Thursday, May 30, 2013
 
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Prairieland Theatre Company, Delavan, presents 'Prairie Playwrights: Four Plays Three Authors'

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[May 30, 2013]  DELAVAN -- "Prairie Playwrights: Four Plays Three Authors" is the summer production of the Prairieland Theatre Co., presented at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday and at 2 p.m. Sunday at the Lake Park amphitheater on First Street in Delavan. Note that this is a change of venue.

The four one-act plays were written by central Illinois residents: "Clean Sweep," by Gordon Petry of Pekin; "Art Appreciation," by Rachel Stanford of Washington; and both "NIMBY" and "Returns," by Hale Garrison of Peoria.

Tickets are $8 and may be purchased the night of the performance.

Prairie playwrights

Gordon Petry has been writing plays since he was 8 years old. He has taught English at Delavan Junior High, Pekin High School and Illinois Central College and is currently teaching at Bradley University. His first play starred his pet beagle, Lucy, and featured an all-dog cast. Each dog had its own speech pattern ("arf," "bowwow," "woof," etc.) Gordon has no idea what the play was about because he doesn't speak canine. His first produced play, "The Coming of Age in Salem," was directed and performed by his Delavan Junior High students. It grew from a clever student's turning of vocabulary words into a story, which Gordon then expanded into a play.

Rachel Stanford says she's always been a writer. "Even as a little kid, I wrote odd fan fiction about 'Sesame Street' and 'Barney' on my mom's Apple 2," she said. "It wasn't good by any means, and there were a surprising number of murders in that little world for my 7-year-old imagination, but nonetheless I was hooked on writing. Throughout the years it's progressed, bleeding into every genre possible. I lay down my pen and paper to the shine of Kurt Vonnegut, hoping one day to be as talented as his pinkie toe. But if that fails, I'd just like my art to illuminate the world or one person's world. In short, I'm the typical struggling writer trying to survive in this funny little world. "

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"Hale Garrison" is the pen name of Illinois Central College mass media professor Gary Hale. His plays have been performed previously by Corn Stock Theatre and by The Great Work Begins Theatre Troupe, Peoria. "NIMBY" was the second-place winner at the 2011 McLaren competition. Prior to teaching at ICC, Hale worked in advertising and television. He has a master's degree from Southern Illinois University Carbondale and has completed writing workshops at the Iowa Summer Writing Festival, Iowa City, and at the Second City Training Center, Chicago.

Cast members

"Prairie Playwrights: Four Plays Three Authors" is performed and directed by local residents.

"NIMBY" will be directed by Wendy Schweigert. Cast members are Sue Gordon, Allison Knapik, Jim Sullivan, Bruce Bradford and Stephanie Bright. "Clean Sweep" will be also be directed by Schweigert and features Stephanie Bright, Jim Sullivan and Christopher Diver. Bruce Bradford will direct "Art Appreciation" with cast members Allison Knapik and Harry Sullivan. "Returns" will be directed by Julie O'Donnell with cast members: Wes Springer, Julie O'Donnell, Stephanie Bright and Jacob Smith.

For more information, call 309-244-9022, email prairielandtheatrecompany@gmail.com or follow Prairieland Theatre Company on Facebook.

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