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Issue #1, Summer 2003 Island Players is a community theater formed about four years ago by four interested persons. It as a nonprofit enterprise devoted to presenting theater in various forms to the community of Mercer Island, WA. Mercer Island has a population of 22,000 which includes Paul Allen of Microsoft fame. Immediately across the floating bridge to the west is Seattle. We have produced Staged Readings, Reader's Theater, and fully staged plays. We have frequently performed in a gym in the converted elementary school. The capacity of the Black Box of the Youth Theatre is forty five and that has been sufficient for our Reader's Theatre productions. Our presentations of Reader's Theatre at a retirement home here on the island have been very well received. We have produced Neil Simon, Moliere, British farce, Chekov and Yasmina Reza among many other comedies. Our auditions are open to anyone in the Puget Sound area. The Island Players recently presented ART, by Yasmina Reza as a Staged Reading. The three actors held their scripts in hand and appeared to read from them at intervals although lines were memorized. Entrances and exits, and character relationships were appropriately blocked. Costumes were modern, appropriate to the character. The set consisted of a row of three padded day chairs. The 4x5 foot canvas painted entirely white stood prominently on a tripod. The center of the conflict was the purchase of a 4x5 foot painting for an extraordinary price. Props included the bowl of liquid, and rags. A red pen was used to draw a figure on the painting. The purpose of the scripts-in-hand was to indicate a Reading and justify the minimal settings and costumes. TARTUFFE, by Moliere was presented in a similar fashion. Excepting the title character, who wore a dismal gown and dusty sandals, modern costumes appropriate to each character were chosen. The set consisted of a row of seven padded day chairs. On stage was a covered table for the husband to hide under. One character wore a rapier. The Marshall read from a letter scroll from the King. All actors occasionally read from the script. Entrances, exits and movement in relationships were carefully blocked. Again, the scripts were presented as the source of the text that was performed. In the production of SCHOOL FOR WIVES, by Moliere scripts were placed on music stands. Except for entrances and exits, the actors sat on tall stools and read from the scripts. In our four years, all Island Players Staged Readings have been drawn from French and Dramatists play lists. Our audiences appear to be typical of Community Theater interested people. That is, ages approximately nineteen to sixty years. Our comedies, which form eighty percent of our season, draw slightly larger audiences than our dramas. Irv Zimmer This site
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