Little Theatre hosts first community theater festival

The Little Theatre of Tuscarawas County hosted its first East Region festival for the Ohio Community Theater Association, reaping awards that are sending the cast and crew of “Tuesdays With Morrie” to the state festival competition in Cincinnati over Labor Day weekend.

The 40-minute excerpt, one of two presented for judging by responders, won first place, with awards going to Roxie Long, a Merit for direction; Kenn Holmes, a Merit for set design; Jack Thomas, Excellence in Acting; and Chester Boffo, Outstanding Actor. East Region representative Machelle Miller received a special award for exemplifying the Spirit of Theater. Authors of “Tuesdays With Morrie” are Jeffrey Hatcher and Mitch Albom.

Held at Dover High School, the festival also featured an excerpt from “Love, Loss and What I Wore” by alternate winner Footlight Players of Coshocton. Those receiving awards were Sheila Mayse, Merit in directing and acting; Ellen Para, Merit in acting; and Nathan Mayse, Merit for set design. The piece was written by Ilene Beckerman, Delia Ephron and Nora Ephron.

OCTA consists of eight regions from throughout the state with each region comprised of between six and 12 theaters. Participating theaters in the East Region include The Little Theatre of Tuscarawas County, Coshocton Footlight Players, Carnation Players of Alliance, Potter Players of East Liverpool, Wayne County Performing Arts Council, Zane Trace Players and Zanesville Community Theater. Each region covers 12 counties.

During their regular seasons, all OCTA member theaters are invited to choose one show and send a short excerpt to their regional festival held in June.

The rules for participation are strict. Only a small area of the stage may be used. The excerpt cannot run even one second over the allotted time of 40 minutes, which includes setup and takedown.

Directors must get permission from the author or publisher to be allowed to take a cutting from the play and then must plan it with a beginning, middle and end that does not deviate from the original script. Excerpts vary from drama and comedy to musicals, complete with live orchestras and choruses.

Three trained responders from different areas of the state evaluate the excerpts and discuss their suggestions and comments with the play casts immediately following the presentation. At the end of the day, one of the excerpts is chosen to participate in the state festival with another as an alternate, and awards are given for direction, acting, sets, costumes and ensemble work.

Responders for the East Region festival were Kathy Hyland, whose theater career spans 30 years as director, stage manager, board member, tech team member, teacher and actor at Columbus Children’s Theatre; Dan Maloney, who has performed in more than 50 productions and is the recipient of the OCTA Spirit of Community Theatre Award and the Otto Kvapil Award for Stage Performance at Xavier University; and Deb Wentz, who holds an MA in Popular Culture and has served as a regional representative, director, actor and costumer.

“Tuesdays with Morrie” was directed by Roxie Long. Crew participants included Shavonne McMillan, Machelle Miller, Kenn Holmes, Sarah Spies, Amy Vance, Joe Compton, Haley Kimble, Meghan Miller and Brendan Wiandt. Chester Boffo and Jack Thomas comprised the cast.

The production, produced by special arrangement with Dramatists Play Service Inc., is the autobiography of Mitch Albom, an accomplished journalist driven solely by his career, and Morrie Schwartz, his former college professor. The two are reunited when Schwartz learns that his former professor and friend is struggling with Lou Gehrig’s disease.

“Love, Loss and What I Wore” by Ilene Beckerman, Delia Ephron and Nora Ephron is a play of monologues and ensemble pieces about women, clothes and memory, covering subjects like mothers, prom dresses, buying bras, hating purses and why women only wear black.

Those participating in the Footlight Players’ excerpt were the crew of Director Sheila Mayse, Helen Scholfield, Shelly Lillibridge, Shane Pyle, Nathan Mayse and Jakob Eick. Cast members were Jill Baumgardner, Melissa Bluck, Susan Metz Guthrie, Heidi Miller, Ella Perrenoud, Sarah Perrenoud and Sheila Mayse. It was produced by special arrangement with Dramatists Play Service Inc.

Between excerpts lunch was made available by Messdad’s Concessions, which specializes in hot dogs, reubens, chicken, deep-fried doughnuts, fresh salads, spiral spuds on a stick, nachos and desserts. The festival was sponsored by Krugliak, Wilkins, Griffiths & Dougherty Co. LPA.

OCTA will celebrate its 70th state conference when contestants meet Sept. 1-4 in Cincinnati. Sixteen theaters are scheduled to perform. The weekend will include games, workshops, a banquet, and the Saturday and Sunday excerpts and awards. Register at OCTA at www.octa1953.org/ or call 1-888-465-4329.