Tampa's Jobsite Theater has just announced a new Monday night play-reading series that may lead to at least one mainstage production each year. According to Jobsite artistic director David Jenkins, ensemble member Lori Shannon expressed an interest in running such a series – and he handed her about 40 scripts that he'd received from all over the U.S. (he gets about 400 scripts a year). Shannon read through the collection and chose four promising plays: The Ballad of Johnny 5 Star by David Hauptschein and David Vlcek (reading Nov. 10), Two Gentlemen of Corona by Jim Geoghan (reading Jan. 19, 2009), Magenta Sunsets and Brown Silk by P.J. Gibson (reading Feb. 23), and Hugging the Shoulder by Jerrod Bogard (reading April 6). Jenkins says that the authors may not necessarily attend the readings – there's no money available to pay their way – but Hauptschen and Vlcek have said they'll come to Tampa from Chicago anyway. In any case, the majority of the Jobsite board of directors will be present at each reading in order to determine whether the play should move on to the mainstage. Admission for the public will be $5 (free to season ticket holders). Readings are at 7:30 p.m.
Congratulations to Jobsite as it takes one further step toward becoming an important regional theater power.
Meanwhile…Gorilla Theatre has announced which shows it'll have to cancel or postpone because of the Fire Marshall's insistence that an additional exit and a firewall be built. Bill Leavengood's staged reading of Charley and Emma – about Charles Darwin and his wife – won't take place till November, and the full production of Caryl Churchill's Mad Forest – about the overthrown of communism in Romania – is being cancelled. So Gorilla's next full show will be John Guare's fine play Six Degrees of Separation, opening Dec. 4. It's not too early to buy tickets, though: call 813-879-2914.
This article appears in Oct 1-7, 2008.