This summer, the Abbey Theater of Dublin and Otterbein University students came together for the Abbey Theater’s summer production, the Otterbein Playwright Collective.
The collective marks the first of hopefully many collaborations between the Abbey Theater and Otterbein University. Joe Bishara, supervisor of the Abbey Theater, knew Otterbein English and playwrighting professor Jeremy Llorence from working together on previous theater projects. When Bishara moved to Columbus to work with the Abbey Theater, he contacted Llorence, looking to team up again.
The two brainstormed ways they could combine the Abbey Theater resources with Otterbein student talent, creating new and sought after opportunities. They quickly came up with the Otterbein Playwright Collective.
“How great would it be if we could pro- vide playwrighting and screenwriting students an opportunity to have their works produced?” Bishara says.
In addition to using scripts written by Otterbein students, the collective provided opportunities for high school actors in the Dublin area to act with a never-done-before script. Youth actors got to bring characters to life with no prior performances to lean upon.
The Otterbein students’ scripts were created for Llorence’s class. For their final project, students submitted a one-act play or screenplay. While Llorence graded them, Bishara decided which three pieces to use.
To narrow down his choices, Bishara used a rubric adapted from the one he used as the coordinator for the Columbus Art Council’s playwrighting fellowship program.
He mainly judged the pieces on producibility, or how quickly and easily a theater could produce the piece, taking cost into consideration as well. Although the youth performers were not paid, Bishara still felt it important that the Otterbein students understand budget constraints in order to prepare them for future theatrical endeavors.
“The artists need to understand that what they’re writing has to be something that can actually be done fiscally,” he says.
From all the pieces, Bishara chose two plays and one screenplay.
The Dublin youth actors auditioned for the collective in March before the scripts were selected because of the ambitious timeline for the project. Students came to the audition prepared with two contrasting monologues.
Ten students were chosen. The actors then had three four-day weeks of rehearsal and one week of tech. The actors in the screenplay, however, only had two weeks of rehearsal before filming.
One youth actor played a supporting role in all three pieces. The rest performed in one piece, each with the screenplay actors helping backstage during the live performance.
Bishara says the actors were enthusiastic about the opportunity to perform a local student’s creation.
“I think it’s been really exciting for the youth actors to have the chance to work on brand new material, … to create a character from the ground up,” Bishara says. “That’s not necessarily an opportunity that everyone has.”
The selected Otterbein writers are also thankful for the opportunity to have their work produced as undergraduates.
“Having opportunities to have your work produced beyond a staged reading (or) outside of what your college can provide are few and far between,” he says. “They’re getting a taste of what the rehearsal process is like and what it’s like to interact with a theater producer.”
Bishara adds that the collective is also a networking opportunity for both the Otterbein students as playwrights and screenwriters and the high schoolers as actors.
Following the success of the first collective, Bishara plans to collaborate with Llorence and Otterbein students again next year.
“The point of any type of collaboration is to bring artists together to create something more impactful than what they could do individually,” he says.
The selected plays and screenplay
Could You Use it in A Sentence?
By Whitney Burton
A deceased serial killer competes in a supernatural spelling bee for the chance to choose his own afterlife. The twist comes when he discovers he is competing against others he cares for. Should he allow them to win, or take the winnings for himself?
The Boy in Neon
By Niah
As main character Moxie rushes to class in a rainstorm, she almost hits a young boy in a neon rain jacket. The boy asks for help finding his way home, but finding your way home can mean many different things.
Growing Pains
By Lucy Clark (screenplay)
While having a conversation with a good friend, Ella spirals into a moment of self-discovery and exploration.
Sarah Grace Smith is an editorial assistant. Feedback welcome at feedback@cityscenemediagroup.com.
