Most developmental theaters have certain lofty goals for plays.

Meaning regional theater, national tour, or - God and producers willing - Broadway.

But, realistically, most dramas will never make it all the way to a big tour or the Great White Way.

A fresh program at the Hygienic is taking what founder James Stidfole describes as a longer view. What the Hygienic Theaterwerks production company is doing is giving local writers a little help toward getting their plays into script catalogs used by community theaters and schools.

"I know that every high school drama coach and every community theater group in the country is pawing through Samuel French and Pioneer catalogs, hunting for something to do. Because there are only so many times you can do 'The Odd Couple' or 'The Sunshine Boys,'" Stidfole says.

If they decide to do one of the plays, they pay the play-publishing-catalog company, and the writers get a portion of those profits.

Stidfole says that, in general, for a play to be submitted for consideration for a catalog, it needs to have had a full production and to present the stage manager's run script, with all the lighting cues, sounds cues and prop lists.

"It's like, wow, if we do real productions and hand the playwrights these tools - now, of course, it's up the playwrights to follow through - but at least they now have the tools," Stidfole says.

Hygienic Theaterwerks thus plans to start regularly producing quality and perhaps edgy works by regional playwrights.

First up is Michael R. McGuire's "Heartbreaker," which is being staged tonight and tomorrow at the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center in Waterford. (This isn't an O'Neill production; Hygienic Theaterwerks is renting the space.)

"Heartbreaker" is set in a strip club - the publicity for it is clear that it's rated R and contains topless nudity. Its thought-provoking plotline is loosely inspired by the Duke University lacrosse team incident of 2006. Two African-American strippers from a strip club are hired for a frat party, leading to an accusation of rape and a firestorm of controversy.

"The thing that interested me about that was that it hit all the hot points in American culture of sex and race and class. They were all there in that one story," McGuire says.

It was interesting, too, in the sense that there was more going on than it first seemed.

As for the Hygienic Theaterwerks' efforts of helping locally written dramas find their way into catalogs, McGuire says, "It's great to get it in a catalog. I have plays that are in catalogs, and they do generate some money but not that much. It's more exciting just to get it in front of an audience."

It's not only that, he says, but also having a new play get a full production, not just a reading.

"Heartbreaker" - which was a semi-finalist for the O'Neill's National Playwrights Conference - drew the interest of Sarah Coleman, who is directing the piece and is Hygienic Theaterwerks' artistic director. She first worked with McGuire on the Hygienic's 24-hour play project last year, and then staged his "Bad Boys" at the Golden Street Gallery.

While Coleman is an actress - she worked as one in L.A. from 2000 to 2008 - she has studied directing before with her mentor, Oscar-nominated actress Lindsay Crouse. With the 24-hour project, she began pursuing more directing.

She has pulled together a cast primarily from New York City (one actress lives both locally and in New York) that she knew could handle the challenging material.

They include Sharina Martin, Leonard Dozier, Sarah Gold, and George Katt, who won the "Best Breakthrough Actor Award" at the New York International Independent Film Festival for his starring role in "Valley of Angels."

Coming to southeastern Connecticut (her parents live in Groton Long Point) has proven a happy experience for Coleman.

"I've never lived anywhere that had this kind of community support that not only is everybody showing up and participating and encouraging, but everybody also generally has their own artistic things going on and are highly intellectual about it. There just isn't a better community for getting things up and on their feet. So I'm sort of addicted to the area. Because I just spent eight years in Los Angeles. I was with the Los Angeles Shakespeare Company, and it was like pulling teeth to get people to come see an amazing production of 'Othello,'" she says.

As a history major at Florida State University, she says, she has always been fascinated with the overwhelming need for human beings to be right and with the nature of hatred - both issues that "Heartbreaker" explores.

Even after this production is done, Coleman says, "I'm not letting go of this play. This is an incredibly professional and well put-together run-through in preparation for, hopefully, a longer run. ... It really deserves an extensive amount of time and focus."

Life story of John McKee, founder of McKee City, translated to stage

Founder of McKee City made millions in land speculation

 http://blog.pennlive.com/go/2011/02/pulitzer_prizes_piano_lesson_o.html

Powerful acting makes 'Piano Lesson' worth the time

Published: Wednesday, February 09, 2011, 6:04 PM     Updated: Wednesday, February 09, 2011, 6:08 PM

Let me be as straightforward as I can. Open Stage of Harrisburg’s production of August Wilson’s “The Piano Lesson” at the Angino Family Theatre in Strawberry Square is a must-see show. It will remind you of how good live theater can be and send you home unwilling to settle for anything less than the best.

The show is one of a 10-play cycle of scripts that Wilson wrote depicting black life throughout the 20th century in the hill section of Pittsburgh, where he was born and raised. Among its many honors, “The Piano Lesson” won the Peabody Award and the prestigious Pulitzer Prize for drama.

“The Piano Lesson” combines family tensions with the African-American struggle, adding a dash of the paranormal. Set in a house haunted by a departed presence, the central conflict pits reverence for the past against moving forward toward the future. This conflict is symbolized by a beautiful piano that attracts the haunted presence. The special effects used to convey the specter are engrossing, and the sacred piano is elaborately carved.

The piano is inherited by siblings Boy Willie and Berneice, with the former wishing to sell it to buy land and the latter fighting to keep the ancestral instrument in the family. It is slowly revealed that the piano has resulted in bloodshed during its lifetime, and a few of the deceased might have followed the piano to Berneice’s home in Pittsburgh.

Although with one brief moment aside, no one teaches a piano lesson, but the production blossoms with music. One of the best scenes of the play is when nearly all of the male characters join together in a powerful, rhythmic work song. Just like the piano, the music is a child of the characters’ heritage, offering them and the audience an escape, a celebration and a shared experience. The songs are brilliantly scripted and nailed by this talented cast, tapping deep into the underlying themes.

The show has been directed with exceptional sensitivity by Donald Alsedek. Leonard Dozier (Boy Willie) and Sharia Benn (Berniece) prove to be extraordinary adversaries through every twist of their no-holds-barred dispute. The interaction between the two was, at times, absolutely riveting and heart pounding.

Ronnie Banks is a pillar of strength as the dueling pair’s Uncle Doaker. Jeremy Patterson (Lymon) provides most of the few comic moments during the show, and Aaron Bomar, as the fiery preacher Avery Brown, nails the cadences and evangelical passion necessary for the role. The talented Daniel Fordham, who also doubled as the show’s music director, radiates charm as the ne’er-do-well, down-on-his luck brother Wining Boy. Rounding out this strong ensemble cast are Maya Ellison as Maretha and Tanisha Hollis as Grace.

A fair warning to those planning to attend: with one intermission, the running time is more than three hours. But with a first-rate cast and language and characters so memorable, this is a piano lesson well worth taking.

 Backstage Feature

Rising Actor Leonard Dozier Is Humbled By Starring Role In New Film On Bishop Richard Allen

Leonard Dozier

PRLog (Press Release) - Feb 12, 2011 - ACTOR LEONARD DOZIER GOT HIS START IN HIGH SCHOOL RECITING SPEECHES AND SERMONS BY DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR; however, his latest portrayal as Bishop Richard Allen is momentous. Dozier (www.LeonardDozier.com) is the star of the first-ever documentary about the church founder and abolitionist. Dozier also narrates the film in the first person as Bishop Richard Allen. The film, entitled Bishop Richard Allen Apostle of Freedom, will premiere online on Sunday February 13 the day before what would have been Bishop Allen’s 251st birthday. “Watch Parties” are forming on five continents where as many as 3-million AME church members are expected to log on to the Mother Bethel website (www.MotherBethel.org) and watch the 23-minute film, for free, on demand. The film will remain online indefinitely and orders for the actual DVD will also take place on the Mother Bethel website on February 13th. The film was produced by Mother Bethel AME Church, thanks to a generous grant from The Lomax Family Foundation and Dr. Walter Lomax, owner of WURD-AM radio in Philadelphia.  “This is the first high quality, PBS style documentary on the life of Bishop Allen, arguably one of America’s founding fathers,” says Mother Bethel’s pastor the Rev. Mark Kelly Tyler, PhD., who also served as Executive Producer, historical consultant, and writer for the film. The world, online premiere of the film is made possible by New York Jets Offensive Lineman D’Brickashaw Ferguson, a lifelong member of the AME Church, and his foundation “The D’Brickashaw Ferguson Foundation.” The original score for the film is composed by Grammy-award winning producer Phil Davis of PHD Productions in Atlanta, Georgia. Davis has produced music with famous artists like Will Downing and Rachelle Farrell. Davis also once played piano for Big Bethel AME Church in Atlanta, Georgia.  The distinguished Wilberforce University Choir, under the direction of Jeremy Winston, provides special choral arrangements for the film.  
Bishop Richard Allen Apostle of Freedom was shot in Philadelphia with Philadelphia area actors, and extras who are members of both Mother Bethel AME Church (the congregation Bishop Allen started in 1794) and Historic St. George’s UMC (the church that Allen walked out of because of racial segregation). The short film tells some stories from Bishop Allen’s life adapted from his autobiography. The Bishop Allen character narrates the film as the voice of Bishop Allen. He also re-enacts historic moments like the infamous ‘walk-out’ from St. George’s United Methodist Church due to racial segregation. The intense scene was actually filmed in the balcony of Historic St. George’s. The film also has expert analysis from AME scholars and leaders including Bishop Richard Franklin Norris, who oversees the First Episcopal District; Dr. Dennis Dickerson, Historiographer of the AME Church; Dr. Jacqueline Grant, and Professor Richard Newman author of the most recent Allen biography.
Mother Bethel is seeking sponsors for the February 13th online premiere. Potential sponsors can view a free clip of the film at: http://www.motherbethel.org/allen/index.html .  Sponsorship can be obtained through the following levels: Diamond ($1,000), Platinum ($500) and Gold ($250). Funds raised from sponsorship will go to help translate the film into different languages so that the film can be viewed in all AME churches around the globe. The money will also help fund future projects. “We are currently in the planning stages of more documentaries that will tell the story of our church’s fore-parents,” says Rev. Dr. Mark Tyler. “Our history is an important American story rich with accomplishments, conflict and drama.”
For more information call (215) 925-0616. Media inquiries call (609) 247-2632.

About Bishop Richard Allen
Born as a slave to Colonial Chief Justice Benjamin Chew, owner of the Cliveden Estate in Germantown, Allen later purchased his freedom from a Delaware slave owner who bought him as a child. He went on to distinguish himself as more than just a church leader. He hauled salt for the Continental Army during the American Revolution; he acted bravely in caring for the dying and burying the dead in the Yellow Fever Outbreak of 1793; he and Absalom Jones were the holders of the first copyright by African Americans when they published their rebuttal to Matthew Carey's account of the Yellow Fever Outbreak; he was a successful entrepreneur, claiming George Washington's Executive Mansion on 6th and Market Streets as a customer of his chimney sweep business; he opened his doors to those fleeing slavery on what would become known as the Underground Railroad as an Abolitionist; he organized one of the first major protests by African Americans when 3,000 people gathered at Mother Bethel Church to denounce the American Colonization Society's plan to send free Blacks to Africa; and, he had an active correspondence with the president of Haiti to the point that he sent missionaries to that nation in the 1820s to help them organize build infrastructure.  
Bishop Allen is most known for his bold act of independence against the racial and religious intolerance of his time when he walked out of the segregated pews at St. George's Methodist Church in the late 1700s. This act ultimately led to the establishment of the African Methodist Episcopal Church in 1816, which grew out of Mother Bethel and similar congregations in the northeast. This was America's first denomination established by African Americans and Allen became the first Bishop.