
While Gary and I are getting ready for our next public performance of My Dearest Friend on April 7 at the OLLI at Aquinas, I am also directing two one act plays at East Grand Rapids Middle School, set to perform on
April 2 and 3. I'm calling the evening, Alien Encounters: Two One Act Plays. Both of the scripts are by our dear friend and playwright, Mary G. Kron and both feature Alien Girls who visit Earth to learn more about us or help some young Earthling with a common problem. Back to You, Brenda features teens taking over the local TV newscast on "Take Your Teen to Work Day", when the roving reporter is suddenly transported in time to interview an ancient Mayan warrior, a little girl in Hiroshima, Japan, a girl in 1846 Ireland, and others. The Alien Visitor is writing a term paper, but also teaches the young newscasters that if you don't know your history and learn from it, you are doomed to repeat it. In Tell and Show, the Alien Visitor comes to retrieve a valuable part of her ship which has mysteriously landed in Alex's backyard in the form of a geode. Its magical powers to freeze his bully classmates enable him to learn a valuable lesson about how to deal with bullying.
This is a great, family-friendly evening of entertainment. Tickets will be available at the door (2425 Lake Dr. SE, East Grand Rapids, MI 49506) both nights of performance and are $5/adults and $2/students and seniors.
To further complicate Abby's (or rather my) life, I'm getting ready for auditions March 22 and 23 for the next Stark Turn Players' production. I'll be directing Andrew Wernette's A Whale In Hilton Head in a World Premiere, May 1-4 at the Dog Story Theater. It is part of a double-bill that includes Todd M.Lewis' new play, Conversations with a Chimpanzee. Both local playwrights were winners of Stark Turn's 10-Minute Playwriting Competition last season and have been commissioned to write longer works by the Company for this season. For information about those shows and auditions, go to www.starkturnplayers.org.
I hope to see some of our friends and fans at one of our upcoming performances or auditions!
Happy Spring!!