Local Actor Helps Select Original Plays for One Act Festival

The stage was empty, the auditions complete and directors of eight original scripts — never before seen by the public — hashed out the details of which actors they desired for their plays.

Difficult decisions were made; the important email went out to all who auditioned, and rehearsal for the 2012 One Act Festival at Carrollwood Players Theater got under way for performances on Aug. 10-12.

This year,  Marc Sanders had the difficult task of helping to select the eight winning plays out of 30 submissions. Though Sanders is a familiar face at the theater, his decision to become an actor, though, came quite by fluke.

Sanders was required to have a fine art credit at USF and was coaxed into auditioning. Prior to this, he worked backstage, never going into the spotlight himself. He credits his USF drama instructor, Michael Locklear, for fueling his love of performing on stage.

He discovered the Carrollwood Players in 1993 and has been an actor, director, playwright, stage manager, board member, committee member in various fields, ticket taker and concession stand operator. He explained that no matter what he did, he loved his job and the people he worked with, many of whom he's known for close to 20 years.

Patch caught up with Sanders via email to find out how he got involved with the Carrollwood Players One Act Festival and what is was like to judge and help choose the plays for the special event.

Patch: How did you get involved with selecting the One Acts?

Sanders: I was part of the very first One Act Festival that Carrollwood Players hosted 14 or 15 years ago.  A close friend of mine, Joe Pauly came up with the idea of doing a One Act Festival where playwrights both local and non-local could submit original material of short 10 minute plays that could be staged for the very first time. 

It also gave people interested in directing [a chance] to try it out and see if it was something they would want to pursue.  It was a chance for me to write and submit my first short play which was “The Library Dream.”  I continued on the following year writing and directing for the first time another original play inspired by the old time silent movies called “Stick ‘em Up!!!” Both plays won our theater’s annual Nancy Awards and it just encouraged me to continue to delve into original writing since then. 

Since that time the One Acts have always been a great way to introduce new actors, directors and writers to our theater community, and it has proven to be a terrific fundraiser helping to sustain Carrollwood Players year after year.

Patch: What is the judging criteria and how many did you read for 2012?

Sanders: As one of four active members on the One Act committee, I think, first and foremost, we look for a story with a beginning, middle and end. It has to be interesting, just by reading it alone. Sometimes, we receive scripts that are too obscure or complicated. Sometimes, the scripts do not feel finished.  The scenes described look like they were pulled out of the context of a larger script and it concerns us that it would not make sense to an audience. So, bottom line is a story with a resolution. Setting is also important. Something we might not have seen before. The settings are all different; ranging from a bar, to a living room, to a birthers’ class, a bank lobby and even the afterlife. We look for something unique and original. I’m pleased that the eight plays we selected out of around the 30 we received this year, live up to this criteria.

Patch: After reading numerous plays, what makes a play stand out for you?

Sanders: A script really works if we can just see the humor of a comedy right off the page. A drama will work if it is not too preachy or melodramatic but genuine and authentic. The end all be all is if we believe the script can be staged on mostly a representational stage with minimal props and set design.  We limit our plays to the bare minimum of chairs and countertop for a bar setting, for example, or a sofa and a chair for living room. We do not have the luxury of staging a heavy effects laden play with helicopters on stage and chandeliers falling from the ceiling.

Patch: Are you involved in any other role with the One Act Festival?

Sanders: I am directing one of the eight selected plays, but I am also working jointly as producer with our One Act Committee which includes Rae Schwartz, Carlyn Postle- who are my rocks with each passing year, this being the third  year in a row; I could not do this without either of them- and our newest member Eric Edington, who directed one act plays over the last two years and has now moved up to direct one of our mainstage productions, Neil Simon’s “Chapter Two” which will open in 2013.

Patch:  Do you have a favorite One Act? 

Sanders: I couldn’t tell you that if I tried. We have had so many terrific plays throughout the years. For me to pick one would be like picking out a favorite child. Rather, I can tell you without question that my favorite part of the One Acts is always tech week, before we open. We are there every night until all hours, and so many actors are involved and literally meet each other for the first time as each play rehearses separately. 

We are working hard but it is only so that we have fun. Everyone is eager to get this thing up and running but everyone hangs out with each other in the dressing rooms goofing off and getting to know one another. Friendships are made, and new people return to theater to make appearances in future productions at the theater. It’s like returning to summer camp. It becomes very bittersweet when you get to the final Sunday matinee performance. You are so proud of the work you have done and you have finally accomplished a task that has been a whole summer in the making but you are sad to see it end and the dynamic of the eight casts and crew together for one whole week will never be repeated again. It’s like lightning in a bottle.

Patch: Finally, what should the audience expect for this year’s One Acts?

Sanders: One exciting feature at this year’s festival will be “Final Farewell.”  New York Times bestselling author, Brad Meltzer, had a short story that he permitted me to adapt into a short play that will be staged at Carrollwood Players. I’m also directing it and it is really exciting as I have never adapted someone else’s work before from another medium, much less from my favorite novelist. Brad has written many political thrillers that have made it all the way to the top of every best sellers list. He hosts his own conspiracy theory show called “Decoded” on the History Channel. He is also well known for writing for DC Comics while working on popular titles like “Batman,” “Superman,” and “Justice League.” 

I’m hoping I can convince him to come to one of our performances during the weekend of August 10-12. Keep your fingers crossed.

The One Act Festival will run Aug. 10-12 with 7 p.m. performances on Friday and Saturday, and a 2 p.m. matinee on Sunday. For more information, visit carrollwoodplayers.org.