to be declared a national historical landmark. It is paired with ``Real Human Dialogue,'' which concerns the meeting of a theater critic and an actress he panned years ago; she plans to commit suicide on his doorstep. Hardie describes the two entries as ``borderline absurdist with plentiful laughs.'' They will be directed by Eric Hardie.
``Eat Your Heart,'' by Virginia Beach playwright Rob Boehler, opens July 17. It is a slice-of-life comedy about two high school buddies who, in their middle age, suddenly realize that they have never amounted to much. The reflection is directed by Kent Collins.
``Clown Speak,'' which opens July 24, turns the McCarthy era in Hollywood into a three-ring circus. A young writer in Hollywood is willing to do whatever is necessary to make it in the movie industry. It will be directed by Jodie Lynn Murdoch. The play is written by Nikki Harmon.
``A Mother's Death Wish,'' on July 31, is a dark comedy and spoof of the suspense movies of the 1950s. An aging film star plans to murder her husband to insure that her estate will go to her son. Written by Jay Folb, the play will be directed by Karen Osburn. The producer promises that it will ``have unexpected twists right up to the last scene, all done with tongue-in-cheek as a look at '50s movies.'' MEMO: FESTIVAL FACTS
What: ``New Plays for Dog Days,'' a festival of five world-premiere
plays
Where: The Generic Theater, 21st Street (between Colley Avenue and
Hampton Boulevard), Norfolk
Openings: ``Real Human Dialogue'' and ``A Night in a Men's Room,''
opening tonight ; ``Eat Your Heart,'' opening July 17; ``Clown Speak,''
opening July 24; ``A Mother's Death Wish,'' opening July 31
The run: Each play will run Wednesdays through Saturdays at 8 p.m.
and Sundays at 2 p.m. (Plays will be repeated during ``Judge's Week,''
Aug. 7-10, with awards to be announced).
Tickets: $6 each; a festival pass, for admission to all four
evenings, is $18
Call: 441-2160 by CNB