End of the Road New Play Fest July 12-14 at SBCT Tickets are only $5 including Fri. & Sun. receptions and Sat. ice cream social

End of the Road New Play Fest July 12-14 at SBCT
Tickets are only $5 including Fri. & Sun. receptions and Sat. ice cream social

By Fran Thompson
The End of the Road New Play Festival returns to South Baldwin Theatre in Gulf Shores for its fifth reincarnation July 12-14 with special $5 pricing on all tickets.
Friday’s 7 p.m. show includes a pre-play reception with hors d’ ouveres. Saturday’s 7 p.m. show on SBCT’s outdoor stage includes an ice cream social, and the Sunday matinee featuring the 9 short plays includes a post play reception and talkback with the playwrights, actors and directors while the judges convene to select and announce the winners.
Patrons are invited to bring their own food, beverages, folding chairs and blankets for Saturday’s outdoor show.
The plays will be performed and directed by local actors, including event producer Laura Pfizenmayer, who will make her debut directing two of the selected plays.
The performances are readings of the plays with minimal props and stage production – a kind of stripped down theater approach.
“It’s funny that the two plays I picked were the hardest to cast, but we had two auditions and it went very well. We have a wonderful mixture of new and old actors,’’ Pfizenmayer said. “That is what makes this so much fun.’’
A panel of local judges selected the nine winning ten minute plays from more than 150 submissions. Winning plays may have had prior productions but may not be already published. All nine of the winning playwrights will be in attendance.
The short-play, minimum set format for festivals is increasingly popular around the nation, as evidenced by the interest in Pfizenmayer’s project from playwrights and actors.
“Every year we get more and more submissions, and this is the first time we’ve received submissions from other countries and from people in the military.
“Our little theatre is becoming nationally recognized among play festivals,’’ she added. “And the overall quality of the plays keeps getting better. The plays the committee picked are all amazing. Our format is working really well. We don’t want to change that. We just want to keep growing and we want fill all the seats. These plays deserve an audience.’’
Events such as her short play festival will hopefully inspire the community to get involved in the theater, Pfizenmayer said.
“We have a wonderful theater here. People have supported this, and that’s wonderful,” Pfizenmayer said.
SBCT is located at 2022 W. 2nd St. in Gulf Shores. For more info, call Pfizenmayer at 803-517-4920.
End Of The Road Fest Selections
• “Thugs In A Pub” by Alex Speer (Charlotte, NC); directed by Sonya Urquhart.
• “Family By The Numbers” by Arianna Rose (Miami, Fl); directed by Jennifer Dawson.
• Anne Then Some” by Allison Frankin (Chicago, IL); directed by Laura Pfizenmayer.
• “Ordinary Life’’ by John Meiner (Houston, TX); directed by Frank Lehman.
• Memento Mori” by Jonathon Cook (Augusta, GA); directed by Robert Gardner
• The Nice View” by Cynthia Holm (Minneapolis, MN); directed by Jan Hinnen.
• “Jack and Jill” by Tom Sirak (St. Petersburg, FL); directed by Paula Dumas.
• Bella Napoli by Steve Gold (Monroe Township, NJ); directed by Laura Pfizenmayer.
• “All the World’s A Stage” by Glen Rothe (Gulf Shores, Al); directed by Jennifer Dawson.
Pictured: (l to r) End of the Road playwright Glen Rothe, producer & director Laura Pfizenmayer, End of Road directors Sonya Urquhart, Paula Dumas and Jennifer Dawson, director Jan Hinnen.