Play by play

Theater festival gives mfa student playwrights production experience

Siddarth Puri
Published: Sunday, May 11, 2003

From tales of quirky genius boys to stories of dysfunctional families involved in hit-and-run accidents, there are so many stories to be told, but in the competitive world of playwrighting many of these stories will never make it to the stage.

Started in 1989 by the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television, the New Play Festival gives student playwrights in the Master of Fine Arts program a chance to write and have their plays staged.

This year there are four playwrights displaying their work: Rose Martula, Jesse Spero, Marlene Shelton and Benjamin Lomoso.

“It’s basically our only time to show our work to the public and to begin creating a name for ourselves,” said Martula, a third-year MFA student. “While it’s a good opportunity for us, it’s also one of the few, if not the only time, we have to present our work, which is unfortunate.”

The festival, presenting a play each week for a month, was created by the faculty as a means of giving the playwrights a chance to learn how plays are produced and executed.

“The New Play Festival is one of two chances the playwrights have to present their work here,” said Edit Villarreal, chair of the graduate playwriting program. “The festival is mainly for experience; we want the playwrights to see how their play is handled in the hands of other people in a full length production.”

While the festival is specifically for second-year MFA playwriting students, this year, as a result of the theater department extending the playwriting program to three years, there are students returning to the festival to showcase a new play for another year.

“I’m excited about showing a new play this year,” said Spero, a third-year MFA student. “After participating in the show last year, I learned that I get some of the best rewrites after rehearsals and after hearing what the actors and the directors have to say about the play.”

While these students toil to create plays that are different and edgy, they also want to be able to create a name for themselves in the theater industry to prepare themselves after graduation.

One student, Brian Davidson, a 1996 graduate from the playwriting program, participated in this event and will have his play, “War Times,” performed at the Geffen Playhouse next winter.

Writing his play after the New

Play Festival, Davidson used the skills gained from working with directors and actors to incorporate them into his creation.

“We encourage students to be creative in these pieces,” said Villarreal. “I want them to take chances and take risks – especially because it exposes them to new theatrical ways which they definitely benefit from.”

While some students may not have the immediate success of Davidson, they will gain valuable experience by learning how to adapt their plays to different actors and directors.

According to Spero, it’s most important for the playwrights to gain experience and taking that experience and using it for future productions.

The plays, while helping the playwrights gain pertinent experience in their field, also aim to provoke audience members to think about their own lives. While most of the plays focus on familial ideas and relationships, the playwrights hope to create a scene that audience members can relate to.

“I want my audience walking out reflecting back on their own lives,” said Spero. “I want the play to speak to them about deeper issues that encompass everyone’s lives – if I can do this, my play would have been a success.”