Ten minutes may not seem like a lot of
time. But you’d be surprised just how much a playwright can do
in that one-sixth of an hour. If you’d like to find out, don’t
miss this month’s play tournament in Park Slope.
On top of what used to be the old pool at Brooklyn’s Public Bath
No. 7, now the Brooklyn Lyceum, four plays will sink or swim
as they compete July 26 in a 10-minute-play tournament titled
"SwampKing."
The competition will be fierce, as four new contestants attempt
to emerge victorious from the tournament hosted by Wendy Richmond.
"We put out the call for plays in ’Backstage,’ over the
Internet and by e-mail," said Eric Richmond, director and
owner of the Lyceum. "We get comedies, dramas, musicals
and really weird one-man show pieces. They really run the gamut."
The tournaments are presented about once a month.
Most of the July 26 playwrights hail from Brooklyn. But Kristina
O’Neal, author of "Girls with Glasses," lives just
across the river in Manhattan.
O’Neal, a 32-year-old actress, says her play is about "two
women who have a chat about the pitfalls of Internet dating."
Goldie (O’Neal) is a "know-it-all rich girl who gets everything
she wants." And Eunice (Simone Lutz) is a "sweet, sensitive
soul who wears her heart on her sleeve."
Although she’s been married for three years, O’Neal says the
play is "sort of based on personal experience."
And as for her husband, he’s a director she did not meet through
the Internet.
O’Neal, who’s been writing since she took a high school playwriting
course at 17, says "Girls with Glasses" is just one
scene from a play "I’ve been writing for the last 10 years."
In fact, O’Neal’s approach to playwriting is nothing if not leisurely.
"When the play is finished, it will finish itself,"
she says nonchalantly.
Other plays include "Mrs. Cicatelli Cops a Casket,"
by Denis Meadows; "The Mona Lisa Approximately," by
Charlotte Winters; and "Death By Misadventure," by
Judd Lear Silverman – all Brooklyn playwrights.
Silverman says "Death By Misadventure" is a "twisted
little play" based on a true incident that happened in London’s
Hyde Park three years ago.
At that time, it was reported that two women died after they
were struck by lightning – the underwires on their bras having
served as lightning rods. The coroner ruled their demise "death
by misadventure," thus giving Silverman his title.
Three other events, all occurring at about the same time, also
profoundly influenced the playwright.
Golfer Payne Stewart died on his way to a tournament when the
pressure in his private jet decompressed, and the jet, as reported
by its black box, flew pilotless for several hours before it
ran out of gas and crashed.
An Egyptian aircraft dived earthward while the black box recorded
the pilot’s final prayers, leading many to suspect a suicide
and mass murder.
And the TV show "Dateline" aired a program about automobile
accidents and the possibility of putting black boxes in private
cars.
"All this [talk of black boxes] led me to wonder what the
two women could have been talking about before this bizarre accident,"
said Silverman. "I also added an announcer who comments
on the women’s statements."
The playwright says his play is a "meditation on why things
happen the way they do" and asks such imponderables as,
"Is there a randomness or a specific plan to fate?"
Silverman, who has lived in Park Slope since 1979, calls the
Lyceum "a neat space."
"I’m a member of the community," he told GO Brooklyn.
"I thought this would be a great deal of fun. I think it’s
wonderful to have the Lyceum right in the neighborhood."
In addition to the joy of winning, playwrights who impress Richmond
may be invited back to present longer works.
GO Brooklyn wishes all the playwrights good luck. And may the
best play win!
"SwampKing: The 10-Minute Play
Tournament" with special musical guest Kelly Zullo, will
be presented at 10 pm, on July 26, at the Brooklyn Lyceum, 227
Fourth Ave. at President Street in Park Slope. Tickets are $12.
For more information, call (718) 857-4816.
