For the fourth summer in a row, The Open Eye Theater is staging a program of very short comedies and dramas by local and national playwrights. From August 7-17, eight new, fresh, and timely theater productions, each approximately ten-minutes in length, will entertain audiences at The Open Eye Theater, 960 Main Street, Margaretville.
Five of the featured playwrights live in our Catskill Mountain villages: Anne Barone of Halcottsville, Gail Lennstrom of Margaretville, Wilma B. Mazo of Andes, Verne Vance of Arkville, and Albert Verdesca also of Arkville have crafted dramatic and humorous works touching on desire, need, desperation, the inner child, growing pains, aging, and other life experiences. The titles, "Time Enough to Wait," "Virginia Woolf's Birthday Gift," "The Twin with the Toni," "The Car Jack," and "Grace" offer a hint at the creativity of our writers. Rounding out the program is "Doughnut Hole," a comedy by Western New Yorker Donna Hoke, whom Open Eye audiences will remember from this season's world premiere of "Flowers in the Desert," "A Lovely Little Life," by Dan Berkowitz, and "In the Open," by John Levine. Berkowitz and Levine are from California. Plays by all three of these popular writers have been included in previous editions of Summer Shortcuts.
Performing in Summer Shortcuts IV are Patricia Brannen, Allegra Condon, Anne Saxon-Hersh, Erwin Karl, Wilma B. Mazo, Roy F. Moses, Catherine Rose O'Brien, Marcy Thorn, Verne Vance, and Alice Zigelis. Directors are Amie Brockway, Marge Helenchild, Wilma B. Mazo, Barbara Quintero, and Albert Verdesca. Stage Manager is Sharon Jaddis.
Preview performance of "Summer Shortcuts IV" at The Open Eye Theater, 960 Main Street, is Thursday, August 7, at 7 pm. Performances continue Friday and Saturday, August 8 and 9 at 7 pm, Sunday, August 10, at 3:00; the following Thursday - Saturday, August 14-16 at 7 pm, and Sunday, August 17 at 3:00. The theater is air conditioned and seating is very comfortable. There will be an opportunity for conversations with the playwrights and performers after each performance.
Tickets are $18 for Adults, $15 for Seniors, and $10 for Youth through age 25. Friday, August 15 performance is SOLD OUT. For further information and reservations, phone 845-586-1660 or e-mail openeye@catskill.net. Ask about the Two-for-One Special for residents of Delaware County on Preview night, Free Tickets for Teens program, and preferred seating for all performances through Dinner & Theater at Binnekill Square or Summerfields Restaurants.
