Reopening its doors later this month to live audiences and events, the Garfield Center for the Arts has been hard at work rehearsing the eight short plays that make up this summer’s installment of their annual Short Attention Span Theatre. Also known as SAST, the production opens July 23rd and runs through August 8th.

Once again featuring a large cast of local performers and directors, along with premiering several original plays, SAST is produced by Worton resident Mark Sullivan. A champion on the yearly event and active in it almost every year since its inception, Mr. Sullivan is also a regular volunteer for the GCA and currently serves as the GCA Board President.

Nic Carter directs the comedy An Emoji Named Desire, by John Minigan. In the play, young intern Sterling is torn between charismatic, creative Blanchard DuBois and tough-minded project manager Ms. Stanley as he tries to chart his future path at a leading emoji building company. The play features Brad Chaires, Brianna Johnson, Hester Sachse and Dylan Lyles.

Brad Chaires is the director for God on the Couch, a comedy by Dan O’Day. In the privacy of his therapist’s office, God grapples with an existential crisis of biblical proportions. Gil Rambach and Dan Guidice are the performers.

Mark Sullivan also wrote and is directing one of the plays, Look Into Your Heart, which will feature performances by Steven Arnold and Nic Carter, the Garfield Center’s Executive Director and Theatre Manager. In the comedy a chance meeting in a park leads to surprising revelations and self-reflections.

Steven Arnold directs Shannon Whitaker, Dylan Lyles and Dan Guidice in Domestic Disturbances, a play by Steven Korbar. In this comedy, a woman admits during a police interview to becoming so unhinged by one of her husband’s tendencies that she’s attempted to murder him.

John Mann directs another comedy written by Dan O’Day, Deadman’s Curves, a play about a private eye, a dame and a mysterious box. Nevin Dawson and Heather Joyce-Byers are the performers.

Melissa McGlynn directs “A Day At The Ballpark,” a hilarious and, perhaps, familiar take on language and misinterpretations. In a classic pairing, McGlynn teams up alongside Jen Friedman to perform this great comedy piece.

Melissa McGlynn also directs the comedy The Possessthion, by Ron Burch. In the comedy, a precocious young girl has become possessed by a demon; but is that really bad news? The cast includes Jen Friedman, Sharon Herz and Patrick Pearce.

Performances begin July 23rd and run at 8 PM on Fridays and Saturdays and 2 PM on Sundays through August 8th. Tickets are $18.00 (plus Eventbrite processing fees) for general audiences and $10.00 for students and can be purchased online anytime at www.garfieldcenter.org or by calling the box office at 410-810-2060 Wednesdays through Fridays from 10 AM to 3 PM.

The Garfield Center for the Arts is calling for play and musical titles for consideration for production in its 2022 season. Suggestions and proposals can be made by Directors who have an interest in directing specific titles, as well as by interested community members, patrons of the Garfield Center and arts participants. All proposals must be received by the Garfield Center by 5:00 PM on Friday, August 13, 2021.

For Directors, the Garfield Center Programming Committee has issued the following specific guidelines for proposing titles:

• Submit a list containing multiple titles (at least 3, no more than 10).

• Give title, playwright and a synopsis for each proposed title.

• For each title, give the casting requirements (gender and age breakdowns).

• For each title, state how many total weeks of rehearsal would be needed prior to opening (include dress rehearsal week).

• If the royalty company that owns the play/musical is known, include that information.

• Explain why a specific title would make for a successful production at the Garfield.

• Explain how, if relevant, each title may engage the general Eastern Shore community.

• If you believe the Garfield Center is not familiar with your past directorial experience, please provide a bio of your past directing credits, if applicable.

• Your calendar year availability to direct the show must be included for consideration.

Interested community members, Garfield patrons and participants who would like to suggest titles need only follow these guidelines:

• There is no requirement to give more than a single suggestion, but multiple suggestions are welcome.

• Your response to why a title would be a good fit for the Garfield Center and how it would engage the Eastern Shore community would be very helpful for title consideration.

As indicated above, The Garfield strongly recommends that interested Directors should propose multiple titles instead of just one or two. Providing a list allows the Programming Committee to consider more titles in which a Director has a specific interest, and it will give potential directors more opportunity for consideration.

Detailed information on submitting a proposal is also available on the GCA web site at http://garfieldcenter.org/directors/.

To submit titles and lists, please email playideas@garfieldcenter.org and include all information requested above. Once received, submissions will be acknowledged with a response email. Directors will be informed of the final selections once the Programming Committee has finalized the season.

The Garfield Center for the Arts is pleased to announce audition dates for the fall comedy Clue On Stage by Lynn, Foster, Price, and Rustin. Auditions will be held inside the theatre, at 210 High Street in Chestertown, on Saturday, July 24th at 2:00 PM, Tuesday, July 27th, and Thursday, July 29th, both at 6:30 PM. Callbacks are TBD as needed. The play will be performed Friday and Saturday evenings and Sunday afternoons starting September 24th through October 10th.

Director Bradley Chaires asks those who audition to bring a list of conflicts for August through performance dates. Auditions will consist primarily of cold readings from the script. Prepared monologues of 1-2 minutes are encouraged, but not required.

Rehearsals will be held primarily on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 6, and Saturdays at 11 until tech week when they will be daily.  Additional rehearsals may be called depending on cast availability.

ROLES AVAILABLE are: WADSWORTH, a traditional British butler in every sense, uptight, formal, by-the-book, he is the driving force of the play; YVETTE, a sexy French maid with her own aspirations; MISS SCARLET, a dry, sardonic D.C. madam who is particularly interested in the secrets of her clients; MRS. PEACOCK, the churchgoing wife of a senator, a bit batty, neurotic, and quick to hysteria; MRS. WHITE, a pale, morbid, and tragic woman who may or may not be the murderer of her five ex-husbands; COLONEL MUSTARD, a puffy, pompous, dense blowhard of a military man; PROFESSOR PLUM, an academic Casanova who woos women with his big brain; and MR. GREEN, a timid yet officious rule follower, anxious and a bit of a klutz.

Also needed are an ENSEMBLE WOMAN to play the roles of: The Cook, a threatening presence, The Motorist, a benign traveler who rings the wrong doorbell, the Singing Telegram Girl, a cute perky tap dancer, and Assorted Extras during scenes of theatrical trickery. Last, also needed is an ENSEMBLE MAN, to play the roles of: Mr. Boddy, a slick James Bond-type fella, The Cop, a regular Joe, and Assorted Extras, during scenes of theatrical trickery.

For any additional questions about the auditions or characters, please contact the Director, Bradley Chaires, at bradchaires@gmail.com.

The Garfield Center for the Arts at the Prince Theatre is pleased and excited to announce it will fully reopen for live, in-house audiences starting with their annual Short Attention Span Theatre opening July 23.  A yearly tradition, SAST was produced last year for an online audience only. All remaining productions and programs for 2021 are also being planned as live, in-house presentations, including Clue: On Stage in September/October and Shrek The Musical in December and any music or other events that will appear on their stage. Tickets for SAST are already available for online purchase. The GCA will not begin staffing the Box Office until early July, so it is strongly recommended that ticket buyers should visit www.garfieldcenter.org to purchase tickets for SAST.

For public safety, The Garfield Center has issued the following set of policies and protocols for patron attendance in 2021:

GCA’s Covid Reopening Public Safety Policies

The Garfield Center for the Arts is passionately committed to the safety of its patrons, volunteers and staff. The GCA thanks you for your understanding and support!

THE GARFIELD CENTER FOR THE ARTS’ COMMITMENT:

• Common areas (bathrooms, box office, concessions, etc) will be cleaned and sanitized prior to the building opening to the public before each performance.

• Plexiglass will be in place at the Box Office and Concessions windows.

• House seating armrests will be sanitized before each performance.

• Hand sanitizer will be available in multiple locations, with an emphasis on the bathrooms, box office, concessions and on dedicated tables just inside the house area and in the balcony.

• Patron social distancing will be emphasized in seating configurations, with the use of clustered seat sections, separated from one another, of various seat counts. Similar seating clusters will be created in the balcony by taping off sections of seats (signage will announce which seats are unavailable). Capacity limits, as determined by clustered seating, will be determined in advance of each season program.

• Due to onstage proximity and activities, actors will be expected to be fully vaccinated prior to any involvement in a production. Controlled rehearsal rules for the cast and crew will emphasize performer safety, possibly including (but not limited to): participant temperature checks, adherence to cleanliness and sanitation guidelines, the controlled use of PPE (if necessary and for a particular reason), etc.

• All production crew volunteers, house staff, box office personnel and GCA staff who are present will wear masks while in the building for performances.

WHAT THE GCA ASKS FOR FROM THE PUBLIC:

• If you are not fully vaccinated, the GCA asks that you continue to wear a mask unless actively enjoying food or drinks. In accordance with State of Maryland mandates, masks are not required for guests who are fully vaccinated, but the GCA encourages the use of masks by all patrons for the safety of other members of the audience.

FINALLY:

• The GCA’s policies and procedures are subject to change based on any new mandates, regulations and/or recommendations from Kent County, the State of Maryland, the Federal Government and/or the CDC (Centers for Disease Control). The GCA also reserves the right to make decisions based on the needs of our organization and staff.

As part of its efforts to reopen to public performances, the Garfield Center for the Arts is planning an outdoor summer edition of its popular annual Short Attention Span Theatre (also known as SAST). The location for the performances is still being finalized, but the performances are set for July 23, 24, 30 and 31.

Auditions for SAST will be held at the Garfield Center on Thursday, June 10th at 6:30 PM, Sunday, June 13th at 2:00 PM and Tuesday, June 15th at 6:30 PM. Anyone interested in performing in SAST this year should plan to show up at one of the audition dates. Auditions will consist of cold readings from some of the scripts being considered for presentation.

SAST is the Garfield Center’s annual short play program. It had its earliest roots in 2005, when it was called 8×10 – The 10-Minute Play Project. The name was changed to Short Attention Span Theatre in 2008. Over the years, iit has seen both the premiere of many original plays by local playwrights as well as featured the performances of hundreds of local actors. The Garfield Center’s SAST has remained a successful, yearly program that has grown every year in attendance and popularity.

For any additional inquiries about auditions, please contact GCA Executive Director Steven Arnold at sarnold@garfieldcenter.org.

In a plan to bring back live performances to their stage, the Garfield Center for the Arts has announced a season of theatrical programs for 2021 that includes 2 full length plays, another installment of Short Attention Span Theatre, and a musical to finish the season.

Opening the season is the previously announced 1959 Pink Thunderbird. Running for 4 performances on April 30, May 1, May 7 and May 8, the production will be streamed live from the stage for online ticket buyers only. There will be no live audiences inside the theatre. Written by James McLure, the program features two separate one acts whose characters, settings and events are related to one another. It shows two sides of the same coin. In the first, Laundry and Bourbon, Elizabeth, Hattie and Amy Lee confront with humor the difficulties of relationships and how far someone should go to accept the flaws of someone they love. In the second, Lone Star, Roy, Ray and Cletis face some devastating revelations with pathos and humor on their way to determining and embracing what are the most important aspects of their lives. Jennifer Kafka Smith directs Laundry and Bourbon and Steven Arnold directs Lone Star. The production contains mature themes and language, and tickets, which are already on sale, can be purchased at garfieldcenter.org/pinkthunderbird.

The 2021 edition of Short Attention Span Theatre will be a live outdoor event for live audiences. Taking place July 23, 24, 30 and 31, it will once again feature a collection of 10-minute plays that will include premieres by local playwrights. The location for the outdoor event is still to be determined.

Opening September 24, and running three weekends will be the stage comedy Clue. Written by Sandy Rustin, based upon the works by Jonathan Lynn, and with additional materials by Hunter Foster and Eric Price, the production was previously planned for the 2020 season but was cancelled due to the pandemic. Based on the iconic 1985 Paramount movie which was inspired by the classic Hasbro board game, the tale begins at a remote mansion, where six mysterious guests assemble for an unusual dinner party where murder and blackmail are on the menu. When their host turns up dead, they all become suspects. Miss Scarlett, Professor Plum, Mrs. White, Mr. Green, Mrs. Peacock, Colonel Mustard and Wadsworth, the butler, race to find the killer as the body count stacks up. Bradley Chaires will direct the comedy which runs September 24-26, October 1-3 and 8-10.

Shrek The Musical will end the 2021 Garfield Center for the Arts season. “Once upon a time, there was a little ogre named Shrek….” And thus begins the tale of an unlikely hero who finds himself on a life-changing journey alongside a wisecracking Donkey and a feisty princess who resists her rescue. Throw in a short-tempered bad guy, a cookie with an attitude and over a dozen other fairy tale misfits, and you’ve got the kind of mess that calls for a real hero. Luckily, there’s one on hand… and his name is Shrek. Based on the Oscar-winning DreamWorks Animation film, Shrek The Musical is a Tony Award-winning fairy tale adventure, featuring songs by Jeanine Tesori and a book by David Lindsay-Abaire. Jennifer Kafka Smith will direct the production which will run December 3-5, 10-12 and 17-19.

The Garfield Center intends to produce both Clue and Shrek The Musical as live performances for live in-house audiences. However, contingency titles have been planned should health and safety concerns prevent a return to live audience events. The Garfield Center would make an additional announcement later in the season if that adjustment becomes necessary.

Sponsored by Chesapeake Bank and Trust, The Garfield Center’s “(Stay) Home for the Holidays!” is a family-friendly, holiday-themed online video program. Produced by GCA Executive Director Steven Arnold, the program was scheduled to finish its online availability on December 20th. Due to popular demand, however, the online run has been extended until January 3rd.

The program features five new video-captured short plays by area playwrights, a reading of “A Visit from St. Nicholas” by area kids, and the hilarious return of memorable Garfield Center characters from past productions as they audition for the role of Santa.

Participating Playwrights include Worton’s Mark Sullivan, Elkton’s Michael Collins, Chestertown’s Steven Arnold and Rich Pauli of Annapolis. Segment Directors and Producers include Jennifer Kafka Smith, Nic Carter, Mark Sullivan, Paul Cambardella, Francoise Sullivan, and Steven Arnold, who also serves as the overall video Editor for the project.

Creating “(STAY) Home for the Holidays!” involved a large number of talented area volunteers. The cast and crew includes Ben Anthony, Steven Arnold, M.G. Brosius, Paul Cambardella, Nic Carter, Michael Collins, Katie Cox, Nevin Dawson, Ryan Ewing, Finley Ewing, Liam Ewing, Jen Friedman, Sharon Herz, Tom Herz, Averie Hitzges, Jane Jewell, Jim Landskroener, Harrison Lavery, Melissa McGlynn, Peri Overton, Tilghman Overton, Rich Pauli, Sophie Pierce, Kirby Powell, Kaya Ricketts, Jennifer Kafka Smith, Izzie Squire Southworth, Mark Sullivan, Francoise Sullivan, Lydia Sullivan, Stella Sullivan, Ella von Voss, Toph Wallace, Abbey Wark, Mark Wiening, Kendall Willis, Phebe Wood, Robin Wood, Kelly Young, and Auggie!

Tickets are only $10.00 and can be purchased on the Garfield Center website at https://garfieldcenter.org/stayhomefortheholidays. Ticket buyers will receive an emailed receipt that will also contain viewing instructions.

Like the recent, successful edition of “Short Attention Span Theatre,” which reimagined the yearly live short play festival as an online presentation, The Garfield Center’s “(Stay) Home for the Holidays!” will be a family-friendly video program to enjoy during the holiday season. Consistent with adjustments that the pandemic has brought to all performers and organizations, “(Stay) Home for the Holidays!” participants contributed their efforts from their own socially distanced locations. The resulting feature-length program is produced by GCA Executive Director Steven Arnold, and its performance run begins online on December 4th and will remain available for ticket buyers through December 20th.

Sponsored by Chesapeake Bank and Trust, the program boasts the premiere of five new short plays by area playwrights that feature local actors and directors, along with a reading of a classic holiday poem by a cast of area kids, and the return of a long list of memorable Garfield Center characters from past productions as they audition for the role of Santa.

GCA Board President Mark Sullivan is the writer, director and editor of “Thanksgiving 2020.” A comedy based on the foibles and challenges of holiday mask-wearing, the cast includes Nic Carter, Abbey Wark, Francoise Sullivan and Steven Arnold.

GCA Theatre Manager Nic Carter directs “Taking His Lumps,” by Annapolis playwright Rich Pauli. An FBI Special Agent is investigating possible North Pole improprieties. But is the agent who he says he is, or is something afoot? The cast includes Jen Friedman, Kelly Young, Nevin Dawson and Jane Jewell. Steven Arnold is the editor.

Jennifer Kafka Smith directs “Party Masks 2020.” Written by Elkton resident Michael Collins, the comedy imagines the next stage in fashion accessorizing – an obsession over designer pandemic masks. Sharon and Tom Herz make up the cast, and the videographer and editor is Steven Arnold.

The GCA’s Steven Arnold is playwright, director and editor for two of his own new plays. “Scale Back” is a Thanksgiving-themed play telling the story of an older couple finding comfort in new traditions long after their children have made their own families. In the cast is M.G. Brosius and Robin Wood. Phebe Wood is the Production Assistant.

In Arnold’s second play, the comedy “A Holiday for the Taking,” a little girl walks in on Santa during his Christmas morning stop at her home. But is it really Santa, and who is really in control of the ensuing cat and mouse game? The play teams up the father-daughter cast of Ryan and Finley Ewing. Liam Ewing is the videographer.

Twelve young area performers deliver a new reading of Clement Clarke Moore’s classic holiday poem, “A Visit from St. Nicholas.” Produced by Paul Cambardella from a concept by Jennifer Kafka Smith and edited by Steven Arnold, the cast includes Ben Anthony, Finley Ewing, Averie Hitzges, Harrison Lavery, Peri Overton, Tilghman Overton, Sophie Pierce, Kaya Ricketts, Lydia Sullivan, Stella Sullivan, Ella von Voss and Kendall Willis.

“The Santa Auditions” are comedy bits that will play out in installments throughout the overall program. From a concept by Francoise Sullivan and Produced by Jennifer Kafka, featured performers include Melissa McGlynn, Izzie Squire, Jim Landskroener, Kirby Powell, Toph Wallace, Katie Cox, Robin Wood, Mark Wiening, Paul Cambardella and Auggie.

Tickets are available online at https://garfieldcenter.org/stayhomefortheholidays. Ticket buyers will receive an emailed receipt that will also contain viewing instructions for when the video goes online on December 4th.