According to Oscar Wilde, theater is the greatest of all art forms and the most immediate way in which a human being can share with another the sense of what it is to be a human being. The Aloha Performing Arts Company shares this slice of humanity when it presents the 23rd annual Original Play Festival that runs Wednesday through Aug. 20 at the Aloha Theatre in Kainaliu. Every aspiring playwright needs an audience, and play festivals are the perfect opportunity for writers to have their work performed and seen by audiences nationwide.
“OPF is an original play festival that started 23 years ago at the Aloha Theatre,” said Nichol Gour, one of the directors. “It’s a chance for playwrights, who’ve never had the opportunity, to have their work produced. Playwrights from all over the world, including here on the island, are encouraged to send in their plays. There is a committee that reads them, then we do a selection process and put on a festival of the ones we have chosen.”
This year’s festival has a total of seven plays out of 43 entries. The actors are chosen through open auditions and new, unexperienced actors are encouraged to audition.
“What’s nice is that it’s a very stress-free environment,” said Gour. “People who’ve maybe never been a part of a show, have the opportunity to be a part of OPF without the huge time commitments or without having to memorize their lines. One of the nice things about OPF is that we have one rehearsal a week with a maximum of six rehearsals before the festival, and the actors are allowed to have their scripts with them on stage. It makes it a nice introduction to theater for folks who have maybe wanted to try it, but just haven’t had the opportunity to make it happen.”
The play that Gour is directing is called “Aspects, A Restaurant &Lounge,” written by John Donnely from Portland, Oregon.
“The play is five different vignettes of people who are going to a restaurant and just talking and having their normal conversations,” said Gour. “If you were to just go to a restaurant and do some people watching, these are the conversations that you would hear. Each one of these scenes has quirky characters, shocking moments, over the top personalities and an ah-ha moment of ‘Oh, that’s where this was going.’”
All plays are presented in staged reading format, with simple technical presentation and actors holding their scripts. Each night, staged readings begin at 7:30 p.m.
After each performance, audience members are encouraged to remain and participate in a brief discussion of the play with the actors, directors and in some cases, the playwrights.
Tickets are $5 per night, with a $1 discount in exchange for a previous night’s ticket stub. A complete festival pass may be purchased for $15.
Tickets and passes are available online at www.apachawaii.org, or at the theater box office beginning one hour prior to performance time.
Info: 322-9924. ■
