1. How are you gearing up for the BTM?
Emily K. Lazzaro (pictured below): I've met with the director and spoke with him about casting options. Since BCAP (Boston Center for American Performance - the professional extension of Boston University's School of Theatre) is producing my show we are using all alums of BU's School of Theatre, most of them from my graduating class. It's a reunion of sorts, which is really exciting.
Colleen Hughes: My play The Mouse" is being produced by the Firehouse Center for the Arts in Newburyport. I'm going to be making a trip up there from Boston this week to see a rehearsal--I've heard it's going very well, and I'm really looking forward to meeting the director and actors. I've revised the play once since I submitted it, and if this version has any weak spots when I hear it in rehearsal, I'll be able to make a few tweaks there.
Phil Schroeder: I've left it completely off my calendar, so I'm really very relaxed about it. I keep telling myself it's sometime in August, even though this director seems overly interested in getting my rewrites. Soon! I oblige when I can. I am raising two kids, one who plays competitive baseball almost every day of the week, and the other who decided this would be a good week to get strep throat and then have an allergic reaction to the medicine. Children's Hospital has a nice waiting room full of stories to write, so bring a laptop. Staying in touch with my inner-artist is a challenge, but through the magic of medications, I'm doing just fine.
2. What excites you most about being a part of BTM13?
Emily K. Lazzaro: I'm most excited about being a part of one of Boston theatre's biggest days. It seems like a fantastic opportunity to really be a part of the community. I can't wait to see all the other plays (I'm going to try to see every one - wish me luck).
Colleen Hughes (pictured right): I am thrilled to be part of my first BTM! I love that it brings together so many local theatre people and that it is a charitable event. I'm
excited to dive into the craziness that I'm sure ensues
when 50 plays are produced in a span of 10 hours.Phil Schroeder: This is my first play for BTM, and actually the first play I will have had produced. So I'm very excited. Sunday the 22nd is a ridiculously busy day, so I'm just hoping I get to see it. I'm a little concerned about that wacko preacher in Oakland, CA, who says the world is ending on the 21st, because that would really ruin it for me, and I have a lot of things planned that weekend. So, geez, talk about inconvenient! But we muddle on, right?
3. What's your play about?
Emily K. Lazzaro, author of Crickets: Crickets is a play about a man and a woman who have a history - a certain unspoken connection. They are sitting on a porch at the end of the summer talking about art and their lives and how things have changed and where things could go.
Colleen Hughes, author of The Mouse: Caroline, a young web developer for the Walt Disney Company, learns in her annual performance review that her Magic Rating is the lowest in the department. A certain someone is very disappointed in her.
Phil Schroeder, author of Rogue River, Oregon: Two men, a generation apart, share a run down mobile home in southern Oregon. The old man's daughter was the younger man's wife, and after her tragedy, these two are still connected by guilt and a lack of closure and owning up to the reasons and their own responsibilities. In Rogue River, Oregon, we meet them on the day when things come to a long-awaited confrontation.
Please support these emerging playwrights, and come see Emily's play in the 1-2 block, Colleen's play in the 12-1 block, and Phil's play in the 3-4 block on Sunday, May 22nd! Full schedule here
Phil would like to say: Colleen's "Mouse" is freakin' hilarious! I remember this play from last year and I can't wait to see it.
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