“It’s one of my favorite events, honestly,” says Deb Gottesman of the Dramathon, an evening of world-premiere short plays written, directed, and performed by D.C. theater artists. Gottesman is co-founder and co-executive director, with Buzz Mauro, of The Theatre Lab School of the Dramatic Arts, which stages the annual fundraiser.
Professional directors, writers, and actors donate their time, while additional participants fundraise through friends and family — much like a marathon — to earn larger roles in the final performance.
The ten-minute plays will be presented to the public on Monday, April 27, at 7:30 p.m. at The Theatre Lab’s space at 900 Massachusetts Ave. NW. Proceeds benefit the organization’s Send a Kid to Theatre Camp initiative, which provides scholarships to children and teens for its summer programs.
Last year’s Dramathon raised a record $23,000, and Gottesman hopes to surpass that total this year.
“Each play has to have at least five characters so we can include people with a range of experience — from seasoned performers to emerging artists to those who’ve never been onstage before but decided to give it a try,” says Gottesman, noting that the event is free to attend, with donations encouraged at the door.
Among the actors participating this year are Frank Britton, Julie-Ann Elliot, Helen Hedman, J.J. Johnson, Michael Kramer, Jefferson Russell, Deidra LaWan Starnes, and Erin Weaver. Writers of the evening’s 10-minute plays include Renee Calarco, Allyson Currin, Jake Jeppson, J.J. Johnson, Kathryn O’Sullivan, Elizabeth Pringle, Dani Stoller, and Laura Zam, among others, while directors include Elizabeth Dinkova, Christopher Henley, Chelsea Radigan, and Jennifer Mendenhall.
“Everyone of these artists are really in demand — the actors, directors, and playwrights have donated their time, and every one of the company of 30 people who are the dramathon participants have reached out to their friends and colleagues and everybody else to say, ‘Hey, support me in doing this so that I can make a difference too, and I can also do it in a really fun way,'” says Gottesman.
“What I think the Dramathon does, which is incredibly valuable, is it takes students who are in classes where there’s no audience, so there’s no pressure,” says Mendenhall, a mainstay in the Washington theater scene for four decades. “There’s the pressure of wanting to do well in front of your fellow students, but that is nothing compared to going on stage and having over a hundred people sitting in the audience watching you.
“So I feel like not only is the dramathon a really cool fundraiser to support their scholarship program, but it is also a vital part of the education that Theatre Lab is giving students because it gives them a taste of, ‘Oh, this is the show. I’ve got to bring my A-game.'”
Mendenhall enjoys the rush of directing her charges. “You have a very limited amount of time. You have one rehearsal, and then they go. So you have to be incredibly efficient. You have to understand the story. You have to take in who’s in your cast and how best to support them in telling it. And I love it, I absolutely love it, because it scratches my directing itch — the analysis, the collaboration, the work of figuring out how best to tell the story.”
For Gottesman, maintaining a space like Theatre Lab is more important than ever in these days of an administration willfully hostile to the arts.
“In this moment, the idea of seeding creativity and making the arts a really welcoming place and a place of belonging for everyone — whichever side of the footlights you’re on — is really part of the Theatre Lab’s mission,” she says. “We need community now more than ever. And as our art spaces have become increasingly threatened by lack of funding and other things, I think that it’s incumbent on us to make sure that people know that the arts are a lever for so many things, and that theater matters because theater is the art of being human.”
The Theatre Lab’s Dramathon is Monday, April 27, at 7:30 p.m. at 900 Massachusetts Ave. NW. Admission is free, with donations encouraged. Visit theatrelab.org.
The second half of the theater season always feels like the downhill rush of a roller coaster, a new hill coming into view just as you hit the dip, as local venues begin the time-honored ritual of announcing their upcoming seasons. Still, our focus here is on what's about to bloom -- and this year, that bloom is as big and bold as it gets.
A highlight is Shakespeare Theatre Company, showcasing Hamnet (no, not the movie), Suzy Eddie Izzard in a tour-de-force one-person Hamlet, and the great Wendell Pierce in the title role of Othello. (Pierce joins a notable Othello lineage at STC -- including, for those who remember, Patrick Stewart and Avery Brooks.)
A story told in fragments of past and present, Rachel Bonds' unflinching drama Jonah guards its mysteries closely. The play's fractured narrative, prone to misdirection, coalesces at a careful pace before the pieces, like shards of memory, assemble into a complete picture.
Studio Theatre's production, directed by Taylor Reynolds (Studio's triumphant Fat Ham), handily juggles the complicated plot while maintaining a quietly tense atmosphere. The foreboding mood persists even in the lighter moments between introspective teen Ana (Ismenia Mendes) and the boy she allows to sneak in through her dorm window, Jonah (Rohan Maletira).
"Team DC is the network of LGBTQ+ sports in the D.C. metro area," says Miguel Ayala, president of the nonprofit, which has served as the umbrella organization for LGBTQ sports since 1990.
"We represent over 49 different teams and leagues -- everything from kickball, football, and volleyball, which are some of our larger groups, to things like birding, rodeo, and billiards, and even recreational or group activities that you might not think of as sports," he says.
The organization serves as a resource for LGBTQ sporting and recreational groups, helping them navigate the logistics of running a league -- everything from establishing bylaws and a governing board to setting up a website and social media accounts to promote schedules and off-field events like social mixers or fundraisers.
These are challenging times for news organizations. And yet it’s crucial we stay active and provide vital resources and information to both our local readers and the world. So won’t you please take a moment and consider supporting Metro Weekly with a membership? For as little as $5 a month, you can help ensure Metro Weekly magazine and MetroWeekly.com remain free, viable resources as we provide the best, most diverse, culturally-resonant LGBTQ coverage in both the D.C. region and around the world. Memberships come with exclusive perks and discounts, your own personal digital delivery of each week’s magazine (and an archive), access to our Member's Lounge when it launches this fall, and exclusive members-only items like Metro Weekly Membership Mugs and Tote Bags! Check out all our membership levels here and please join us today!
You must be logged in to post a comment.