Therapy by Cindy Mendecino
Directed by Keith Williams

A man goes to therapy and talks to his past in his head.

CAST
Jerry Scott - Kerry Jones
Sylvia Scott - Alison Dodges
Kelly Scott - Andrea Hein
Tim Scott - Austin Gore
Jane - JoAnne Fuesel
Dr. Johnson - Leni Weisl
Other Patient - Diamantino Sforza

Directed by Robert Elwood

A look at the humorous side of self-loathing and existential dread.When I lie down, I say, “When shall I arise, and the night be gone?” and I am full of tossings to and fro unto the dawning of the day.     Job  18-7:4

CAST
Abel - Curt Dodges
Baker - Jeffrey Robinson
Charlie - John Giusti
Dora - Gloria Ranta
Eric - Chris Woehrer
The Body - Steven Hundert

20 Questions by Rob Gorman
Directed by J. R. Cook

A man learns the meaning of life in 20 questions (or less).

CAST
Anna Henry as Felicity
Frank Bowles Jr. as Dan
~
Stage Manager: Taejiana Curtis

Directed by Michael V. Hartsfield

As the curtain rises, a male lead actor has a sudden epiphany that he must quit the show because “it really sucks.”  Before a startled audience and a horrified co-lead actress and equally upset offstage director, the actor finally agrees, in this comedy meta-play, to continue on under one condition: That he be allowed, “for artistic reasons,” to “tweak” his character’s lines “just a bit” in order to improve the play.

CAST
Mary - Maureen Rogers
Peter - Larry Simmons

Who's Afraid of a Hot Tin Roof by Trish Cole
A Production by Raging Hags Productions
Directed by Michelle Freire

Four actors playing Martha, George, Brick, and Maggie take the stage simultaneously at the start of two different plays, and, as the actors vie for control of the stage and the limelight, they each begin to reveal themselves—not as their characters, but as human beings.

CAST
Valarie Green as Actor playing Martha
Greg Rumpf as Actor playing George
Stacey Mulrooney as Actor playing Maggie
Peter Klug as Actor playing Brick
~
Stage Manager: Gloria Ranta

​~

Presented by The Newtowne Players
Directed by Valarie Green

On a March morning, a grieving couple waits for the migratory return of the osprey to the St. Mary’s River for the nesting season.

CAST
Kari - Missy Bell
Mark - Michael Bell

Produced by special arrangement with the College of Southern Maryland
Directed by Danielle LeDoux
“Five minutes, Five days, Five years… That would be a lifetime….” (the children)
I guarantee you've never looked at abortion through the child's eyes...
From the mouth of babes comes the hard reality of abortion...
All through the innocent eyes of the children being aborted...
You draw the conclusions of a lifetime.

CAST
Boy 1 - Robert Hamilton
Boy 2 - Taylor Hines
Girl 1 - Tae Curtis
Girl 2 - Danielle LeDoux
Girl/Woman - Annabel Russell
Wife - Simone Hanna
Dad - Paul May
Husband/Father - Jeremy Hunter
Doctor - Daniel Shalowx
~
Stage Manager - Simone Hanna
Assistant Stage Manager - Kendall Garton


Directed by Lois Stephenson

A liberal writer with a knack for knocking out far-right prose thinks he can sabotage a religious-right political candidate. 

CAST
David - Robert Rausch
Kim - Wendy Heidrich
Tomlinson - John Giusti

Laughter by Keith Williams and Normma Plume
Directed by Keith Williams

A woman confronts her past so she can have a future.

CAST
Emily Funderburk as Dina
Alex Laclaire as Frank
~
Stage Manager: Leni Weisl

The Great Spandrels by Beth Sanford
A Production by The Newtowne Players

Directed by Steve Fogle

A writer in the process of telling a story is trying to figure out how to tell the story and what story he’s trying to tell.

CAST
Jake Dodges as The Great Spandrels
Katharine Cognard-Black as Calli/Lucy
Jacob Bowen as Johnny
Gwen Horton as Mrs. Flanigan


For King and Cabbage by R. DaSilva
Directed by Sherry Mervine

In an implausible medieval setting an executioner masquerades as a gleaner, his wife pretends she has an uncle, and the miller has interests beyond barley and corn. It's all doubletalk and foolishness in this facile, shallow, pointless farce.

CAST
Rolf - Justin McCright
Griselda - Jonie McCright
Miller - Keith Mervine
Miller's wife, Tallulah - Sherry Mervine
King Bartholomew - Sid Curl



2013-2015

A Carbuncle in the Abyss by R. DaSilva
Directed by Rick Thompson

A swashbuckling story removes its clothes in front of a live audience.

CAST
Don Corso - Diamantino Sforza
Porche - Curt Dodges
Pollinaris - Leni Weisl
~
Stage Manager - Cara Brzozowski

Begin the Beguine by Kim Moore Bessler
Directed by Mike Gahan

During the early days of World War II, a magical dance is sparked when a "Government girl" partners with a "Bedford boy" to...Begin the Beguine.

CAST
Katie Ludy as Elderly Helen
Meg Cronin as Nurse
Sarah Jones as Grace
Jess Alaine as Helen Hayes
Matt Jones as Archie Morgan
Joe Bowes as Will Morgan
~
Producer: Kim Bessler
Stage Manager: Katie Ludy
Makeup/Hair: Sarah Jones
Costumes: Carol Russel
Choreographer: Brooke Howells-Weiser 
Sound: Mike Mickey
Properties: Kim Bessler

The Death of a Noble Steed by Jack Wibbe
Directed by Timothy Joyce

Young Beth sets off to drive from Baltimore to New Orleans to get married -- accompanied by her ex-boyfriend who spends the whole trip trying to talk her out of it. 

CAST
Lindsey Norris as Beth
Timothy Joyce as Pete
Jon Berry as Mack
Mike Cahall as Cop
~
Stage Manager: Jessany Fogle
Set Design/Construction: Timothy Joyce and Jessany Fogle

Directed by Wendy Heidrich

A journalism student has to make a difficult choice as he interviews a woman that claims to be a Vampire. 

CAST
Victoria - Allison Dodges
Peter - Joseph Turner

​~

PRODUCER/ADJUDICATOR
Lisa Gregory, M.S., Ph.D.
Lisa Gregory is an environmental consultant with Assisted Management Solutions, Inc. and has been involved with theatre on both sides of the curtain for over 25 years.  She has acted, directed, produced, managed, or designed lights/sound/set for over 35 plays. Dr. Gregory is an alumna of St. Mary’s College of Maryland (SMCM) and, after obtaining her degrees in Zoology at the University of Florida, returned to Southern Maryland in 2002 where she volunteered with the TheatriText club at the College of Southern Maryland (CSM, Leonardtown campus).  She is delighted that students from both CSM and SMCM are involved with this year's festival. In 2006, she was asked to direct The Newtowne Player’s (NTP) production of Side by Side by Sondheim, and has since then won numerous NTP awards for best light design, director, and play (The Dining Room).  She was the Technical Director for NTP’s state submission of Trish Cole’s Butterfly in 2010, which received the prestigious Ed-Ro-Char Award for Technical Excellence.  In the past four years, Dr. Gregory has focused on original works written by local artists and was the Founder, Artistic Director, and Producer of Southern Maryland Originals, a production of the Performance Arts Club at CSM.  Dr. Gregory is the Founder of Watermelon Inc., a new 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to the performing arts and to providing a nurturing and educational environment for original works.

ADJUDICATION CHAIR
Michelle Ebert Freire, M.F.A.
Michelle Ebert Freire holds a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre from the University of Maryland, College Park, and a Master of Fine Arts in Drama and Theatre for Youth from the University of Texas at Austin.  She also has a certificate from the Drama Therapy Institute of Los Angeles and additional training from the Centre for Playback Theatre.  Ms. Freire taught theatre arts, specializing in theatre education, at California State University, San Bernardino, for seven years before moving back to her home state of Maryland in 2009.  She currently serves as Youth Arts Education Consultant for Washington Performing Arts Society.  She has worked in various capacities – as an arts educator, director, drama therapist, and devised theatre practitioner – for several organizations throughout the U.S., including Young Playwrights Inc., MCC Theater, Seattle Children's Theatre, City Lights Youth Theatre, and various support organizations, drop-in centers, and prisons.  Ms. Freire’s favorite directing projects include Godspell and As Bees in Honey Drown with NTP, as well as Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse and The Rocky Horror Show.

ADJUDICATOR
Greg Rumpf
Greg Rumpf is a Principal Program Analyst at CACI Enterprises. He is an actor, photographer, and independent filmmaker who began as a motion picture/TV production specialist while in the Navy. Since retiring from the Navy, he has been active in Community Theater for the last fifteen years and has been involved in several award-winning plays. In 2013 he was nominated, along with Keith Linville, for a WATCH award for outstanding special effects in a musical The Who’s Tommy produced at Port Tobacco Players.

Jonathan M. Rizzardi
Jonathan M. Rizzardi is a Baltimore/Washington D.C. area actor, director, writer, and vocalist. He is an alumnus of St. Mary’s College of Maryland having earned his B.A. in English with minors in Theatre, Education, and Music (Vocal Performance), as well as his M.A.T. in Secondary English Education with additional focuses in both Theatre Arts and Special Education. As a director, Mr. Rizzardi has had the pleasure of working with college actors, high school students, and community members on productions such as West Side Story, Our Town (GMHS), Grease, The Little Mermaid (Tree of Life), Working: A Musical, [title of show], Oleanna, and As You Like It (SMCM). As an actor, his favorite roles include The Master of Ceremonies (Cabaret), Orpheus (Polaroid Stories) – St. Mary’s College, Barnette Lloyd (Crimes of the Heart) – State of the Arts, and Sky Masterson (Guy and Dolls) – TACTICC. Mr. Rizzardi is a Theatre Arts and English teacher at Great Mills High School, as well as the Theatre Arts Director for GMHS’ Lighthouse Productions. 

FESTIVAL COORDINATOR
Thomas Esposito
Involved in community theatre since 2002, Thom Esposito has participated in numerous productions in various capacities. Whether helping to build a set, producing a show, operating the light board, or appearing on stage, he is happy to do what he can to help make a show a success. Mr. Esposito has appeared on stage in the NTP productions of The Dining Room, Sylvia, and Harvey.  As an author of a one-act play entitled Rapture in Flight, he was excited to be called a “playwright”, and with NTP’s productions of Harvey and Wit, he was called “Stage Manager”. In January 2010, Mr. Esposito directed Over the River and Through the Woods and earned the Three Notch Theatre’s award for Best Director and Best Play. With the production of The Lion in Winter, he added lead carpenter to his list of theatrical accomplishments. Last year, at the first Watermelon One-Act Festival (WOAF), Mr. Esposito directed Jim Wise’s Mugger in the Park, which won the Audience Choice Award for best play. He was recently involved with NTP’s production of Slick Dame, which won this year’s Maryland Community Theater Festival competition for original script. Mr. Esposito currently serves on the Board of Directors of The Newtowne Players and is delighted to be the WOAF Coordinator.

~

SCHEDULE OF PLAYS

The Newtowne Players, Three Notch Theatre

SATURDAY JUNE 7, 2014:

11:00 am
For King and Cabbage
A Carbuncle in the Abyss
Therapy
True Colors
Adjudication

3:00 pm
Monteggia Fracture
The Nature of Man
Adjudication

7:00 pm
Life on Mars
Threshold
Adjudication

FINALS

SUNDAY JUNE 8, 2014: 2:00 pm


~ 2013 ~
WINNERS!
Best Play/Script - Field Guide to the North American Osprey by Trish Cole
RUNNER UP: Soon by R. DaSilva

Audience Choice for Best Play/Script - Mugger in the Park by James H. Wise

Best Director/Production - Valarie Green for Field Guide to the North American Osprey
RUNNER UP: Thomas Esposito for Mugger in the Park

Best Actor - Michael Bell in Field Guide to the North American Osprey
RUNNER UP: John Giusti in Soon

Best Actress - Missy Bell in Field Guide to the North American Osprey
RUNNER UP: Ellynne Brice Davis in Mugger in the Park

GREAT JOB EVERYONE!!!

FINALISTS (in alphabetic order)

Daddy's Pride and Joy (Wild Card Finalist)
Field Guide to the North American Osprey
Mugger in the Park
Soon
Vicky

~

2013 PARTICIPANTS

True Colors by Kim Moore Bessler
Directed by Lynne O'Meara

A jaded ‘material girl’ realizes her life’s ambition through the intervention of two highly improbable, yet world famous, personalities who demonstrate the significance of showing one’s ‘true colors’.

CAST
Ms. Shirley M. Kitting - Allison Claggett
Humphrey Bogart - Randy Tusing
Ronald Reagan - John Hogg
~
Stage Manager - Dawn Bush
Costumes, Props, Program - Kim Bessler
Make-up/Hair Design - Sheila Hyman
Lighting Design - Lynne O'Meara
Sound Design - Will Darby

​~

Calling Steve by Debs Szymkowiak
Directed by Vicki Powalisz

A phone call to a wrong number has unexpected results.

CAST
Paul Rose as Steve
Amanda LePore as Maggie
Lewis Beckley as Greg
Tia LePore as Carol
~
Stage Manager: J.R. Cook

Directed by Thomas Esposito

In tight economic times like today, no one feels safe.
Beware! There’s a mugger in the park who’s preying upon the naïve and most unsuspecting… Hey, wait a minute, isn’t this supposed to be a comedy? Well, yeah, it is. 

CAST
Selma Goldberg - Ellynne Davis
#1 Young Thug - Jake Dodges
Herb Goldberg - Joe Bowes
#2 Young Thug - Sabrina Hein

Produced by special arrangement with the College of Southern Maryland
Directed by Keith Hight

Imagine waking up one day and discovering you have great powers. And then someone tells you you’re going to save the world. They tell you that world is depending on you, to be a hero. What they don’t tell you... is what you have to give up.

CAST
Clark - Charles Watley
Dinah - Aimee Bonnet
Ollie - Brandon Jones
Bruce - Sean Smith
Wally - Rusty Hrabe
Karen - Alexis Miller
Diana - Jessica Nicole Perdomo
Orin - Tim Gordon
John - Maurice Brown
Mr. Yale - Paul May
Mr. Phate - Jeremy Hunter

Threshold by Kevin Lebling
Directed by Dave Carter

A promiscuous young woman is faced with a dilemma when her high school love interest returns from sea after mysteriously disappearing a year before. A twisted, comedic conversation ensues while she struggles with the question of whether she should even open the door for him.

CAST
Jessica - Megan Taylor
Christopher - Andrew Nichols

Directed by Lois Stephenson

An aging actor, Malcolm Chesterfield, and his lovely counterpart, Veronica Vanderbilt, accept a radio show  spot while waiting for their "big come back" vehicle.  The radio show: An intrepid explorer, Professor Marvin Harvey and his nutty sidekick, Mary, make an exciting discovery high in the Himalayas and have quite an adventure coming back to Kathmandu.

CAST
Malcolm Chesterfield - Robert Rausch
Veronica Vanderbilt - Wendy Heidrich
Kurt Bertram - John Giusti
Peter La Palma - Steven Hundert
Jerry Bell - Curt Dodges

Monteggia Fracture by Jack Wibbe

Directed by Timothy Joyce

An abused wife flees from her husband and his detectives and also helps other women in the same jam.

CAST
Turner - Alex LaClair
Julia - Kaytlin Medley
Emily - Amanda Jo Connelley
Wayne - Jacob LeJeune
Green - Kate Patterson
Anna - Tiffany Kurtz
Tara - Ashley James
David - Manual Lugo
~
Stage Manager - Jessany Fogle

Directed by Wendy Heidrich

Joy Kramer has taken her frail invalid father, Bernard Kramer, out from his nursing facility for a Sunday picnic lunch at Central Park in New York City.  What starts out as a quiet, ordinary and serene daughter-father outing suddenly turns into an emotionally wrenching encounter.  Joy’s tragic childhood is revealed via the emergence of two personality alters that graphically tell Joy’s story while providing the audience with an emotionally disturbing glimpse into the dynamic complexities of dissociative identity disorder.

CAST
Bernard Kramer - Joe Bowes
Joy Kramer/Joseph/Ginger - Stacey Mulrooney

The Penitent by Vincent L. Scarsella
Directed by Christopher Joyce

A Catholic priest struggles with the moral dilemma of giving the sacrament of confession to a man who has confessed to molesting a young boy, as his own demons threaten to swallow him all the while.

CAST
Christopher Joyce as Father Caputo
Steve Fogle as Father Shea
Timothy Joyce as The Penitent

The Helpless Director Zone by Rick Thompson
A Production by New Direction Community Theater
Directed by Rick Thompson

He's new in town. He's formed a new theater group. He's a new director. He's watching the first performance. He's in the Helpless Director Zone.

CAST
Keith Mervine as The Director
Curt Dodges as The Host
~
Stage Manager: Cara Brzozowski
Sound Operator: Amber Steffey
Sound Design & Original Music: Rick Thompson

The Nature of Man by Jeremy Keith Hunter
Directed by J. R. Cook

“You have been chosen to bear witness to an experiment. What is a home? Is it a place of security? A place of safety, of comfort, of memories. Or is it, perhaps, a reflection of our hearts. The inner depths of the human heart overflow with darkness. But amidst these shadows, light can emerge.  Today, we explore the nature of the heart; seeking to unravel its mysteries. Man or beast, coward or hero. Today, we see, men are the homes they create for themselves and for each other.”

CAST
Moderators - Aliah Alcain and Surasree Das
Addison - Taejiana Curtis
Ethan - Charles Watley
Luka - Cory Bragg
Damien - Jonathan Johnson
Marissa - Kaitelyn Bauer
Miranda - Alexis Miller
Hope - Aimee Bonnet
Charlotte - Shaleen Lewis Graham
Tiffani - Emmeline Jones
Jeannine - Morgan Kline
~
Stage Manager - Christopher Lange

~ 2015 ~​
WINNERS!!
Best Script: 20 Questions
Runner Up: Who's Afraid of a Hot Tin Roof

Best Production/Director: Who's Afraid of a Hot Tin Roof
Runner Up: Penitent

Audience Choice: The Helpless Director Zone

Best Ensemble: Who's Afraid of a Hot Tin Roof

Outstanding Performances:
Keith Mervine (The Helpless Director Zone)
Timothy Joyce (Penitent)
Matt Jones (Begin the Beguine)
Katharine Cognard-Black (The Great Spandrels)

Tech Wreck: Begin the Beguine

Great Job Everyone!
~
CONGRATULATIONS FINALISTS!
(listed in order of performance)

Begin the Beguine (Wild Card Finalist)
The Helpless Director Zone
Who's Afraid of a Hot Tin Roof 
The Penitent

 ~

2015 PARTICIPANTS

Life on Mars by Trish Cole
Directed by Trish Cole

The final ten minutes an intergalactic lesbian fugitive spends on Earth.

CAST
Fugitive - Gloria Ranta
Cop - Missy Bell
Reporter - Valarie Green

FESTIVAL COORDINATOR/PRODUCER

Lisa Gregory, M.S., Ph.D.
Lisa Gregory is an environmental consultant with Assisted Management Solutions, Inc. and has been involved with theatre on both sides of the curtain for over 25 years.  She has acted, directed, produced, managed, or designed lights/sound/set for over 35 plays.  Dr. Gregory is an alumna of St. Mary’s College of Maryland (SMCM) and is delighted to be back at her favorite performance space for the premier of the Watermelon One-Act Festival.  She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Biology and a concentration in theatre and performed in a variety of shows during her student years at SMCM including The Pirates of Penzance and The Mikado.  She was heavily involved with the Choir and Chamber Singers (under the direction of Larry Vote) and performed in numerous shows including Carmina Burana, Handel’s Messiah, and the State House Madrigal Dinners.  After obtaining her degrees in Zoology at the University of Florida, Dr. Gregory returned to Southern Maryland in 2002 and, in her spare time, volunteered with the TheatriText club at the College of Southern Maryland (CSM, Leonardtown campus).  In 2006, she was asked to direct The Newtowne Player’s (NTP) production of Side by Side by Sondheim, and has since then won numerous NTP awards for best light design, director, and play (The Dining Room).  She was the Technical Director for NTP’s state submission of Trish Cole’s Butterfly in 2010, which received the prestigious Ed-Ro-Char Award for Technical Excellence.  In the past three years, Dr. Gregory has focused on original works written by local artists and was the Founder, Artisic Director, and Producer of Southern Maryland Originals, a production of the Performance Arts Club at CSM.  Dr. Gregory is the Founder of Watermelon Inc., a new 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to the performing arts and to providing a nurturing and educational environment for original works.

FESTIVAL ADJUDICATORS

Michelle Ebert Freire, M.F.A.
Michelle Ebert Freire holds a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre from the University of Maryland, College Park, and a Master of Fine Arts in Drama and Theatre for Youth from the University of Texas at Austin.  She also has a certificate from the Drama Therapy Institute of Los Angeles and additional training from the Centre for Playback Theatre.  Ms. Freire taught theatre arts, specializing in theatre education, at California State University, San Bernardino, for seven years before moving back to her home state of Maryland in 2009.  She currently serves as Youth Arts Education Consultant for Washington Performing Arts Society.  She has worked in various capacities – as an arts educator, director, drama therapist, and devised theatre practitioner – for several organizations throughout the U.S., including Young Playwrights Inc., MCC Theater, Seattle Children's Theatre, City Lights Youth Theatre, and various support organizations, drop-in centers, and prisons.  Ms. Freire’s favorite directing projects include Godspell and As Bees in Honey Drown with NTP, as well as Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse and The Rocky Horror Show.

Rachel Mehaffey, B.A.
Rachel Mehaffey is a graduate of Catawba College in Salisbury, North Carolina where she received a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre Arts and Musical Theatre.  During her time at Catawba, she acted in The Women of Lockerbie, The Women, Hello Dolly! and Request Programme.  She served as a carpenter for over fifteen productions in four years.  In addition, Ms. Mehaffey was Master Carpenter for Urinetown: The Musical, Technical Director for Far Away, and Assistant Technical Director for Working.  She designed lights for The Weir and Freshman Showcase: Pulse.  She provided publicity support for The Dining Room and stage management for The Universal Language and Catawba College’s 2010 Choir Tour.  In an educational setting, Ms Mehaffey critiqued fifteen scripts including The Lieutenant of Inishmore, Fiction, and The Rabbit Hole.  She also coached student directors and actors during the 2012 One Act Festival at Catawba.  Over the summer of 2010, Ms. Mehaffey worked as a carpenter for Central Piedmont Community College Theatre, where she spent ten weeks building the sets for My Fair Lady, Into the Woods, Barefoot in the Park, A Year With Frog and Toad, and The Drowsy Chaperone.  After leaving Catawba, she designed the sets for The Music Man and The Wizard of Oz for St. Mary’s Summerstock.  She has also volunteered her time to help design sets for You Can’t Take It With You and Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland at The King’s Christian Academy.  Ms. Mehaffey is thrilled to have the opportunity to witness the blossoming of new talent and to share in her love of theatre.

Charles Stein, M.A.
Charles Stein holds a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics from Tufts University and a Master of Arts in Philosophy from The Catholic University of America.  He teaches courses in Ethics and Philosophy, and Logic and Critical Thinking at St. Mary’s College of Maryland, most recently as a Visiting Professor.  Before pursuing an academic career Mr. Stein had over 40 years of operating management experience in the computer, communications equipment, and software businesses.  He has been a supporter of both amateur and professional theater and an active participant in community theater as both an actor and singer.  He has performed in a number of plays including The Music Man, L'il Abner, King and I, Kiss me Kate, You Know I Can't Hear you when the Water's Running, Everybody Loves Opal, Where's Charlie, The Chalk Garden, and Plaza Suite.  Mr. Stein lives with his wife in St. Mary’s County, Maryland.

There will be a guest judge for the finals on June 2.

Greg Rumpf is a Principal Program Analyst at CACI Enterprises. He is an actor, photographer, and independent filmmaker who began as a motion picture/TV production specialist while in the Navy. Since retiring from the Navy, he has been active in Community Theater for the last fifteen years and has been a cast member for three different award-winning plays.

~

SCHEDULE
St. Mary's College of Maryland, Bruce Davis Theater

SATURDAY JUNE 1, 2013:

11:00 am
Trish Cole’s Field Guide to the North American Osprey
R. Elwood’s Middle Ground 
James H. Wise’s Mugger in the Park
Jeremy Hunter’s Adolescence

3:00 pm
James H. Wise’s This Play Sucks
Lois Stephenson’s Back to Kathmandu
R. DaSilva’s Soon

7:00 pm
Peter S. Coburg’s Vicky
Kaylin Beach’s A Lifetime
James H. Wise’s Daddy’s Pride and Joy

SUNDAY JUNE 2, 2013: 2:00 pm

NOTE: Several plays contain content not appropriate for young children.

Back to Home

PRODUCER/ADJUDICATOR
Lisa Gregory, M.S., Ph.D.
Lisa Gregory is an environmental consultant with Assisted Management Solutions, Inc. and has been involved with theatre on both sides of the curtain for over 25 years.  She has acted, directed, produced, managed, or designed lights/sound/set for over 40 plays. Dr. Gregory is an alumna of St. Mary’s College of Maryland and, after obtaining her degrees in Zoology at the University of Florida, returned to Southern Maryland in 2002 where she volunteered with the TheatriText club at the College of Southern Maryland (CSM, Leonardtown campus).  She is delighted that students from CSM continue to be involved with the Watermelon One-Act Festival (WOAF). In 2006, she was asked to direct The Newtowne Player’s (NTP) production of Side by Side by Sondheim, and has since then won numerous NTP awards for best light design, director, and play (The Dining Room).  She was the Technical Director for NTP’s state submission of Trish Cole’s Butterfly in 2010, which received the prestigious Ed-Ro-Char Award for Technical Excellence.  In the past five years, Dr. Gregory has focused on original works written by local artists and was the Founder, Artistic Director, and Producer of Southern Maryland Originals, a production of the Performance Arts Club at CSM.  Dr. Gregory is the Founder of Watermelon Inc., a new 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to the performing arts and to providing a nurturing and educational environment for original works.

ADJUDICATION CHAIR
Jonathan M. Rizzardi
Jonathan M. Rizzardi is a Baltimore/Washington D.C. area actor, director, writer, and vocalist. He is an alumnus of St. Mary’s College of Maryland having earned his B.A. in English with minors in Theatre, Education, and Music (Vocal Performance), as well as his M.A.T. in Secondary English Education with additional focuses in both Theatre Arts and Special Education. As a director, Mr. Rizzardi has had the pleasure of working with college actors, high school students, and community members on productions such asWest Side Story, Our Town (GMHS), Grease, The Little Mermaid (Tree of Life), Working: A Musical, [title of show], Oleanna, andAs You Like It (SMCM). As an actor, his favorite roles include The Master of Ceremonies (Cabaret), Orpheus (Polaroid Stories) – St. Mary’s College, Barnette Lloyd (Crimes of the Heart) – State of the Arts, and Sky Masterson (Guy and Dolls) – TACTICC. Mr. Rizzardi is a Theatre Arts and English teacher at Great Mills High School, as well as the Theatre Arts Director for GMHS’ Lighthouse Productions. He is delighted to be back with WOAF as the Adjudication Chair.

ADJUDICATOR
P. Wade Thompson
P. Wade Thompson is the director of the St. Mary’s County Recreation & Parks Department Summerstock program. This year’s show, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat will be presented at Great Mills High School on July 17–19 and 20–22.  Previous Summerstock shows include last year’s production of Grease, and Li’l Abner (1994), The Sound of Music (1995), and Into the Woods (1996). Wade is a St. Mary’s County native and a graduate of Leonardtown High School. He earned his Bachelor’s Degree at Eastern Nazarene College in Quincy, Massachusetts, where he majored in Communication Arts with an emphasis in theater, and was Assistant Director of the New England Premiere of the Stephen Schwartz/John Caird musical Children of Eden, and Director of the American Premiere of Patrick Prior’s Robin Hood: The Panto. At the Green Mountain Guild in Killington, Vermont, Wade designed sets and lights for The King & I, Phantom, Pump Boys and Dinettes, Godspell, and West Side Story. As stage management intern at the American Repertory Theater in Cambridge, Massachusetts, he worked on Henry IV Parts 1 & 2, What the Butler Saw, and Steve Martin’s Picasso at the Lapin Agile. At the Shakespeare Theatre in Washington, DC, Wade ran props for Macbeth, The School for Scandal, and All’s Well That Ends Well, among others. At Kansas City First Church of the Nazarene, he directed Godspell and Those Crazy Ladies in the House on the Corner, and performed in You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown, The Curious Savage, and Cottonpatch Gospel. He earned a Master of Arts in Christian Education from Nazarene Theological Seminary in Kansas City, Missouri. Mr. Thompson is the Second Vice President of the St. Mary’s County Genealogical Society and editor of the Society’s newsletter, The Generator. He can be heard on the Original Broadway Cast Album of Disney’s production of Alan Menken & Tim Rice’s musical King David (in the audience, clapping and cheering).

FESTIVAL COORDINATOR
Thomas Esposito
Involved in community theatre since 2002, Thom Esposito has participated in numerous productions in various capacities. Whether helping to build a set, producing a show, operating the light board, or appearing on stage, he is happy to do what he can to help make a show a success. Mr. Esposito has appeared on stage in the NTP productions of The Dining Room, Sylvia, and Harvey.  As an author of a one-act play entitled Rapture in Flight, he was excited to be called a “playwright”, and with NTP’s productions of Harveyand Wit, he was called “Stage Manager”. In January 2010, Mr. Esposito directed Over the River and Through the Woods and earned the Three Notch Theatre’s award for Best Director and Best Play. With the production of The Lion in Winter, he added lead carpenter to his list of theatrical accomplishments. In 2013, at the first WOAF, Mr. Esposito directed Jim Wise’s Mugger in the Park, which won the Audience Choice Award for best play. Last year, he was involved with NTP’s production of Slick Dame, which won the Maryland Community Theater Festival competition for original script. Mr. Esposito currently serves as the Facilities Chair for NTP and is delighted to be back as the WOAF Coordinator.  

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SCHEDULE OF PLAYS
The Newtowne Players, Three Notch Theatre

SATURDAY JUNE 6, 2015:

10:00 am
Begin the Beguine
The Helpless Director Zone
Adjudication

1:00 pm
Calling Steve
The Death of a Noble Steed
Adjudication

4:00 pm
The Great Spandrels
20 Questions
Who's Afraid of a Hot Tin Roof
Adjudication

7:00 pm
Laughter
The Penitent
Adjudication

WARNING: Several plays contain adult content and are not suitable for children.

FINALS

SUNDAY JUNE 7, 2015: 2 pm


~ 2014 ~
WINNERS!
Best Script: A Carbuncle in the Abyss
Runner Up: For King and Cabbage

Best Production/Director: The Nature of Man
Runner Up: True Colors

Audience Choice: The Nature of Man

Best Ensemble: The Nature of Man

Outstanding Performance Awards:
Missy Bell (Life on Mars)
Jonathan Johnson (The Nature of Man)
Kaytlin Medley (Monteggia Fracture)
Randy Tusing (True Colors)

Tech Wreck Award: The Nature of Man

Well done everyone!!

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CONGRATULATIONS FINALISTS!!!
(Listed in order of performance on Sunday)

Monteggia Fracture (Wild Card Finalist)
True Colors
The Nature of Man
Therapy

Call for Monteggia Fracture and True Colors is 1:30 pm.

Call for The Nature of Man and Therapy is 2:30 pm.  

Participants may choose to stay in the green room before their show. 

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2014 PARTICIPANTS