A half a dozen years into the Boston Theater Marathon, with the prospect of a change of venue and date, it's time to assess that event's particular strengths and potential weaknesses as the archetypical example of "short attention span theatre" in these parts. The annual BTM Benefit has helped draw attention, moreover, to a number of short play festivals which tend to occur toward the end of the regular season. But by presenting more than 40 ten minute pieces in ten hours each done by a different theatre group from around the area, the BTM probably sets some sort of record all on its own. And of course since the Boston Playwrights' Theatre is actually two small venues under one roof, to accommodate a larger audience, each play has been done twice. Exactly how dropping that necessity will effect the program remains to be seen. The prospect of more than one go at scripts which for the most part were untested before an audience has been part of the attraction for the producing companies.
The 300 seat new space shared by B.U. and the BCA will no doubt be more comfortable but harder to access. Moving the event to the third week in May, after at least part of the student population has left the area, and more importantly, having the rehearsal period during finals may also have an effect on actor availability, director's committments, rehearsal space, and so on. But enough about the future.
What the Theater Marathon has evolved into is something of a showcase for the range of local talent and the varied producing groups, from large professional theatres to a variety of smaller groups and troupes. Over the past few years, acting ability has consistently outshown the quality of the writing chosen from the 300 some scripts submitted. That result may be inevitable. It also seems that sketches and clever solo pieces have taken precedence over a broader approach which in the past included more opening scenes from longer pieces, dramatic experiments, and a wider range of content. There also seems to be an increasing group of regular contributors, whose recognizable names may not be so necessary any longer.
There were a few more female playwrights this year than last and about the same number of female directors. But there were more standout parts for women than men. Some like Anne Gottlieb, this year's IRNE Best Actress, Maureen Keiller, last year's IRNE Best Supporting Actress, Birgit Huppuch, and veteran actress Kippy Goldfarb even got more than one. IRNE Winners Nancy E. Carroll and Bobbie Steinbach had veritable show stoppers. Susan Thompson from Pilgrim shown in a complex memory piece, while Charlotte Peed and Lisa Foley, soon to be in revivals of "Jane Eyre" and "After Mrs. Rochester" at Wellesley Summer Theatre, got to play over-the-top irony as two actresses of a certain age. And Helen McElwain was touching as a daughter relating to her dying mother, played by Goldfarb.
There wasn't as much meat for men. IRNE winner Miguel Cervantes had moments as a frustrated young poet--with No Car--and two psychiatrist parents. Steve Barkhimer found a supporting character right out of Coen Brothers while two guys from Rough & Tumble, Chris Cook and George Saulnier III, got to drive around being hilariously inane once more. Samuel Young, a Theatre Coop regular made the most of "Hally Pottuh," almost a standup routine. Jerry Bisantz was the perfect harried traveler in a Kafkaesque situation with the most political resonance of the day. Multiple awardee Richard McElvain was predictably complex in one of his old friend Jon Lipsky's elliptical creations. Ed Peed played a harried old Shakespearean to the hilt and Andrew Dolan hit it out of the park as the ultimate Red Sox fan bedeviled by the Curse. But none of the guys got a real chance to be truly memorable.
Hopefully, some of these plays will get further development by groups doing shorter programs, somewhat on the David Ives model. Industrial's "Soapbox Derby" running through May 1 is a good example. In June, Playwright's Platform, which has been reading and workshopping new plays for more than a quarter of a century will have its annual Spring Festival of two bills of short works at BPT in early June, while the Hovey Players is moving their "Summer Shorts" to the larger venue of Turtle Lane in late June. Arlington Players also has a new works program coming up. Some of the 250 or so scripts which didn't get on for whatever reason will no doubt get on stage or be heard, somehow, somewhere, sometime, Perhaps the Marathon needs to consider some way to get at least some of them read by other groups after the event, instead of consigning all that Xeroxing to recycling.
For full details of this year's Marathon and last, go to the Boston Playwrights' Theatre website; http://www.bu.edu/btm. For a short critical summary with addenda, try Larry Stark's review Marathon #6. on the Theater Mirror. The review in the Phoenix reflected the personalities of the three reviewers as much as the actual event. The Globe had a brief summary, the Herald ran some PR, and Bill Marx repeated his suggestion, since once again he wasn't there, that doing one serious play would serve local theatre better. But would doing such a single production do anything to bring so much of the local theatre community together and raise money for the Benevolent Fund as well?