​ Warner Theatre's 10th International Playwrights Festival

Torrington, CT – The Warner Theatre presented its 10th Anniversary International Playwrights Festival both in person and streaming live from the Nancy Marine Studio Theatre. In celebration of the 10th year, the festival was a retrospective of some of the most memorable plays and playwrights.

This year, the selection committee chose nine of the best productions from the 111 plays produced during the past nine years. All of the one-act plays were return engagements, some with the same actors and other plays with different cast members.

“Facing Backwards” by George W. Kelly of New Hampshire, featured Mark Malloy and Noel Roberge, directed by Tony Leone.

The cast of “The Counter Offer” by David L. Williams of Pennsylvania was a stellar one. Peter Bard returned to the stage in the role of Greg, Sybil Chamberlin, and Erin Shaughnessy played Sloan, all directed by Lucia Dressel.

“Yesterdays and Tomorrows” by Gayle Malloy of western Australia addressed the questions of whether life is predetermined or if we are able to pull our own strings. The young Soul was played by one of my former first grade students, Dania Fedrick, now all grown up. The role of Guardian was played by her father Dan Fedrick. The pair were directed by Katherine Ray and Sharon W. Houk was the offstage voice.

“Final Rest” by Victoria Z. Daly of Connecticut, which was part of the 2020 virtual season, featured Katie Brunetto and Molly Wilson as the grieving sisters; the play was directed by Houk.

On Saturday, the performances began with “Joanie & Freddie on Valentine’s Day” by Festival Director Charlene A. Donaghy, a little piece that she wrote about her own parents. Lynn Paulella Beard directed young performers Vienna Moura and Patrick Minnerly.

“The Balloon Handler Makes Good” by Mark Charney of Texas, included Dick Terhune as the Pilot, Stacey William Snyder played Iris, Julia Busemeyer played Ginger and Madison Howe played Sally.

The video recording of “Winter Flowers” by Lily Rusek of New York was rerun this year.
This excellent performance featuring Lea Dmytryck and Jane Coughlin, was the production that represented New England (Region 1) in the National Festival (AACTFest 2015) held in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Although I had experienced this touching production at least twice, it was a pleasure to watch it again.

“Skirting the Issue” by Gary Garrison of New York featured James Hyland as Principal Clifford, Kristen VanDerlyn as Kathleen and Jason Maur as her husband Dave. The cast was wonderfully directed by Keith Paul.

“The Wonder of You” by Bara Swain of New York, also directed by Houk, was wonderfully cast with Olivia Wadsworth as an 18-year-old “Girl,” and Patrick R. Spadaccino as the man she meets at an intersection. After “Winter Flowers,” this piece about two lost strangers was my favorite of the two nights.

There were static projections to bring the characters to the correct location and the technical aspects of the Vimeo stream were very good, although I was unable to hear the Fedricks as well as I would have liked. I look forward to the 11th annual festival next year.

Nancy Sasso Janis has been writing theatre reviews since 2012 as a way to support local theatre venues. She posts reviews of well over 100 productions each year. In 2016, she became a member of the Connecticut Critics Circle. She continues to contribute theatre news, previews, and audition notices to local Patch sites. Reviews of all levels of theatrical productions are posted on Naugatuck Patch and the Patch sites closest to the venue. She recently became a contributor to the Waterbury Republican-American newspaper. Her weekly column and theatre reviews appear in the Thursday Weekend section of the paper.

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