SCRIPTEASE is StageWest’s monthly, FREE, play reading. Join us as we explore new and experimental scripts.
MAY 2012: Running by Arlene Hutton
DATE: Tuesday, May 29, last Tuesday of the month.
TIME: 7 p.m.
COST: Free
LOCATION: First Unitarian Church, 1800 Bell Ave.
It’s the weekend of the New York City Marathon, and Stephen, preparing for his first race, needs a good night’s sleep. Emily, his wife’s old roommate, shows up unexpectedly in the wee hours of the morning. In crisis and unable to find a hotel room, Emily is returning to the apartment she once lived in and where, years ago, she and Stephen may or may not have met. Seeing her old home brings back memories and Stephen, dealing with his own troubles with marriage and work, is jarred from his complacency and forced to face his failures. Late night conversations become late night confessions and connections. Will Stephen be running on empty?
“The audience gets to know the characters as they get to know each other over the course of the night. Their talk becomes more intimate and more revealing as the play progresses, and the comic tone becomes more melancholy as the themes of middle-age loss, self-knowledge and loneliness push through. Ms. Hutton, best known for The Nibroc Trilogy, has a fine ear for the fits and starts of conversation… the loose, thinking-it-through-as-we-go quality is part of its charm.” — NY Times
“Accomplished playwright Arlene Hutton has written a smart, funny script with a strong narrative and complete studies of two identifiable characters… a very real, human drama.” — NYTheatre.com
“Arlene Hutton’s slick, frequently insightful RUNNING investigates the titular action as a means of coping with life’s disappointments… a strong showcase for Hutton’s wit and craft.” — Time Out NY
JUNE 2012: Red by John Logan
DATE: Tuesday, June 26, last Tuesday of the month.
TIME: 7 p.m.
COST: Free
LOCATION: First Unitarian Church, 1800 Bell Ave.
Winner of the 2010 Tony Award for Best Play
Master abstract expressionist Mark Rothko has just landed the biggest commission in the history of modern art, a series of murals for New York’s famed Four Seasons Restaurant. In the two fascinating years that follow, Rothko works feverishly with his young assistant, Ken, in his studio on the Bowery. But when Ken gains the confidence to challenge him, Rothko faces the agonizing possibility that his crowning achievement could also become his undoing. Raw and provocative, RED is a searing portrait of an artist’s ambition and vulnerability as he tries to create a definitive work for an extraordinary setting.
“Intense and exciting… a study in artist appreciation, a portrait of an angry and brilliant mind that asks you to feel the shape and texture of thoughts… RED captures the dynamic relationship between an artist and his creations.” — NY Times
“Smart, eloquent entertainment… Logan’s dialogue is a sleight of hand; behind its wallop is a lot of learning… Logan sometimes appropriates Rothko’s epigrams (‘Silence is so accurate’), but his own idiom is well wrought and delightful.” —The New Yorker
“John Logan sends American abstract expressionist painter Mark Rothko into battle with his demons in this electrifying play of ideas, and the artist’s howls are pure music… Rothko is one old lion that will keep roaring until he draws his last breath.” — Variety
“Logan’s success lies in reminding us that painting is a job of work… what emerges is something rare in modern drama: a totally convincing portrait of the artist as a working visionary.” — Guardian (UK)
Get Involved
Interested in directing, performing in or getting involved in a Scriptease reading? Contact Scriptease Director Ron Gilbert via email
