The Words Afire play festival allows aspiring playwrights to see their visions materialized on stage.
Words Afire offers them experience in professional theater, and subjects them to the whole experience of putting their work in the hands of directors, actors and organizers.
"It can be hard, but I think that's one of the exciting things about being a writer," said Jason Witter, a Words Afire playwright. "When you put something in someone else's hands, you get to see them interpret things in a way that you maybe wouldn't have thought of."
Witter wrote "Mimi and the Ghosts" which opens this week at Rodey Theatre. This was the first year Words Afire used Rodey Theatre. Witter is excited about the added professionalism the larger space affords his play and said the crew did a bang-up job building the beautiful set.
Eric Whitmore, writer of "In the Wind," which opens at the Tricklock Performance Space this weekend, said he has enjoyed a close collaboration with everyone working on his play. He added his play is perfect for Tricklock and was written with the venue in mind.
"I've learned a lot more (about the play) through the cast than I knew when I wrote this," he said.
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He has never witnessed a cast and playwright work so closely together as this team has for "In the Wind," he said. Witter and Whitmore have previously had plays in Words Afire, but are experimenting with new genres this time around. "Mimi and the Ghosts" is Witter's first children's play and "In the Wind" is Whitmore's first stab at writing a drama.
"I have a little bit of anxiety, but I'm really eager to see it," Whitmore said.
"I've only written comedies and in comedies, you have a good idea going in if it's working. 'In the Wind' is a dark drama so it will be a new and interesting experience to see how the audience reacts."
Witter said many of the plays he wrote before were "adult orientated," so writing for children was an entirely fresh experience for him. Witter used slapstick comedy, wordplay and extreme characters to make his children's play come to life.
"The biggest thing was still trying to make it funny, but making it funny so that it's suitable for anyone to go see," he said. "I also didn't want it to feel like I was playing down to kids because I think kids are a lot smarter than we give them credit for."
The play deals with the death of young Mimi's parents and the relationship that she develops with her aunt. As for Whitmore, he changed genres because of current world politics.
"You've got to keep growing, but a lot of this came out of the political situation in the
U.S. after 9/11," he said.
His play is the story of family struggles in a post-apocalyptic, war-torn world. He focused on the reactions of people when they are being oppressed, paralleling oppressed societies to illustrate this.
As for the future, Witter plans on writing more children's plays. Whitmore just wants to write plays worth "leaving the cradle of Albuquerque for," he said. "I want to live the writing dream."
"Mimi and the Ghosts" by Jason Witter
Date/Time: Tonight, 7:30 p.m.
Tomorrow, 9:30 a.m., 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, 2 p.m.
Price: $7 General Admission, $5 Students
Place: Rodey Theatre
Tickets
and Info: 925-5858
"In the Wind" by Eric Whitmore
Date/Time: Friday and Saturday, 8 p.m.
Sunday, 6 p.m.
Price: $7 General Admission, $5 Students
Place: Tricklock Performance Space
118 Washington blvd. SE
Tickets
and Info: 254-8393
A Concert Reading of "Dak'we Nasya" by David Velarde Jr.
Date/Time: Tonight through Saturday, 7:30 p.m.
Price: $7 General Admission, $5 Students
Place: Theatre X
Tickets
and Info: 277-4569
