Free Play Reading Series At The Waterfront

Waterfront Playhouse New Plays in May Play-Reading Series

'Blue Horizon,' 'Other Minds' break barriers, put relationships to test.

      Walls will come tumbling down on the Waterfront Playhouse stage Tuesday night (May 22), with Nolan raising his hammer to fell a wall and expand Blue Horizon Station and a pet owner and a dog breaking language barriers to speak candidly about why they behave the way they do toward one another.

      "Blue Horizon" and "Other Minds" are next in the lineup of new scripts in this season's New Plays in May reading series. The readings start at 8:30 p.m. Admission is free.

      "These plays will surely appeal to at least two big audiences, specifically anyone who has ever experienced life in a small town and anyone who has ever owned a pet," Chris Tittel said.

      Tittel, chair of the theater's play-reading committee, asked Earl Halbe, a veteran actor of the Waterfront stage and participant in last year's play-reading series, to direct both short pieces.

      Lois Wolfe, a resident of Marathon, novelist, poet, essayist, literary critic, creative writing teacher and author of "Blue Horizon," invites us into the world of her native Appalachia and Blue Horizon Station, the service station complex that owner Nolan Starkey wants to expand. Wolfe develops a strong sense of community through the familial exchanges between Nolan, his relatives and his lifelong friends. Flashbacks to Nolan as a boy drawing stick figures on slate walls underscore his need to create and develop relationships strong enough not only to save him from a lonely childhood working the mines, but also to survive the expansion of his business.

      Margot Lasher, a resident of Key West, psychologist and author of "Other Minds," tears down the walls of communication to take the audience on an imaginary journey into the twists and turns that could be had in a conversation between a pet owner and a dog. Anyone who has ever owned a pet will appreciate Lasher's attempts to assure them that their "read" on a pet's behavior – from the quick, deep sniffs of a cold nose pressed to the ground to the swaying, wide wags of a furry tail – isn't too far off the mark.

      An audience talkback with the playwrights will follow the presentations.

      The series will conclude with a reading of "True North" by Chris Tittel on May 29.

      For more information, call Waterfront Playhouse at (305) 294-5015.

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