This column has been quite involved with the activities of Dayton Playhouse lately.  While other theaters have ended their seasons, the Playhouse uses the summer to launch into fervent activity.

The highly inventive debut of Studio 24 – a play completely created in 24 straight hours – was viewed with amazement.  FutureFest, now celebrating its 17th season, is even more challenging.

The format is well-established.  There are six complete plays in two days, from Friday evening to Sunday matinee.  The performances are balanced between fully staged plays, and staged readings.

Several hundred scripts are submitted and a double-layered committee makes the final decision. In essence, each of the six plays chosen is a winner. To name the outstanding play of the festival, an elaborate and fascinating process is brought into action.

In addition to the playwrights, five adjudicators are invited to act as critics, and award the final accolade.  The adjudicators are true theater experts full of knowledge and passion for the art as well as ample doses of good humor.

The past few seasons, the venue has moved from Dayton Playhouse to Sinclair’s Blair Hall. The much larger and more commodious venue allows for single tickets as well as season passes. This has introduced a great many first-timers into the fold.  All go away with a new set of experiences.  

First, the act of playwriting is exposed warts and all, in plain view. The prodigious efforts, often lasting years, myriads of changes, adding and subtracting characters and plot lines is learned from the playwrights themselves.  

The adjudicators add a dimension which becomes the real essence of the experience.  After each play, the author, the director, the actors face the panel.  Each adjudicator discusses a subject of the play and offers candid criticism.  For each author this is even more valuable than seeing the work performed.  For the audience, so much is learned about the art of theater.

There is also that “festival feeling” which is so ubiquitous.  The audience rubs shoulders with the authors, adjudicators and actors.  Every one is quick to voice their opinion and every opinion sparkles with variety.  

The festival opened on Friday evening.  A nearly packed house, witnessed Artifice by Anne Flanagan. The play is a complex drama of intrigue.  A husband, supposed dead, returns at the worst possible moment.  He is an artist and his collection is being sold, at highly inflated prices, because he is a dead artist.  “Who wants a living artist and who wants his work,” becomes the crux of the play.  

Among the talented cast members was none other than Oakwood’s Pam McGinnis playing a powerful society woman.  Need I say that she did her role brilliantly?

The next morning, the loyal audience filled the seats to hear the staged reading of Dawn and Sean by Joe Lauinger.  This two character play covered the life of a marriage, and parenting, in a series of brilliantly written vignettes.  

The actors, Cher Collins and Shawn Hooks were equal to the fine script and convinced audience and adjudicators to award Dawn and Sean the laurels as outstanding play of the festival.  To add spice, Shawn is an attorney and Cher a UD law student.  In spite of divorce on stage, the charming couple is engaged to be married.

Another Day on Willow Street by Frank Anthony Polito dealt with marriage, approaching parenthood, gender selection and the impending tragedy of 9/11 which reshaped all of their lives. This was followed by Trees, a wistful exposition of friendship tested while facing death. The author, Kathy Coudle-King revealed the ten years’ effort to bring her play to fruition.  

Mary Christmas, by Kevin Podgorski, dealt with the most unusual subject of the festival.  A drag queen is confronted by the twin sister of his deceased former lover, also a transvestite. What happens as they discover each other is full of well presented dramatic twists and turns.

The finale of the festival was Playing God by Gary Flaxman.  Yes, God was a character; at least he said he was God.  We think that the devil was also one of the habitués of the bar where the action takes place.

The bar is filled with a ménage of real weirdoes, each one needs something.  The confrontation of God and the devil seems to get everyone discovering themselves and finding love in unlikely places.    

Richard Young and WSU Professor Charles Larkowski are dynamite actors.  They were able to carry the cast and the rather flawed play to an audience pleasing conclusion.

FutureFest is a fantastic experience.  It is rather like seeing the Dayton Dragons.  Win or lose, good game or bad, it is just great fun.  Mark your calendars for the ”same time next year.”  Wasn’t that a play, as well?

Meet The Artists Reception
Saturday, August 11
7 p.m. to 9 p.m.

The Westcott House
$5, free for Members of The Westcott House Foundation

The exhibition can be viewed during the regular tours of the Westcott House, Wed through Saturday.

After-hours exhibition tour guided by The Westcott House curator Marta Wojcik: every Tuesday, 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. Reservations required.

Proceeds from all sales of this exhibition support Fallingwater and The Westcott House.

For general information on the exhibition and tours please call 937-327-9291 or visit www.westcotthouse.org.