The 2012-2013 Rochester Fringe Play Reading Series will take place at Blackfriars Theatre this year. The schedule is as follows:
April 20 - Time Stands Still by Donald Margulies
The story focuses on Sarah and James, a photojournalist and a foreign correspondent trying
to find happiness in a world that seems to have gone crazy. Theirs is a partnership based
on telling the toughest stories, and together, making a difference. But when their own story
takes a sudden turn, the adventurous couple confronts the prospect of a more conventional
life.
"Can you be a dispassionate, uninvolved observer of horrific events, recording them for
posterity and still keep a sense of right and wrong, not to mention your sanity? It's one of
several questions getting a workout in TIME STANDS STILL…Insightful writing, the work
is smart, stylish, timely and layered with an intriguing seriousness that inspires discussion
after the curtain comes down—a rarity these days." —Associated Press.
Rochester Fringe Play Reading Series at Blackfriars Theatre
2013-2014 Season!
Next season, our name will change to the "Hourglass Play Reading Series"
October 26 - Yellowman by Dale Orlandersmith, directed by Sandi Henschel Featuring Michelle Brown and Jason Alexander Holmes
THE STORY: YELLOWMAN is a multi-character memory play about an African-American woman who dreams of life beyond the confines of her smalltown Southern upbringing and the light-skinned man whose fate is tragically intertwined with hers. The play explores the negative associations surrounding male blackness as well as the effect these racial stereotypes have on black women.
January 25, 2014 - The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-In-The-Moon Marigolds by Paul Zindel, directed by Marcy Gamzon, Open Casting
THE STORY: Frowzy, acid-tongued, supporting herself and her two daughters by taking in a decrepit old boarder, Beatrice Hunsdorfer wreaks a petty vengeance on everybody around her. One daughter, Ruth, is a pretty but highly strung girl subject to convulsions; while the younger daughter, Matilda, plain and almost pathologically shy, has an intuitive gift for science. Encouraged by her teacher, Tillie undertakes a gamma ray experiment with marigolds that wins a prize at her high school-and also brings on the shattering climax of the play. Proud and yet jealous, too filled with her own hurts to accept her daughter's success, Beatrice can only maim when she needs to love and deride when she wants to praise. Tortured, acerbic, slatternly, she is as much a victim of her own nature as of the cruel lot that has been hers. And yet, as Tillie's experiment proves, something beautiful and full of promise can emerge from even the most barren, afflicted soil. This is the timeless lesson of the play and the root of its moving power and truth.
April 5, 2014 - Wishing Well by Jon Klein, directed by P. Gibson Ralph, Open Casting
THE STORY: Jon Klein's new comedy is about mother-daughter revelations during one stormy weekend in North Carolina. Wishing Well opens on a stormy night in Bald Head Island, N.C., as Callie Quayle explains she's been called to her childhood home, along with her younger sister, Cindy Cauthen, by their mother for a family meeting. The invitation brings dread and cynicism to all parties involved. Mrs. Cauthen has a secret to share with her children. Not to be outdone, the sisters have planned to unveil their own lies and omissions. In time, they are joined by Callie's husband, Dennis, the local weatherman notorious for underestimating the weather; and Richard, a young black neighbor who quickly attracts Cindy's attention.
May 17, 2014 - Good People by David Lindsay-Abaire, directed by Maria Scipione, Open Casting
May 17, 2014 - GOOD PEOPLE THE STORY: Welcome to Southie, a Boston neighborhood where a night on the town means a few rounds of bingo, where this month's paycheck covers last month's bills, and where Margie Walsh has just been let go from yet another job. Facing eviction and scrambling to catch a break, Margie thinks an old fling who's made it out of Southie might be her ticket to a fresh new start. But is this apparently self-made man secure enough to face his humble beginnings? Margie is about to risk what little she has left to find out. With his signature humorous glow, Lindsay-Abaire explores the struggles, shifting loyalties and unshakeable hopes that come with having next to nothing in America.
Admission to all performances is free.
October 26 - Yellowman by Dale Orlandersmith, directed by Sandi Henschel Featuring Michelle Brown and Jason Alexander Holmes
THE STORY: YELLOWMAN is a multi-character memory play about an African-American woman who dreams of life beyond the confines of her smalltown Southern upbringing and the light-skinned man whose fate is tragically intertwined with hers. The play explores the negative associations surrounding male blackness as well as the effect these racial stereotypes have on black women.
January 25, 2014 - The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-In-The-Moon Marigolds by Paul Zindel, directed by Marcy Gamzon, Open Casting
THE STORY: Frowzy, acid-tongued, supporting herself and her two daughters by taking in a decrepit old boarder, Beatrice Hunsdorfer wreaks a petty vengeance on everybody around her. One daughter, Ruth, is a pretty but highly strung girl subject to convulsions; while the younger daughter, Matilda, plain and almost pathologically shy, has an intuitive gift for science. Encouraged by her teacher, Tillie undertakes a gamma ray experiment with marigolds that wins a prize at her high school-and also brings on the shattering climax of the play. Proud and yet jealous, too filled with her own hurts to accept her daughter's success, Beatrice can only maim when she needs to love and deride when she wants to praise. Tortured, acerbic, slatternly, she is as much a victim of her own nature as of the cruel lot that has been hers. And yet, as Tillie's experiment proves, something beautiful and full of promise can emerge from even the most barren, afflicted soil. This is the timeless lesson of the play and the root of its moving power and truth.
April 5, 2014 - Wishing Well by Jon Klein, directed by P. Gibson Ralph, Open Casting
THE STORY: Jon Klein's new comedy is about mother-daughter revelations during one stormy weekend in North Carolina. Wishing Well opens on a stormy night in Bald Head Island, N.C., as Callie Quayle explains she's been called to her childhood home, along with her younger sister, Cindy Cauthen, by their mother for a family meeting. The invitation brings dread and cynicism to all parties involved. Mrs. Cauthen has a secret to share with her children. Not to be outdone, the sisters have planned to unveil their own lies and omissions. In time, they are joined by Callie's husband, Dennis, the local weatherman notorious for underestimating the weather; and Richard, a young black neighbor who quickly attracts Cindy's attention.
May 17, 2014 - Good People by David Lindsay-Abaire, directed by Maria Scipione, Open Casting
May 17, 2014 - GOOD PEOPLE THE STORY: Welcome to Southie, a Boston neighborhood where a night on the town means a few rounds of bingo, where this month's paycheck covers last month's bills, and where Margie Walsh has just been let go from yet another job. Facing eviction and scrambling to catch a break, Margie thinks an old fling who's made it out of Southie might be her ticket to a fresh new start. But is this apparently self-made man secure enough to face his humble beginnings? Margie is about to risk what little she has left to find out. With his signature humorous glow, Lindsay-Abaire explores the struggles, shifting loyalties and unshakeable hopes that come with having next to nothing in America.
Admission to all performances is free.
