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LEWISBURG – All-new stories and voices will take the stage when the RiverStage Community Theatre, in association with the Gaspipe Theater Company, brings an evening of 8 world premiere short plays to the Lewisburg Stage.
Performances for the 2023 Gaspipe One Act Play Festival will be at 7:30 p.m. on February 10, 11, 17, and 18 and at 2:30 p.m. on February 19 at Greespace Center, 815 Market St., Lewisburg.
RiverStage received and read over 30 short plays that were submitted last fall from playwrights across Pennsylvania and the United States, and they worked with local directors and actors to pitch and produce 8 of those scripts. as part of this year’s performance.
Gaspipe co-founder Derek Scott, who will return this year to direct one of the plays, said: “We were once again thrilled to have so many great and creative scripts that people sent in from all over the world. country. Our cast and crew have worked hard to put together a show that combines these brand new pieces into one entertaining night of laughs and drama. It’s fresh new theater that you won’t see anywhere else, and it’s always great fun for the audience as well as the performers.
This year will mark the ninth time Gaspipe has produced this unique festival, but the first time since 2018 that it has returned to the stage after a hiatus.
Scott will direct Karen Elias’ (Lock Haven) “Letter to My Father,” about a girl struggling with her father’s environmental career and legacy.
Another drama, “Dry Ribbons” by Nickolette Jones (Bryn Mawr), follows a young woman helping her grandmother clean the house when old secrets come to light. On the lighter side, this year’s festival is filled with comedies, including: “Idemo! by Ramsey Uhter (Williamsport,) on a boy’s birthday party who becomes a thriller; “Lost and Found” by Clara Graham (Lewisburg), about two friends who make a surprising discovery in the woods; “Staples of Life” by Ashli Starks (Milton), about unconventional religious worship; “Betty the Staten Island Ferry Fairy” by John McDonnell Tierney (Shelburne Falls, Mass.) about a commuter who encounters a magical being; “Nick Goes to the Drag Show” by Anne Valentino (Rockville, Md.), about a married couple expanding their horizons; and James Spock’s “At the Haiku Convention” (Hanover Township) about two strangers connecting through poetry.
This production will feature 17 actors from Lewisburg, Milton, Danville, Selinsgrove, Williamsport and beyond. The shows will be directed by Maggie Able, Emily Ayn Bowen, Clara Graham, Derek Scott, Andrew Shaffer and Ashli Starks, and the cast includes Maggie Able, Steve Anderson, Teddy Casimir, Daelyn Castle, Michael Conard, Cathy Emery, Fred Hooper , Ketaki Hutchinson, Doug Orbaker, Elaine Pfeil, Storm Pryor, Lindsay Sauer, Ralph Sayers, Maddie Smith, Barbara Sundin, Ross Wiley and Jude Wilkinson.
RiverStage Community Theater was founded in 2003 as a non-profit artists’ group committed to bringing top-notch theater to the Greater Susquehanna Valley. After that production, the season will continue with the love-at-movie drama, Tiny Island, and wrap up in June with the classic musical The Sound of Music.
