UKIAH — The Mendocino College Theatre Arts Department will hold auditions for the eight new plays that have been selected to be produced this spring in the ninth annual Festival of New Plays. Auditions take place from 6 to 9:30 p.m. Monday at Mendocino College”s Little Theatre, 1000 Hensley Creek Road in Ukiah.
The scripts, each with an approximate running time of 10 minutes, will be directed by student directors under the guidance of writing professor Jody Gehrman, acting professor Maria Monti and Technical Director David Wolf.
After putting out a call to the community, Gehrman received more than 70 original scripts from local writers. Some were students in the college”s English and theater classes and some were writers in the area who decided to submit their work. “We”re extremely pleased,” Gehrman said. “Once again, the entries were wonderful! Deciding which ones to produce was extraordinarily difficult.”
The selected plays include: “No Bullets” by Damian Sebouhian, directed by Bryan Arnold; “My Very Own Personal Narrator” by Deneb T. Hall, directed by Mitchell Roberts; “Perish” by Corinna Rogers, directed by Margie Loesch; “Martha” by J.R. Brady, directed by Maria Monti; “Eating Crow” by Florence Peck and Sheralyn Riewerts, directed by Marje Artlip; “Happily Ever After” by Teresa Loesch, directed by Maria Monti; “Spirits” by Bill Webster, directed by Toby Rodriquez and “My Best Friend Kills People and I”m Okay with That” by Cameron Camacho, directed by Corinna Rogers.
Interested actors should arrive at 6 p.m. Monday and plan on staying until the auditions end at 9:30 p.m. Callbacks will be held from 6 to 9:30 p.m. Tuesday if needed.
The auditions will involve reading short scenes from the selected plays. No preparation or experience is required for the auditions; however, scripts are on reserve in the college library for those who wish to read them before auditioning.
Performances are scheduled for 8 p.m.May 20 and 21. For more information, contact Jody Gehrman, 468-3150 or jgehrman@mendocino.edu.
Jim Mastin is director of public information and auxiliary services.
