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Photo by John Eaton Nell, Clay's mom stands near her son as he reads a postcard. |
"Postcards
from a Dead Dog", written by award-winning playwright F. J. Hartland,
is a humorous look at the dysfunctional yet devoted relationship between
a mother and son. It is sweet, sad and funny - all at the same time.
Hamilton-Gibson
Productions is giving two performances of this half hour, one act,
two-person comedy-drama on Zoom. Both are free. The first will be at
7:30 p.m. this Saturday, Feb. 27 and the second at 2:30 p.m. this
Sunday, Feb. 28.
"Of course,
everyone has a mother, but Clay’s mom, Nell, is unlike any other mother
you’ve ever known," said Director Thomas Putnam. After the loss of the
family pet, Nell (Jen Painter of Wellsboro) discovers an unusual way to
communicate with her son Clay (Josh Magnotta of Elkland) and Clay
returns the favor.
"The staged reading of this play highlights this jewel of community theatre that audiences all miss so much," said Putnam.
The
way Clay and Nell have overcome their difficulty in communicating is to
write postcards to each other. The postcards are ostensibly coming from
Rusty, Clay's dog that had died when he was a child. Nell insisted
Rusty had merely gone on a long vacation. A postcard from the dog
arrived soon afterwards.
"Hartland’s
play is sweet and touching, and while it deals with issues that have
been covered time and time again – coming out, a child moving from his
parent’s influence, a parent’s mortality – it never feels clichéd,"
wrote a reviewer.
"Jen, who
plays the mother, gave a memorable performance as the outrageously
conning Miss Hannigan in HG's production of the musical 'Annie.' She
also played the eldest sister in our production of 'Dancing at
'Lughnasa' and was in 'Calendar Girls,'" said Putnam. ""This is the
first appearance on the HG stage for Josh," he said.
Hamilton-Gibson
first encountered "Postcards from a Dead Dog" when the community
theatre group hosted the Eastern States Theatre Association Festival in
Wellsboro. "It was the first production in the Deane Center’s newly
built Coolidge Theatre. Hartland was a friend of the late Steven Helsel
from Altoona who was very active in the Pennsylvania Association of
Community Theatres. He introduced us to this play and to Hartland," said
Putnam.
"I remember the play
being a wonderful blend of humor and sadness. It offered an opportunity
for two actors to do so much while never moving from their one position.
It lends itself to our staged reading on Zoom and I'm delighted with
what Jen and Josh have been able to do with the script."
Called
“Pittsburgh's most eminent playwright”, Hartland has made a
record-setting sixteen appearances in the Pittsburgh New Works Festival,
winning for “Best Play” four times, including for "Postcards from a
Dead Dog."
At the end of the
30-minute performance, the audience will be invited to stay on Zoom to
talk with the "Postcards" cast and Putnam about what they saw and
heard.
Audience members will
find the Zoom information on the HG website at
https://www.hamiltongibson.org and Facebook page or can call the HG
office at 570-724-2079.
Those familiar with Zoom can go to the website at https://zoom.us,
click on "joint meeting" and enter 839 2536 6867 - the access code for
the Saturday, Feb. 27 performance and then enter the passcode 902173.
For the Sunday, Feb. 28 performance, enter the access code 873 9936 8164
and then the passcode 420146.
This is the second in a series of eight 30-minute staged readings of short plays via Zoom. FMI: call 570-724-2079 or email hamgib@gmail.com.
HG's
free staged reading series will continue with a different 30-minute
short play or grouping of short plays each Saturday and Sunday through
April 10 & 11.
Donations are appreciated. To donate, go to the HG website at www.hamiltongibson.org
or send a contribution to Hamilton-Gibson, 29 Water Street, Wellsboro,
PA 16901. Please include “Staged Readings” in the check memo line.
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