Now This by Scott Kaiser
And now this: ANPF’s dramatic reading “paints a quirky canvas of proverbial Anytown” in Scott Kaiser‘s new play.
Performed on May 23, 2016, this special one-night-only fundraising performance featured stage directions by Kaiser, then in his 26th season at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, who was joined by a cast of 14 superb actors, including ANPF artistic director Kyle Haden, in this story about the tragic consequences of American consumerism. Sara Becker directed.
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On ANPF: “Ashland New Plays Festival has been a longtime, reliable incubator for compelling new works of art under the leadership of James Pagliasotti and his board. Now in their 25th year, the ANPF continues to shine as a uniquely homegrown institution.”
On Now This: “Weird flights into trippy language and bawdy humor make way for more soulful disclosures; a local policeman talks about the pain he experienced in having to put down a wounded deer. A nurse in the throes of a midlife crisis drives too fast in a car filled with boxes of faded memories. Coming back to humor, we meet a sushi chef who is dealing with road rage, his only companion on the journey is an “anger management” CD … played by another actor, whose calm demeanor and reassuring presence does little to soothe the irate driver. There are overly optimistic school teachers and aging, failed local athletes.
Kaiser has a knack for touching on many of the archetypal characters of village life.”
“The assembled actors are all excellent sports, and their professionalism is spectacular, thanks in no small part to the fact that the ensemble is made up entirely of moonlighting OSF artists.
There wasn’t a weak showing in the bunch, although there were standout performances from Armando McClain, who, with his resonant voice and pitch-perfect delivery, cleverly caricatured the slightly fruity thespian style of a bygone era. Triney Sandoval was outstanding in character as “Mr. Hyper-Griper,” a raging, twitching heart-attack of a man, seemingly always on the brink of keeling over. Jamie Ann Romero, another OSF actor in good form, was a step above in her various roles.”
“ANPF continues to be a reliable avenue for intelligent and engaging work that leaves the audience hungry for more. Let’s hope they keep feeding us in the coming years.”Click here to read the full review from writer Jeffrey Gillespie for Ashland Daily Tidings.
Interview with Playwright Scott Kaiser
2016 | By Mary Silva
Ashland New Plays Festival talks with Scott Kaiser, local playwright, author, teacher, and Shakespeare scholar, about his play Now This.
For the past 26 years, multi-talented Kaiser has been a member of the artistic staff at Oregon Shakespeare Festival and is its current Director of Company Development. ANPF’s Mary Silva asks him about his play, NOW THIS, which will be presented as a dramatic reading in Ashland later this month. Kaiser also shares his motivation and his history as a professional playwright, author, actor and teacher.
Now This
By Scott Kaiser
Directed by Sara Becker
May 23, 2016, at 7:30 p.m.
Unitarian Center, 87 Fourth Street, Ashland
$15, cash or check only at the door, subject to availability
