The Villages - September 2019 - 45

Selecting the Scripts

"Relevance," Elizabeth said is priority when it comes to
choosing the scripts at The Studio Theatre. Throughout the
summer and into January, staff weighs the options for the
upcoming season. "We also look to push the envelope," she
said.
Recently, Elizabeth hosted "Scripts from Scratch," the firstever play festival. "Statewide, we asked all playwrights to submit scripts that had never been produced." After selection,
audiences came to hear the final drafts, the world premiere
of each new play. Minus costumes and scenery, playwrights
presented their scripts in a staged reading format. "Four plays
over two days," Elizabeth said. "It went well so we hope to
bring that back in 2021. There's a lot of prep work; we got
50 submissions and I think we'll just continue to get more."
Other criteria in the selection process: a small cast. "Fewer than 14 people, and we don't want shows that have been
produced locally recently. So if Mad Cow theater or Hippodrome in Gainesville did the show, we wouldn't want to
conflict with that. But again, the main thing is relevance -
whether it's a discussion about family, race, suicide, or what's
happening in society. Also, we're looking for a unit set, not a
ton of changing sceneries. We leave that up to the audience's
imagination because we don't have wing space or fly space
like at The Sharon where we can host Broadway. So we keep
it simple and Kenny designs within those parameters."

Community Feedback

"It's not everyone's cup of tea," Elizabeth said of The Studio and its performances. "That's to be expected because we
deal with hot button issues. But the folks who do enjoy it
thank us for bringing home the big-city controversial topics.
This is especially true among our native Chicago residents
and people from New York who are used to seeing more edgy,
versatile theater. It took a minute, but we found our patrons.
That's what I love about our venues - Savannah, The Sharon and Studio; they all have different audiences, but it's nice
that we can cater to them all."

Location:
Tierra Del Sol,
806 San Marino Drive
Tickets and Information:
751-7799 or
www.TheSharonStudio.com
MAGAZINE

http://www.TheSharonStudio.com

The Villages - September 2019

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