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For 2010, WordPlay presents staged readings of two classic plays:

WordPlay presents multiple-ending comedy "Intimate Exchanges"

"Intimate Exchanges" Volume I
by Alan Ayckbourn -- Newly-named recipient

of the 2010 TONY AWARD for Lifetime Achievement

Life and love's either/or decisions --

the consequences can be vastly different (or at least one imagines so)

Sunday, November 21 at 7:00 p.m.

Monday, November 22 at 7:00 p.m.

Sunday, November 28 at 7:00 p.m.

SNOW ALERT: Due to the weather, the Monday Nov 22 performance of "Intimate Exchanges" has been canceled and rescheduled for Sunday November 28 at 7:00 p.m. at the Playhouse. Thank you for your understanding.

KCPT concludes its 2010 WordPlay Reading Series with two evenings of Alan Ayckbourn’s multiple-ending comedy “Intimate Exchanges” on Sunday Nov. 21 and Monday Nov. 22 at 7:00 p.m. at Key City Playhouse, 419 Washington Street, Port Townsend.

Called an “abundant buffet of domestic comedy” by the New York Times, “Intimate Exchanges” is a cycle of plays about love and marriage in a sleepy London suburb. All performances of the play open with the same brief scene, in which the character Celia Teasdale decides whether or not to have a cigarette.

The narrative then branches off four times over the course of the evening, leading to one of sixteen possible endings. Beginning with Celia’s decision about the cigarette, several people might get divorced, married, start affairs, have children, or die.

See a chart of the play's structure...

These WordPlay readings will invite the audience to make some of these choices, so that the Sunday evening performance may differ quite a bit from that on Monday evening.

Just this year, Ayckbourn received a Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement. He was knighted in 1997 for his prolific contributions to British theatre, including the award-winning comedies “Absurd Person Singular” and “The Norman Conquests.”

Ayckbourn stipulated that all of the characters in “Intimate Exchanges” be played by only two actors. Reading all the roles at KCPT will be Judith Glass Collins and Andrew Tree.

Collins (at right) most recently appeared on the KCPT stage as Paulina in “The Seagull” and also participated in last fall’s WordPlay reading of Neil Simon’s “Last of the Red Hot Lovers.”

Andrew Tree (at left) has appeared in the two most recent “Shakespeare in the Park” productions, including as Alonso in this past summer’s “The Tempest.”

Charlie Bethel directs the readings. Bethel is a visiting artist at KCPT, currently leading the “TeenLab” youth education program and preparing to appear in “Seven Poor Travellers,” one of three holiday shows scheduled for Key City Playhouse in December.

Suggested donation is $10. Using a FLEXpass voucher is an easy way to contribute to KCPT when attending a WordPlay performance.

Donations made throughout the 2010 WordPlay Reading Series will support KCPT’s expanding education programs, including theatre classes for K-2 students at Grant Street School, summer theatre camps for middle and high school students, and annual KCPT scholarships.

Spring 2010 WordPlay

Mark Twain’s "The Diaries of Adam & Eve"
as adapted by David Birney

A remarkable love story that somehow transcends the fragile yearnings of romance

Thursday, March 18 at 7:00 p.m.

Friday, March 19 at 8:00 p.m.

WordPlay Special Event: “Adam & Eve” at Fort Flagler Sept 4

KCPT and The Friends of Fort Flagler have teamed up to present a staged reading of Mark Twain’s wry and touching “The Diaries of Adam and Eve” as part of the Summer Concert Series at Battery Bankhead, Fort Flagler State Park on Saturday, September 4th at 3:00 p.m.

The audience is encouraged to bring chairs or blankets or have a picnic. Some non-alcoholic drinks and snacks will be available. Suggested donation is five dollars.

This encore presentation of KCPT’s 2010 WordPlay Reading Series is directed by Patricia Earnest, and features David Schroeder and Colleen Dobbin as Adam and Eve in Twain’s “first person” account of the world’s oldest love story.

Noted television actor David Birney created this stage adaptation from two texts written by Twain — “Excerpts from Adam's Diary” (1893) and “Eve's Diary.” Twain wrote the second piece after the death of his own wife Olivia in 1904.

“The play is about their relationship,” says Birney. “It's about always getting it wrong until you finally get it right. There’s plenty of sharp, sardonic humor, but also a rich sweetness to it as the relationship deepens.”

Special Guests at the performance will be Port Townsend residents Heather Flanagan and her two young sons, who are Mark Twain’s first cousins — five and six times removed, respectively.

Fort Flagler State Park is on Marrowstone Island. Once you get to Fort Flagler, follow the signs to Battery Bankhead. There is plenty of near-by parking.

Read Friends of Fort Flagler blog...

KCPT’s WordPlay presents Twain’s “Adam & Eve”

Key City Public Theatre begins its 2010 WordPlay Reading Series with two evenings of Mark Twain’s wry and touching “The Diaries of Adam and Eve” on Thursday, March 18 at 7:00 p.m. and Friday, March 19 at 8:00 p.m. at Key City Playhouse, 419 Washington Street, Port Townsend.

It’s the world’s oldest love story — Twain’s “first person” accounts of the long relationship between the First Man and the First Woman. Noted television actor David Birney created this stage adaptation from two texts written by Twain — “Excerpts from Adam's Diary” (1893) and “Eve's Diary.” Twain wrote the second piece after the death of his own wife Olivia in 1904.

The charm of the story is that Adam and Eve experience everything for the first time, without any parents or traditions to guide them. When Eve gives birth to a son, Adam thinks the baby is some kind of fish, or maybe a kangaroo.

“The play is about their relationship,” says Birney. “It's about always getting it wrong until you finally get it right. There’s plenty of sharp, sardonic humor, but also a rich sweetness to it as the relationship deepens.”

David Schroeder and Terry Lilian Segal will read the Diaries, directed by Patricia Earnest. Schroeder was last seen in the 2009 WordPlay reading of “Harvey.” Segal lead the readings of “The Education of Little Tree” for last August’s PT Shorts program.

Suggested donation is $10. Using a FLEXpass voucher is an easy way to contribute to KCPT when attending a WordPlay performance.

Donations made throughout the 2010 WordPlay Reading Series will support KCPT’s expanding education programs, including theatre classes for K-2 students at Grant Street School, summer theatre camps for middle and high school students, and annual KCPT scholarships.

WordPlay Archives
2009

WordPlay presents staged readings of four classic American plays for the 2009 season.

Each play will be presented twice at Key City Playhouse and once in the Cape George Community. (Residents of Cape George: Consult your community calendar for the time and place of your readings.)

This year your WordPlay donations support our expanding community outreach and education programs, including theatre classes for K-2 students at Grant Street School, summer theatre camps for middle and high school students, and continuing KCPT scholarships.

"Harvey"

by Mary Chase

A story about a man whose best friend

is a "pooka" in the form of a six-foot rabbit.

Winner of the 1945 Pulitzer Prize.

Thursday May 14th at 7:00 p.m.

Friday May 15th at 8:00 p.m.

----------------------------------------------------------

"Orpheus Descending"

by Tennessee Williams

A sultry play of loneliness, desire

and the longing for freedom. Rich in imagery,

lyrical language and symbolism.

Thursday June 4th at 7:00 p.m.

Friday June 5th at 8:00 p.m.

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"Last of the Red Hot Lovers"

by Neil Simon

He's a lover... He's a loser...

...but boy is he funny!

Thursday Sept 3th at 7:00 p.m.

Friday Sept 4th at 8:00 p.m.

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"The Price"

by Arthur Miller

"You have to make decisions...

and you never know what's what until it's too late."

Thursday Oct 1st at 7:00 p.m.

Friday Oct 2nd at 8:00 p.m.

Suggested Donation: $10.00. (Using a FLEXpass voucher is an easy way to contribute to KCPT when you attend a WordPlay performance.)

WordPlay presents Arthur Miller’s drama “The Price”

Key City Public Theatre concludes its 2009 WordPlay Reading Series with two evenings of Arthur Miller’s biting drama “The Price” on Thursday Oct. 1 at 7:00 p.m. and Friday Oct. 2 at 8:00 p.m. at Key City Playhouse, 419 Washington Street, Port Townsend.

Premiering on Broadway in 1968, “The Price” takes place in the attic of a soon-to-be-demolished Manhattan brownstone, where two brothers meet after a sixteen-year estrangement to dispose of their father’s property. One is a policeman who sacrificed a brighter career to care for his invalid father. The other is an eminent surgeon who side-stepped his family to find personal success.

Which brother made the better choice? Who paid the higher price? “You have to make decisions,” as one of the brothers says, “and you never know what's what until it's too late.”

Theater critic Clive Barnes called the brothers’ confrontation “one of the most engrossing and entertaining plays that Miller has ever written. It is superbly, even flamboyantly, theatrical.”

Adding bittersweet comedy to the story is a secondhand furniture broker who arrives to appraise the memory-filled contents of the dusty attic.

The readings are directed by Don White, and feature local actors Lawrason Driscoll, Patricia Earnest, Art Reitsch, and David Speck.

Following these two evenings at Key City Playhouse, a third presentation will be given in the Cape George Community. Residents of Cape George can consult their community calendar for the time and place.

Suggested donation is $10. Using a FLEXpass voucher is an easy way to contribute to KCPT when attending a WordPlay performance.

Donations made throughout the 2009 WordPlay Reading Series will support KCPT’s expanding education programs, including theatre classes for K-2 students at Grant Street School, summer theatre camps for middle and high school students, and annual KCPT scholarships.

# # #

2008

Four plays explored “Youth Culture: A Contemporary Snapshot” in Key City Public Theatre’s annual WordPlay Reading Series — “Sexsting,” “Schoolgirl Figure,” “The Stones,” and “The Visible Horse” — the latter by Mara Lathrop, an award-winning playwright living part-time in Port Townsend and part-time in Italy.

To encourage accessibility to quality live theatre for and by the community, WordPlay 2008 was generously sponsored by First Federal.

2007

Key City Players' 2007 WordPlay Reading Series raised $1,220 for United Good Neighbors of Jefferson County, exceeding the goal and surpassing last year's donation. Handing off the check to UGN representative Liz Coker (second from right) are KCP's Board President Ian Keith and Artistic Director Denise Winter. Net proceeds from the pay-what-you-wish performances in September, October and November will go to support community programs, per the theme of the series--"Community: the Collective Voice." A total of four plays were brought to life by local actors in readings at Key City Playhouse and in community venues throughout Jefferson County.

Photo by Shelly Randall