In person theater is returning to our world. Finally but slowly. Even Broadway is starting up again with many openings scheduled in September. The coronavirus variants be damned (or so we hope)! In the meantime, there is still plenty to enjoy via streaming or podcast. I recently checked out Replacement Player and The Christensen Brothers from Open-Door Playhouse.
Founder Bernadette Armstrong created this podcast to allow playwrights without agents to get produced. The “open door” of their brand. Both of the productions I saw were recorded in Glendale, California. Each lasted about ten minutes. The short duration of many of these pieces should be an incentive to jump in the water for a quick swim.
Replacement Player is part of their Prison Play Series. This comedy was written by Scott P. Siebert of the Marion Correctional Institution in Ohio (and adapted by Daniel Lambert). A performance at a small community theater is threatened when one of the actors quit. The role of Bill is a “secondary” one but important nonetheless in a two character show.
Dan (André Sogliuzzo) is the exasperated and self-important lead. He opens by asking the audience a question. “Does anyone out there want to be a star… or star adjacent?” The line which follows: “what does adjacent mean?” The laughs are low key and effective. A man named Rick (Abdul-Khaliq Murtadha) volunteers and joins Dan on the stage. Let’s simply say that the replacement player idea does not go as smoothly as hoped.
A surprise twist is delightful and the two member cast – and the listeners – will will find out whether “hopefully it ends better than it started.” The second podcast was written by Michael J. Moore. The Christensen Brothers also offers a twist to savor. Two brothers (Matthew Scott Montgomery and Blake Krist) are in a car changing radio channels while bantering back and forth. It has been a long day of driving.
The road contains trees, fields, cows… and is “kinda creepy.” A man (Daamen Krall) appears on the side of the road. Should the brothers stop? This person wants to be left alone despite being outside in the middle of the night. Why? You will have to listen and discover that for yourself. The payoff is haunting and flows nicely from the set up.
Both of these plays are well structured and will definitely be appreciated by fans of short stories. Sometimes brevity is welcome especially when the appetizer sized portion is this tasty. Here are two examples where a writer has completed his story arc in under ten minutes. I listened to a longer recording earlier this year called The Canterville Ghost. These podcasts can surely be enjoyed during destination travel alone or with others.
All of the performances and the production quality are uniformly very good. The storytelling quickly sets the mood. Open-Door Playhouse productions are free. Donations are encouraged. Have ten or twenty minutes to spare on the way to work or travelling on vacation? You, like Rick, can be a voluntary participant during one of those overly long driving days.
There are now three dozen Open-Door Playhouse productions which can be listened to on their website or via your preferred podcast provider.