Maskers Read New Works in Belfast
(Created: Thursday, March 6, 2008 1:52 AM EST)Â
 |BELFAST — The Belfast Maskers opened a four-evening series of readings of new works by Maine authors March 5. The series continues 7 p.m. daily through Saturday, March 8, at Unitarian Universalist Church of Belfast, 37 Miller St.
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Opening night featured Laura Emack’s play “The Deconstruction of George Quimby,†a historical drama involving the origins of Christian Science thought.
Thursday, there will be a reading of “Yellow Wallpaper†by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, adapted by Paul Kuritz. Kuritz is a professor at Bates College and has directed more than 100 plays throughout the United States. He is the author of four books; the latest, “The Fiery Serpent,†will be out this year. His latest film is called “A New Life.†In 1990, Kuritz was invited by the National Theater School of Slovakia to teach and direct.
Gilman, a summer resident of Belfast, has been an active member of Maskers for the past 12 years. Gilman has written many short stories and essays. “The Celebration,” her first attempt at playwriting, also will be read this evening.
Richard SewellÂ
Friday will offer Richard Sewall’s “Indivisiblunder.”
Sewell, a longtime theater instructor at Colby College and director of Belfast Maskers presentations of “Someone to Watch Over Me†and “The Glass Menagerie,†was the co-founder of Theater at Monmouth. His plays have been read and produced in many venues throughout the United States. In “Indivisiblunder,” homeland security invades the home of a devout fundamentalist and all heaven breaks loose. This play hovers all too plausibly on the verge of zaniness among the pitfalls of our blunders through the divisive dark of torture and suspended due process. The uneasy comedy was featured in Boston Theaterworks in 2005 and has had public readings at New York’s Neighborhood Playhouse, as well as several other venues.
Dan DomenchÂ
The closing evening will see a series of short works by Dan Domench, who was writer in residence at the Julian Theater in San Francisco and theater director of the Maine Festival for two years. Domench writes short stories to be presented as audio books. The collection “Hold Me Fast†presents 10 stories set in northern New England. He currently is writing and directing “Wayside Cross,†the second collection of new short stories in his “Speedway Six†series of six audio books.
The readings are presented in readers’ theater format. No evening lasts more than two hours. Refreshments will be served, and there is no admission charge. Many of the playwrights will be present for discussion following the reading.