Seven Devils Playwrights Conference Returns To McCall For 19th Year

By: May. 28, 2019
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Seven Devils Playwrights Conference returns to McCall with a program of free public events running June 13-22. Now in its 19th year, the Conference brings playwrights and theater artists from around the country together in McCall to develop and present new plays by some of the nation's most exciting new voices in partnership with the Alpine Playhouse.

"'You can see a new play nearly every night," says Artistic Director Jeni Mahoney. "Plus, it's absolutely free and, simply by showing up and enjoying an evening of theater, you're making an important contribution to development of a new play."

In addition to presenting 7 new plays, selected from nearly 600 submissions, events include an evening of plays by McCall-Donnelly High School students, a free playwriting workshop led by Featured Artist Kathleen Cahill and "Insta-Play," offering all comers the opportunity to write, rehearse and present a short play of their own in one fun-filled evening.

This year, the Conference welcomes Featured Artist Kathleen Cahill to McCall. Based in Salt Lake City, Cahill is an award-winning and Pulitzer Prize nominated playwright whose work has been produced throughout the county. In addition to hosting a free playwriting workshop, Cahill will be developing and presenting her new play The Robertassey.

Other 2019 plays and playwrights include: Homeridae by Alexandra Espinoza (PA), ¡O Cascadia! by Ramón Esquivel (WA), Then, Of Course, All the Things Happened by Max Reuben (NY), Two Minutes Before Dawn by Vinecia Coleman (MN), Design Sense by Randy Reinholz (CA) and A Little Ghost Story by Jennifer Rumberger (IL), whose play The Skinwalkers was workshopped during the 2014 Conference.

This year's plays join an illustrious list of plays developed in McCall including The Whale, by MacArthur "Genius" Grant recipient Samuel D. Hunter; The Velocity of Autumn by Eric Coble (Broadway); Lemonade by Mark Krause (Woodward/Newman Award); and In the Sawtooths by Dano Madden (ACTF/Kennedy Center Award.)

Conference regulars will find familiar faces in this year's company of artists, as well as many talented newcomers. "Actors, director and other theater artists, with active careers in stage, film and television, will be joining us from all over the country to bring these new plays to life," says Managing Director Paula Marchiel. "We can't wait to share these plays - and this company of artists - with audiences in McCall."

All events are free and open to the public. More information about schedules, events and travel can be found at: https://www.idtheater.org/2019-schedule.html.

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS - 2019 Seven Devils Playwrights Conference

All events are free and start at 7:30pm at the Alpine Playhouse unless otherwise noted

Thursday, June 13: Plays by Students from McCall-Donnelly High School An evening of new work written by the drama students of McCall-Donnelly High School and mentored by members of Seven Devils professional company of theater artists.

Friday, June 14: A LITTLE GHOST STORY by Jennifer Rumberger Lettie doesn't believe in ghosts, but when her father Jake reports that strange things are happening in the middle of the night she drops everything and heads home; to the house she grew up in, the house her dad is renovating, the house where - ten months ago - her sister Mara died of an opioid overdose. Convinced her father is in denial, but unable to shake the haunted feeling at home, Lettie calls in her skeptic sister Claire to strengthen her resolve. With the holidays approaching, one family struggles to move forward in a home that, even gutted, holds tight to memories of the past.

Saturday, June 15 at 11am - PLAYWRITING WORKSHOP WITH KATHLEEN CAHILL Join us at McCall-Donnelly High School for a free playwriting workshop hosted by our 2019 Featured Artist Kathleen Cahill. No experience necessary, but space is limited. Email: paula@idtheater.org to reserve your spot.

Saturday, June 15: HOMERIDAE by Alexandra Espinoza Mac, an adjunct lecturer, and Nessa, a freshman, have a lot in common. They're slightly awkward, deeply passionate about Homer's The Odyssey, and are both African-Americans in the very white Classics department at their very white university. When they stumble upon the discovery that Homer himself came from Africa, Mac and Nessa find themselves at odds with centuries of assumptions, the institutions determined to enforce them, their families, the Internet, and even Homer himself.

Monday, June 17: INSTA-PLAY! Write your own play! We'll guide you through the process of writing it, rehearsing it, and mounting it for the friendliest audience ever! Arrive at 6pm sharp to write a play or come at 7:30 to enjoy an evening of the freshest, newest theater you've ever seen!

Wednesday, June 19: THEN, OF COURSE, ALL THE THINGS HAPPENED by Max Reuben What if you took all the things that happened: that time you bought a car, or buried a stray cat, or the time you waited for a ride in the rain, and turned them round and round like a kaleidoscope, tethering unremarkable moments and half-memories into whole new narratives? This is the world of Then, Of Course, All The Things Happened. One play, countless variations.

Thursday, June 20: TWO MINUTES AFTER DAWN by Vinecia Coleman For the past year and a half, Sam has been working and saving for a new house, caring for her ailing mother Leann, and juggling her relationship with her husband Jack. As the medical bills begin to pile up and Leann slips further and further into a world of her own, Sam longs for a world free of the many burdens she is carrying. Will the end of Leann's life offer Sam the future

she's always dreamed of? Or will it force Sam to stand face-to-face with something she never saw coming: her present. Friday, June 21: ¡O CASCADIA! by Ramón Esquivel For Ayo, Eshana, Hyun, and Tlaloc, discovering each other among the waters, forests, and mountains of the Pacific Northwest offers glimpses of the lives they yearn to live, and the hope that together all things are possible. But are they? As expectations of culture, family, society, and religion threaten to pull them apart, four friends struggle to hold their fragile world together, even as the earth breaks apart.

Saturday, June 22 - 2pm THEN, OF COURSE, ALL THE THINGS HAPPENED by Max Reuben (*Location: McCall-Donnelly High School) What if you took all the things that happened: that time you bought a car, or buried a stray cat, or the time you waited for a ride in the rain, and turned them round and round like a kaleidoscope, tethering unremarkable moments and half-memories into whole new narratives? This is the world of Then, Of Course, All The Things Happened. One play, countless variations.

Saturday, June 22: THE ROBERTASSEY by Kathleen Cahill Hiker was a veterinarian who could tame wild animals. He was also an alcoholic. Now he's dead which should be the end. Except it's not. Hiker wants his ashes scattered in a Dublin lake, near the place of his birth. He moves heaven and earth to make it happen. Including sending his oldest daughter Roberta on an odyssey to Dublin and beyond. Or maybe that's not the story. Maybe this is a story about a woman turning forty who doesn't know who she is or where she belongs. Or is this just a simple tale about what happens when the airline loses Roberta's suitcase.

 


 

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