When Gorilla Theatre began its Young Dramatists Project 10 years ago, this year’s winners were probably just learning to put pen to paper, much less composing full-fledged works of art. Here’s the gist: Gorilla picks five original plays by local teens for the star treatment: a full-scale production, with professional directors and actors (among this year’s local luminaries are Bridget Bean, Ami Sallee Corley and David Mann) and a paid membership into the Dramatists’ Guild. Don’t expect themes of prom-date woes and stale summer jobs, though: subjects include everything from Zacharia Hartman’s take on four men coming to terms with the disappointments of adulthood in Pugilist, to the story of a man who’s had an estranged relationship with his mother his whole life, but finds himself in charge of her funeral in Michael Kefeyalew’s The String That Fell. June 3-13, 7 p.m. Thurs., 8 p.m. Fri.-Sat., 3 and 7 p.m. Sun., Gorilla Theatre, 4419 N. Hubert Avenue, Tampa, $20-$25, $10-$20 students and seniors, gorillatheatre.com. --Franki Weddington
[image-1]MacArthur “Genius” Grant-winning playwright Sarah Ruhl has been staging a silent coup of local theaters lately, garnering praise along the way from CL theater critic Mark Leib. The students in USF’s Honors Theatre continue the trend with Ruhl’s Melancholy Play (pictured), which wonders: Why do we expect to be happy? Ruhl’s expertise is evident because the show isn’t somber at all — it’s a lighthearted, laugh-out-loud jest that simultaneously questions the idea that we deserve constant bliss, all the while reminding us that life ain’t so bad, after all. June 3-6, 8 p.m. Thurs.-Sat., 3 p.m. Sun., USF Theater Center, 4202 E Fowler Ave., Tampa, $12-$15, $8-$10 students and seniors, arts.usf.edu. --Franki Weddington
620 ends its season with Samuel French: A Night of One-Acts. One Night In the Warehouse is a straight-outta-SAW story about two guys trapped together and forced to decide which one of them should die for the unknown crimes they've committed. Writer's Block, though it sounds like less macabre fare, is nevertheless a darkly comic look at a suicidal children's author who, after attempting to overdose on pain meds, sees visions of Dr. Seuss. studio620.org. June 3-6, 7:30 p.m. Thurs.; 6:30 p.m. Fri.; 3 and 7 p.m. Sat.-Sun., The [email protected], St. Petersburg, $15-$25.
