This week the Fort Wayne Civic Theatre announced auditions for the plays of the 6th Annual Northeast Indiana Playwright Festival, to be held on Sunday, March 22. Scripts may be signed out with a refundable $10 deposit.

Below are the plays selected for this year’s festival:

First Place Tie – Is This Seat Taken? by Bob Ahlersmeyer (Full Production-One Act) – Socially-awkward Thomas plunges head-first into the unfamiliar dating pool for the first time in almost 20 years, and Victoria, a strikingly beautiful woman is the target of his clumsy advances. However, Thomas isn’t completely alone in his quest for romantic enlightenment. A mysterious outsider arrives to lend Thomas support in this romantic endeavor. Thomas and Victoria’s conversational back-and-forth comes to a cataclysmic head when past secrets and freshly healed wounds are ripped open anew in the most unexpected of ways. Both Thomas and Victoria are not what they appear to be, and they all have their own agenda for this particular evening.                                                                                                                                                                            Director: Phillip Colglazier

First Place Tie – Touch & Go by Rebecca Cameron (Full Production-One Act) – Hospitalized in a coma following an overdose, India hovers between life and death – but she isn’t alone. India meets Idina, her inner demon, who gleefully claims responsibility for all of India’s indiscretions, namely drinking and drug abuse. India’s seemingly picture perfect family hovers nearby as she faces the ultimate struggle with her demons. Touch & Go offers a rare glimpse into the time that India’s life hangs in the balance including the impact her actions have had on the ones that love her. In the end, it is up to India to decide her fate.                                                                                                                                                                         Director: Phillip Colglazier

Second Place – T.B.D.-To Be Determined by Paul Elliott (Stage Reading – two rehearsals only) – Dottie and Ruth Hamilton have always kept their lives in order, living each day in isolated contentment. All of that changes when the Sheriff drops a battered teenage girl on their doorstep and asks them to keep her safe. Neither is prepared for the role of savior and they are even less inclined when they find out a secret the girl is hiding and the identity of her attacker. Will Dottie and Ruth Hamilton step out of their well-defined world to save the young adult they don’t even understand?                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           Director: Aaron Willoughby

Third Place – Between The Sheets by Anthony Hall Seed (Stage Reading – two rehearsals only) – What happens when two professional escorts end up together in a room instead of with their prospective clients, and follow through with their service before discovering the error? How do they recover the $2,000 commission each one desperately requires? And what about the two prospective clients in the adjoining room, who also enthusiastically leaped before they looked? The ensuing confrontation between all parties is eventually mediated by the hotel concierge, who admits he mistakenly provided the wrong keys and room assignments. But the seemingly simple mistake leads to unforeseen consequences for all concerned as Between The Sheets plays out.                                                                                                                                                                                       Director: Dianne B. Shaw

Auditions for Is This Seat Taken? and Touch & Go are on:
Sunday, March 22, 6 pm in the West Rehearsal Hall at Arts United Center
Auditions for T.B.D. and Between the Sheets are on:
Sunday, March 22, 7 pm in the East Rehearsal Hall at Arts United Center
No Call Backs Scheduled.

Please arrive early to check in and fill out the audition forms for the two first place winning plays and the two readings for the second and and third place winning plays. Please call Phillip Colglazier to sign up to audition ((260) 422-8641 ext. 225).

Is This Seat Taken? and Touch & Go:
Rehearsals: Monday – Friday, April 27 to May 28 at Plymouth Church, 6:30-9:30 p.m.
Dress Rehearsals: Monday – Thursday, May 25-28 at Auer Center ArtsLab Black Box Theatre 6-11 p.m.
Performances: Friday, May 29 through Sunday, June 7 – all at the Auer Center ArtLab/Black Box Theatre (two weekends)

Performance times:
Is This Seat Taken? and Touch & Go
Thursdays at 7:30, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m., Saturday matinee on May 30 at 2 p.m. Sundays at 2 p.m.,
Possible Brush up Rehearsal on Wednesday, June 3.
T.B.D. – To Be Determined – second place reading
Saturday, May 30 at 10 a.m. (Rehearse on 5/25 and 5/27 – 6:30 to 9:30 p.m.)
Between the Sheets – third Place Reading
Sunday, May 31 at 10 a.m. (Rehearse on 5/26 and 5/28 – 6:30 to 9:30 p.m.)

The directors for the second and third place play readings will be present at the March 22nd audition. If you are interested in only doing the second or third place play readings, or both, you may indicate it on your audition form and meet the director. A quick audition will take place and the directors will select whom they like. The second and third place plays will be presented as stage readings on the festival weekend of May 29-31 only. Each of these play readings will be presented once during the Festival. Each actor cast will receive a free pass into the entire Festival and reception which will feature the Dr. Tom Evans as our guest moderator and speaker.

Click the blue text for the character list.