Instead of preparing for a typical final exam, the Master of Fine Arts playwriting candidates have a different task at hand — writing their own plays.
For two weeks, from Wednesday to Saturday, the School of Theater will hold the 19th annual Seabury Quinn Jr. Playwrights’ Festival, featuring all 11 MFA playwrights and their work. Nine of those plays will be stage readings or rehearsed readings; the remaining two will be full productions. The performances of the playwrights’ original works give them important job experiences.
Understanding how the field works is vital to writers. The Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts only a 6 percent increase — 9,500 positions — in job growth for writers, including playwrights, between 2010 and 2020, while they are set to earn about $55,000.
The students will learn from the feedback the audience is invited to give as well as the mentoring sessions with professionals George Brant, Kia Corthron and Dennis Zacek, who can give a fresh perspective on the plays.
Notable playwrights Brant and Corthron have won numerous awards and recognitions for their respective works. Zacek served as the artistic director for the Victor Gardens Theater in Chicago for 30 years.
Anthony Ellison, the festival coordinator and a second-year MFA candidate studying playwriting, said the festival creates a rare opportunity for both the playwrights and the actors involved.
“It’s a collaborative process,” he said. “I’m changing my play as (the actor) is finding his way with it. Together, we’re finding the best way to go about it. That doesn’t happen with a published, produced play.”
Mark Chrisler, a third-year MFA candidate studying playwriting, authored one of the plays that will be fully produced. His work, Worse Than Tigers, is about a couple attempting to save their marriage despite the tiger at their door.
Chrisler said the festival also provides a rare opportunity for audience members.
“I think new plays are a rare thing for most people,” he said. “Those that go to the theater see old and established (plays). The festival highlights why theater is different, interesting and worthwhile.”
The other full production is The Syllogism of a Golden Hippo by Rebecca Abaffy, a third-year MFA candidate studying playwriting. Her play is a fairy tale that follows a man on his journey through China and Sudan as he tries to regain his mother’s love.
Abaffy said her experience at the festival has taught her how to collaborate and work with others. Instead of making the actor say a line a certain way, she said she has learned to let them do their creative job and let the director try to elicit what she wants out of the actor.
mg986611@ohiou.edu
If You Go:
What: Worse Than Tigers by Mark Chrisler
When: 8 p.m. April 17, 19, 25, 27; 2 p.m. April 20
Where: Forum Theater, RTV Building
Admission: Free for OU students; General admission $5
What: The Syllogism of a Golden Hippo by Rebecca Abaffy
When: 8 p.m. April 18, 20, 24, 26; 2 p.m. April 27
Where: Forum Theater, RTV Building
Admission: Free for OU students; general admission $5
What: Reconstructed by Jeff Chastang
When: 1 p.m. April 24
Where: Elizabeth Evans Baker Theater, Kantner Hall
Admission: Free for OU students; general admission $5
What: On the Road with Invisible Vermin by Patsie Varkados
When: 4 p.m. April 24
Where: Elizabeth Evans Baker Theater, Kantner Hall
Admission: Free for OU students; general admission $5
What: Beheading Vampire Puppies: A Living Room Encounter by Greg Aldrich
When: 8 p.m. April 24
Where: Elizabeth Evans Baker Theater, Kantner Hall
Admission: Free for OU students; general admission $5
What: The Trees They Do Grow High by Morgan Patton
When: 1 p.m. April 25
Where: Elizabeth Evans Baker Theater, Kantner Hall
Admission: Free for OU students; general admission $5
What: Hot Pink by Anthony Ellison
When: 4 p.m. April 25
Where: Elizabeth Evans Baker Theater, Kantner Hall
Admission: Free for OU students; general admission $5
What: Frackture by Jeremy Sony
When: 8 p.m. April 25
Where: Elizabeth Evans Baker Theater, Kantner Hall
Admission: Free for OU students; general admission $5
What: Battle Cry by Bianca Sams
When: 4 p.m. April 26
Where: Elizabeth Evans Baker Theater, Kantner Hall
Admission: Free for OU students; general admission $5
What: Gas on the Right, Brakes on the Left by Neal Adelman
When: 1 p.m. April 27
Where: Elizabeth Evans Baker Theater, Kantner Hall
Admission: Free for OU students; general admission $5
What: Black as the Dirt by Chanel Glover
When: 4 p.m. April 27
Where: Elizabeth Evans Baker Theater, Kantner Hall
Admission: Free for OU students; general admission $5
