Apr
18
Finalists Announced for the 4th Annual Ronald M. Ruble New Play Festival at Caryl Crane Youth Theatre
April 18, 2014 | Leave a Comment
Three finalists have been chosen and will be presented in the 4th Annual Ronald M. Ruble New Play Festival on May 3, 2014, in the McBride Auditorium at BGSU Firelands College: Operation Oddball by Lisa Bruna, Losing Moscow by Kate Jacobs and Andy Burton, and President Mom by Becca Anderson. These finalists, chosen from a nationwide search for the most promising unproduced theatrical works relevant to youth today, will be presented in a staged-reading format utilizing The Caryl Crane Youth Theatre troupe of teen actors. During this free festival, the finalists will be evaluated by a panel of industry professionals, our teen festival participants, and an audience vote. The three votes are combined and a Festival Winner will be chosen. That winner will receive a $500 check from this year’s festival sponsor, Goodwill Industries of Erie, Huron, Ottawa and Sandusky Counties, and an offer of a three-week workshop in the CCYT 2014-2015 season.
At a Glance:
What: The 4th Annual Ronald M. Ruble New Play Festival at Caryl Crane Youth Theatre When: Saturday, May 3, 2014
Operation Oddball, 10 AM Losing Moscow, 12 PM President Mom, 2 PM
Where: McBride Auditorium, North Building. BGSU Firelands College campus. How Much: FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC!
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The 3 plays/musicals to be presented during the 2014 Ronald M. Ruble New Play Festival on May 3 were chosen after evalutating over 50 submitted works from around the country, and are listed below (in order of
festival appearance):
Operation Oddball (10 AM)
By Lisa Bruna
Oliver Bloom’s day is about to take a turn for the peculiar when he accidently swallows a grape seed and finds himself entangled in a bizarre bet with his know-‐it-‐all teen sister. At Priscilla’s prompting, Oliver and his two siblings set out on a madcap quest to locate the most outlandish characters in town. As the mission unravels, a bevy of bona fide oddballs slowly rise to the surface. But are they odd enough to win the approval of prickly Priscilla, or will Oliver, Sonny and Lola get stuck doing three-‐weeks-‐worth of her chores? Rated G.
Losing Moscow (12 PM)
Book, Lyrics and Music by Kate Jacobs Music by Kate Jacobs and Andy Burton
Loosely adapted from Chekhov’s Three Sisters, set in 1970, this story is about a family of teenagers who are wrenched from their happy, bohemian life in Manhattan and sent to live with their club-‐denizen grandmother in a small suburban town. Their beautiful, artistic mother has died, and their grief-‐stricken father has volunteered for medical service in Vietnam. The adored older brother, a piano prodigy, comes under a spell of a local beauty and abandons both the girls and music. Heartbroken and stranded, the sisters long for home. They are gradually drawn into the life of the town by various neighborhood kids – an eccentric young naturalist, a disillusioned athletic star, a prom queen – but they always harbor the dream of going home. Ultimately betrayed by their brother – who carelessly ruins any chance of return – they acknowledge that they’ll never make it home, and they’ll have to make it home, wherever they are. Rated PG.
President Mom (2 PM)
By Becca Anderson
Claire McCallister is a typical teenage girl. She is stressed out about her bio exam and even more about finding a date to her high school’s spring dance. This would be tough for anyone to handle, but Claire’s mother just happens to be The President of the United States. When Claire’s Mom offers her the chance of a lifetime, to meet her rockstar idol, Claire jumps at the chance. The catch: Claire has to take Brent Baumgartner, the nerdiest boy in school, to the dance. Still, she agrees to go along with her Mom’s scheme, until a European Prince arrives and turns Claire’s world upside-‐down.
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Ronald M. Ruble New Play Festival Overview
Each year Caryl Crane Youth Theatre hosts a national playwriting festival, showcasing new plays for young adults and children. A national search is currently looking for the best and most promising unproduced theatrical works relevant to youth today. The festival, held the first weekend of May each calendar year, consists of 3 staged readings of previously unseen theatrical works and will take place in the McBride Auditorium on the BGSU Firelands campus in Huron, OH. A winning work will be chosen through committee/audience/participant voting and the author(s) will receive a $500 cash prize as well as the option of a 3-week workshop of their production during the following CCYT season.
Past winners include: Jennifer the Unspecial (2011), Princess K.I.M. (2012), and The Gift (2013).
May 3, 2014
The Ronald M. Ruble New Play Festival is free and open to the public!
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