Mike talks with Miriam Bazensky, managing director of the Baltimore Playwrights Festival, based in Baltimore, Maryland. They discuss the history of the BPF, as well as the process that occurs from the submission of a play in October through the production of a few plays each summer. Playwrights living in Maryland or Washington DC may submit their plays.

ShowBizRadio Interview with Miriam Bazensky about the Baltimore Playwrights Festival [MP3 16.3MB 17:49].

The Baltimore Playwrights Festival is looking for a volunteer to fill the position of Webmaster, responsible for updating and maintaining the BPF website. The Webmaster serves on the Board as a voting member and must stand for election. If you are interested or would like to discuss the requirements of the position, please contact Rodney Bonds, Chairman at 410-616-9347.

The current BPF web site is baltimoreplaywrightsfestival.org.

It is probably best to look at Unraveled on the Gravel: A New Musical within the context of the Baltimore Playwrights Festival. Granted, there are three additional shows to see in the coming weeks that might change this assessment, but, as of right now, this is the best script that has been chosen for production. It still has many of the problems and pitfalls that come with an amateur script, but Kevin Kostic is distinctly more adept at writing dialogue than has been seen in the last two productions. The production itself is high-quality in terms of staging and technical aspects. The weakest aspect in this production, however, is the performers. While a few demonstrate some real potential and bright moments, it is hard to understand how others came to be cast in these roles.

This script succeeds where others failed, because it does sound like things that actual people would say. The dialogue is authentic, and each character has a unique voice. On the downside, the plot is a little predictable. When it travels into past times, it does not reveal much than what was already fairly obvious. This makes the script drag at times and seem very anticlimactic. However, it does show some real depth of pain and dealing with consequences of actions. The moving backward is a difficult plot structure even when brilliantly done, look at the often reworked and yet always unsuccessful Merrily We Roll Along. It is a great concept in theory, but it really does little to add to the show. Since there are no great surprises, it might work a little better to rework the show into a forward-moving chronology. Another difficulty is that the main character is not likeable, and the way in which he finds “peace” with his actions is very selfish. The script could be improved with a stronger resolution that makes a more powerful statement. For the most part, the songs are lyrically strong. The one exception would be in the last, because it again touches on the ages in the character’s life that were visited “28-22-18.” Since the use of the ages in script construction was not as powerful as the author hoped, neither are the lyrics of the last song. There is still, however, a lot of promise in the other lyrics that work the magic of being specific to the character’s struggle in a way that touches on the universal. Sometimes, the melodies are great, but the songs tend to lack cohesiveness in their structure. A catchy chorus might make way to a verse that just doesn’t flow or vice versa. There are moments of promise in the score as a whole, but the composer needs to work a little more on making sure each song works as a song with a real arc of movement and a genuine cohesion. This show most likely has a lot more revisions in its future, but it holds promise that something great could come of those revisions.

The production quality was top-notch. The set was a realistic and detailed beach house. The lights were used well to give the effect of a few other locales, like the highway at night, and moods, like the haunting inside Ray’s mind. The sound was well-balanced between the bands and the voices. The costumes were appropriate for the characters’ personalities and the different ages at which they appeared. It was really very well done in all technical aspects. Director Michael Tan did a nice job of bringing these elements together and using the technical pieces in conjunction with his staging to try to tell the story.

Unfortunately, several of the key performances struggled. The main character Ray was played by Josh Kemper. Kemper had a nice tenor range and, at times, hit some really great notes and showed his power. However, he often seemed like he was a little too inside of his own head, even for this character, and didn’t really bring the strength needed for the rock score. As an actor, he had some great nonverbal expressions and actions, but, when he spoke, he didn’t always make a strong acting choice. He also lacked realistic chemistry with Amber (Sarah Jachelski). Of course, that might not have been his fault. Jachelski can not sing. It is ear-splitting and often off-key. Her acting is equally as bad, and every single line sounds artificial. She has absolutely no sense of timing or nuance. It is hard to imagine how she ended up in this role.

Christopher Jones (Wriggs) seems to be very talented. He has a great voice and a big, broad personality. However, his voice sometimes didn’t fit completely with the style of the music. He also has extremely expressive and telling nonverbal reactions. On the other hand, his performance was a little too big for the small space, and he seemed much older than it would have been nice to see the character portrayed, in look and actions. While he is very good, this might not be the right stage, show, and role for him to best let his skills shine. Nick Huber (Marlon) was good at creating a very real character. He seemed like he just said the things that he said and not like they had been written for him. The only issue was that there was not much of a change in his character between time periods, although it was discussed that the character had actually changed dramatically. Huber also had a nice, solid vocal. Mike Mililo (Wayne) came across a little inexperienced on stage, but he demonstrated great heart that made you feel like he was really trying. He was able to make his character likeable even when not fully believable. Although he did not have a great tone quality and sometimes struggled a little with finding his harmony notes, when he did hit the harmony line, he and Huber blended beautifully.

There are a lot of things that need work in this production, but, in context of the Baltimore Playwrights Festival, it is the closest so far to what you would expect from a production in the actual theatre season.

Photo Gallery

Ray’s Dilemma. Amber (Sarah Jachelski-L), Ray (Josh Kemper-Ctr), and Wricks (Chris Jones-R).	Ray (Josh Kemper) tried to out-run his past.
“This isn’t what I wanted to do today” Amber (Sarah Jachelski) tells Wayne (Mike Milillo-L), Ray (Josh Kemper-Ctr), and Marlon (Nick Huber-R).	“Why can’t you just talk to me?” Amber (Sarah Jachelski), begs Ray (Josh Kemper).
“I can be there for you” Ray (Josh Kemper) comforts Amber (Sarah Jachelski).	Bad news travels fast! Marlon (Nick Huber-L), Wayne (Mike Milillo-Ctr) and Ray (Josh Kemper-R).
(L-R): Mike Milillo, Nick Huber, Kevin Kostic (playwright), Sarah Jachelski, Chris Jones, and Josh Kemper.

Photos by Ken Stanek Photography

Cast

• Ray: Josh Kemper
• Marlon: Nick Huber
• Wayne: Mike Mililo
• Wricks: Christopher Jones
• Amber: Sarah Jachelski

Production Team

• Book, Music, & Lyrics: Kevin Kostic
• Director: Michael Tan
• Musical Director: Michael Tan
• Stage Manager: Kate Kolarik
• Lighting Designer: Fuzz Roark
• Set Designer & Dresser: Debbie Bennett
• Sound Designer: Sherrionne Brown
• Costumer Designer: Tori Halperin Kuhns
• Costruction: Michael Spellman, Fuzz Roark, Andy Smith
• Scenic Art: Fuzz Roark
• Paint Crew: Sherrionne Brown, Michael Tan, Tabby Winske
• Booth Operator: Kate Kolarik
• Running Crew: Aja Morris-Smiley

Pit Band

• Pit Director/Guitar: Brennan Kuhns
• Bass: Elliott Peeples
• Percussion: Christopher “Lucky” Marino

Disclaimer: Spotlighters Theatre provided two complimentary media tickets to ShowBizRadio for this review.

The setting is the corporate headquarters of Total Refuse. The year is 2061. The day is Thursday. In this imagined future, every day is Thursday. The basic plot of Self, Inc. is about Francis Elfman, a sort of bland fellow, who invents a time machine that brings his future self back to try to help his current self prevent an impending takeover by corporate giant Chic-A-Fila. The tone and style were very reminiscent of Terry Pratchett. There were some real glimmers in the script, but it overall didn’t quite work. The production by Theatrical Mining Company seemed to, for the most part, follow the direction and vision of the script, although there was a glaring hole in the cast. Overall, it was intriguing and different but a little confusing and unfocused.

The main theme of the play seemed to be anti-conformity. In the society, every day was Thursday, every month was April, and Total Refuse workers were all given matching silver and orange jumpsuits to wear. However, the characters did not conform very well, and, by result, they were kind of annoying. Shock smacked his butt and humped things a lot, while also stating that he didn’t see the need of pride over his individuality or “sticking feathers in his butt.” Lemuel was constantly involved in some bizarre worship of an imagined god, including spending an entire day with his eyes shut. So was the point supposed to be that conformity was better? Helena seemed much happier at the end when she accepted a fate of conformity, and Ludmilla was much happier with her husband at an older, more settled age. This was all intermingled with the bizarre relationship between the two Francises, which may have been romantic. That was a little confusing as well. The end result was feeling like this show was trying really hard to say something, but what it was trying to say was a mystery. However, the comic dialogue that was written for the character of Wilma and a few other characters demonstrated that, when just telling a story and entertaining, playwright J-F Bibeau was able to write some funny things.

Maybe it was because her character had some of the best writing, but, either way, Tamika B. Roland was the highlight of the show. Everything was better the second that she stepped on the stage. Her comedic delivery was perfect for the character. This is the kind of character and performance that often makes sketch comedy shows. Even after the performance, you want to see more Wilma. Micah Chalmer gave another good performance, making Aaron one of the most likeable and believable characters in the piece.

Dale Henderson Jr. (Shock) was wildly obnoxious, but this seemed to be a purposeful and planned character choice. Stacey Bonds (Ludmilla) and Foxglove Zayuri (Helena Studs) both gave decent performances as rather one-dimensional characters. Towards the end, both had opportunities to show a little more depth but still not much. They were, however, limited by the script. It was never clear what J-F Bibeau (Lemuel Drain) was doing with his character, but he seemed to have written the character to be this special kind of weird. Joseph M. Dunn (Agent 121) had the right voice and look for the secret agent, reminiscent of old spy movies. Unfortunately, either because of the writing or their performances, none of these actors were really quite able to do anything remarkable.

The weakest link in the production was Brandon Gorin (Francis Elfman), and he should have carried the show. His delivery was forced and uninspired, and he did not seem to be comfortable in finding the character or becoming part of the world. He seemed very inexperienced and just not very strong as an actor. Luckily, Francis 2 (Carroll Haupt) was much better, though it makes one wonder why he was not Francis 1 instead. He had a good presence and energy and really worked to give the character levels and depth, even when they were not apparent in the writing.

The set was simple but effective. However, in such an intimate space, it might have been better to have a desk wind up slightly off-center than to have such visible tape on the floor. The lighting was also simple but seamless, and the effects were done nicely. The music was ideal for setting the mood for this genre of futuristic sci-fi. The costumes were well-done and creative. They may have been one of the better insights into the point the piece was trying to make.

There was something about this piece, but there was also something missing. If the playwright could really separate the things that worked from the things that didn’t, he might be on to something.

Cast

• Francis Elfman: Brandon Gorin
• Wilma Rogers: Tamika B. Roland
• Ludmilla Gendron: Stacey Bonds
• Aaron Gendron: Micah Chalmer
• Shock Planters: Dale Henderson Jr.
• Lemuel Drain: J-F Bibeau
• Helena Studs: Foxglove Zayuri
• Francis 2: Carroll Haupt
• Agent 121: Joseph M. Dunn

Production Crew

• Director: Da’Minique M. Williams
• Playwright: J-F Bibeau
• Producer/Dramaturg: Jacob Hellman
• Artistic Director: Barry Feinstein
• Light/Sound Board Operator: Dominic Gladden
• Scenic Artist: David Cunningham
• Costume Design: J-F Bibeau
• Lighting Designer: Charles Danforth III
• Sound Design: J-F Bibeau & Foxglove Zayuri
• Photography: Philip Laubner
• Poster/Graphic Designer: Darla Luke

Disclaimer: Theatrical Mining Company provided two complimentary media tickets to ShowBizRadio for this review.

The Sculptress takes what is known of the real biographies of two fascinating artists, sculptress Camille Claudel and surrealist painter Remedios Varo, and imagines what might have happened if these two women’s stories had intersected during the time that Varo was in Paris. Both women do have fascinating lives and while the basic premise of the tale is in itself interesting, the actual script falls short. The Baltimore Playwrights Festival is a great opportunity for playwrights to showcase their original work, but the combination of the issues with the script and the issues with the Fells Point Corner Theatre production led to an extremely problematic performance.

The script, written by Marilyn Millstone, is written in very short scenes that cover many locations. This would be much better suited to film or a very high-budget production. Director Juliana Avery and Set Designer Darla Luke attempt to address this problem by keeping the basic set largely abstract. There is an interesting black and white floor design that is very surreal. There are three black-and-white paintings that are uncovered to represent various settings in a slightly abstract way. The paintings are not bad, but they lack any real character and don’t really enhance the scenes. In other scenes, they are covered by white sheets that adorn the walls, but the paintings are often not fully covered and become distracting. The white sheets as walls are not very interesting. If the play had less set changes, it would enable the set design to add more detail, depth, and meaning to the set. Also distracting is the “sort of” black-and-white color scheme in the set and costumes. Most everything is in black and white, but then there will be a brown desk and chairs or a red tie or green bag. It comes across like an unrealized color scheme. There does seem to be any deep significance to the things that are in color. It is unsettling that there is an almost but not quite color scheme. If this was the intention, the connection to the thematic reasoning was unclear. Beyond the color scheme, there were a few other issues in costuming, such as Lizarraga’s pajamas, plaid pants and a t-shirt, that were modern and jarringly anachronistic.

Another problem with the script is that much of the dialogue sounds more like writing than like speaking. The characters rarely had unique voices; all seemed to possess the same voice. It sounded very scripted and unnatural, which led to a general overdramatic and unrealistic feel for what attempted to be a deeper story about the humanity of the characters. This was often not helped by the performances. Stefan Aleksander (Paul Claudel) was so over the top that it was hard to take him seriously. He would turn dramatically to the audience and deliver the last words of his sentences with overdramatic emphasis and over used the gesture of pointing in another character’s face. Characters would often go from calm to angry to calm very abruptly in a way that did not seem like natural character development. Karin Rosnizeck (Camille Claudel), who was definitely the most talented in the cast and did have a few very bright moments, did not seem to know if her character was sane or insane. The abrupt nature of the script did not help with this. Yagmur Muftuoglu (Remedios Varo) possessed a nice confidence on stage but had trouble developing a realistic character. Again, this may have come from the very formal and inconsistent nature of the writing. David Shoemaker had the task of playing several different characters in the piece, and there was no distinction between the characters. This was a combined result of his not being versatile and the lack of versatility in the writing. Ellie Nicoll (Genevieve Renat) also had a hard time giving believability to her character and often her facial expressions were incongruent with her words. Eve Carlson (Young Nun/Secretary) is just largely forgettable and seemed inexperienced on the stage.

Yet another issue is the fact that the action is taking place in France, and we are expected to believe that the characters are speaking French (and maybe Spanish?). The author uses “oui” and “si” to try to indicate the language being used, but then we hear the rest as English. In some certain scenes, one character will use one and the other will use another. Are we to believe they are speaking two different languages to each other? Also, Rosnizeck has an accent, which may be her’s or created for the character, while her brother has none. Shoemaker dons an accent for his French character, but no one else has an accent, and his other two characters use the exact same voice.

Also an issue is the sense of time in the piece. For one, it is confusing to put together the exact timeline of events and how much time passes between scenes. Along with the whirlwind of French names thrown into the back story, it is very hard to keep everything straight without prior knowledge of the real history. There is also a time where a scene indicates that a certain visit was the second between the two women, but a following scene with the brother makes it seem like there were more visits. There is a time when Remedios comes for a visit, a scene of less than ten minutes occurs, and the nun comes in to tell her that she has to leave. Remedios is shocked that it has gotten that late. If she only came ten minutes before the end of visiting hours, why would it seem quick? The scene at the end of the show takes place many years later, but the two characters in that scene have not aged. They also talk about the fact that Renat left briefly (because when she returned, she met her second husband) in 1935, but then says that the letter from Remedios came in 1936. In the previous scene, the letter had arrived just before Renat was to leave for Paris. It is all very confusing. Again, if this is intentional, the point was lost.

There are also so many unanswered questions still at the end. The script leaves one wanting to know more about what happened to Camille both before and after the events depicted and not in a good way. It is also really unclear still how Paul felt about his sister and why he did what he did. For what is set-up as a character piece, it does little to expose the real inside of these characters. It seems to delight more in making comments about art, women, religion, and politics. It feels like Millstone knew what point she wanted to make and forgot to just tell the story, give the characters life, and let the point make itself.

Cast

• Camille Claudel: Karin Rosnizeck
• Lizarraga/Debussy/Jacques the Bartender: David Shoemaker
• Paul Claudel: Stefan Aleksander
• Genevieve Renat: Ellie Nicoll
• Young Nun/Secretary: Eve Carlson
• Remedios Varo: Yagmur Muftuoglu

Production Staff

• Director: Juliana Avery
• Playwright: Marilyn Millstone
• Producer: Kate McKenna
• Stage Manager: Stephy Miller
• Set Designer: Darla Luke
• Lighting Designer: Tom Kowalski
• Set Construction: Kevin Heckathorn
• Production Assistant: Eve Carlson
• Costume Design: Erica Reid
• Props: Eve Carlson
• Booth Technician: Stephy Miller
• Poster Design: Natalia Love and Ken Stanek
• Photography: Ken Stanek

Disclaimer: Fells Point Corner Theatre provided two complimentary media tickets to ShowBizRadio for this review.