COMMUNITY

Local playwrights will be stars of Keizer production

In cooperation with Keizer Homegrown Theatre, 45th Parallel Playwrights will present a showcase of excerpts from Eight Unparalleled Plays on July 18, at 6:30 p.m., on the patio of the Keizer Cultural Center, 980 Chemewa NE, in Keizer. 

The event is free to the public and seating is limited.

The plays range from the absurd to real life stories. Some performances are complete short plays, while others are brief excerpts chosen as representative of a longer work. Most of the work will be directed by the author and acted by members of the group or volunteers from the Salem-Keizer theatre community. 

Each of the plays is by a member of 45th Parallel Playwrights, a group founded two years ago by Lynn Millar as a vehicle for playwrights to hone existing plays and create new works. Commentary between the playwrights is constructive and based upon mutual respect, regardless of the subject matter or experience of the author. The plays selected for the Eight Unparalleled Plays showcase are considered completed works and were chosen for their variety.

“It is the dream of every playwright to see his or her work performed before a live audience,“ said Millar, “COVID really shifted things for us. We had planned a showcase last year, but the pandemic made staging our work impossible. Thankfully, Linda Baker and the folks at Keizer Homegrown offered us a place to perform our works and assistance with finding players. We couldn’t be more delighted with the arrangement.”

The following short works will be performed with a 10-minute intermission: Drum Circle by Mike Jaffe, Covid Maud by Lynn Millar, Bunny and Vincent by Jenifer Kay Hood, Life and Their Star by Abrianna Feinauer, Prima Donna by Debra Vassallo, Handles by Nathaniel Dunaway, Styx by James Kemp and The Play by Richard Poudrier.

For more information go to www.keizerhomegrowntheatre.org.