Last night an eager and appreciative audience gathered for the 7th Annual 5 Minute Play Festival. Thanks to COVID-19, the program had been put on hold since 2020. Normally a slate of ten plays is selected from the over 80 submissions. This year, to include some of those authors and scripts that were derailed by the pandemic, the offerings increased to 15 plays.
Directed by Omri Schein, actor/director/playwright, six actors took on a variety of roles to deliver the fifteen plays, screened by a committee of twelve. Martha Alden, Hannah Cohen, Elaine Eisenberg, Kerry Freshman, Judith Friedel, William Friedel, Ruth Lovely, Deborah Pantoni, Ellen Pleickhardt, David Rafsky, Mimi Rothman, and Phoebe Telser must have had a delightful time reading so many diverse scripts. Some of the five-minute plays were silly, some funny, some poignant, but all thoughtful and topical. Themes dealt with gun control, gender fluidity, dating, faith, the Old Country, and one poked innocuous fun at Jewish holidays as understood by gentiles working for Hallmark Greetings.
The play readings were performed by our very own fabulous actors. Each of them did an incredible job of reading each play with very little prep time. Richard Baird, well-known and respected for his Shakespearean work, and everything else he undertakes, was wonderful as the prospective date, a Nazi, and a gun-toting shulnik. Jessica John Gercke delighted the room with roles as Bubbie, encouraging her granddaughter to go after her dreams, as well as the “vetting friend” for Gwen’s date. Phil Johnson exuded his sense of feeling bereft and later confused, on the occasion of his mother’s yahrtzeit, and won the audience’s choice in Press Pray. This script was deftly written and superbly related by Johnson and Walter Murray. Audience members knew, all too well, how aggravating phone trees can be, and there was lots of laughter in response to the dialogue. Skye Matini did some envelope-pushing in Not A Bat Mitzvah and Dayenu, where she took on roles that questioned tradition and ritual. Katie MacNichol had some great lines, as she explained how Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur earned their monikers, and her bubbly portrayal of Ruth and Gwen rounded out the troupe.
While Schein is no stranger to national and international theater, this was his first time directing the JCC’s Five Minute Play Festival. A professor in the Theater department at Southwestern College, Schein recently directed The Diary of Anne Frank. His next project will be The Remarkable Mister Holmes a “musical comedy murder mystery.” With the book by Omri Schein and David Ellenstein, and with lyrics by Schein, this is one you will not want to miss, so be sure to get tickets at www.northcoastrep.org. Previews begin July 20, 2022.
Though clearly, each playwright deserves a hearty round of applause, the judges found the top three winners in Yahrtzeit, Press Pray, and Of Mann and Monsters. The fifteen competitors were Robin Baron, Marj O’Neill Butler, DJ Cahan, Mark Chimsky, Seth Freeman, Nina Hall, Harry Katcher, Stephanie Lewis, D. Lee Miller, Steffi Rubin, Roy Sekigahama, Susan Shafer, Emma Goldman Sherman, Matthew Salazar Thompson and Janet Tiger.
What a delightful way to kick off the summer theater season! These plays remind us that as humans we are all far more alike than we are different. Regardless of affiliation or convictions, each of us is just seeking connection and acceptance as we make our way through the oft-confusing world. Kol Hakavod!
Republish from San Diego Jewish World