Two nights, six shows with the Napa Valley Players

STAGE

The Napa Valley Players are performing six stage readings at the CrossWalk Community Church in Napa this weekend

Paige Whitney, of American Canyon, plays Laura in “A Socially Distanced Farce in One Act” part of the Valley Player’s Summer Staged Reading Series. PHOTOS BY CHRIS RILEY — TIMES-HERALD

The Valley Players, of Napa, rehearse a scene for an upcoming Staged Reading Series that will be performed at Crosswalk Community Church on June 9.

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By Jordan Baker

jbaker@timesheraldonline.com

A few months back, the Napa Valley Players posted an inquiry for playwright submissions for upcoming shows, originally assembling a team of seven to delegate reading and choosing plays.

In the process of selecting the plays, there was no indication of the writer’s personal information. After over 100 submissions, the team increased to 15 participants.

The crew carefully reviewed the stage readings and decided on six plays: A Socially-Distanced Farce in One Act by Jenna Jane, Broken by Steve Apostolina, Love and Pepperoni by Megan Gooden, The Gentle Life-Changing Magic of Burning it All Down to the Ground by Heather Beasley, Trending by Janet Lawler, and In the Cards by Napa’s own Michael Waterson.

This eclectic lineup of plays is meant to be thought-provoking with dynamic characters. The genres range from drama to comedy.

President of Napa Valley Players June Reif says the differences in the plays can resonate with many different people.

“Each has something for different people,” said Reif. “It’s a really, really well-written play. The characters are really well drawn and very interesting. So, watching the actors bring those to life is really a joy. A good comedy is “A Socially Distanced Farce.” It’s hilarious.”

The premise of Broken is a search for redemption. A Socially Distanced Farce is a play that takes place on Zoom at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Napa Valley Players focuses on plays with meaningful roles for women over 40, which was perfect for the play “Trending” by Janet Lawler. This play focuses on a seasoned television anchorwoman who is adapting to the new age of social media. The screenplay was born out of Lawler’s many years of working in the media.

“It was great when I saw that they were looking for plays for women over 40, because I wrote ‘Trending’ probably about two years ago. It’s only a two-character play. The younger woman is in her mid-20s and another woman in her 50s. They can relate to each other, but a lot has changed with technology.” said Lawler. “I find theaters have changed in the past 10 years. There weren’t too many groups that would really focus on that age group.”

Napa’s very own Michael Waterson was inspired by a documentary about Alice Paul and the suffragists during The Great War.

“It was just an interesting story. It seemed like a time of a lot of change going on. Coming out of the Victorian era, radically rapidly changing rates right on the cusp of the roaring ’20s,” said Waterson. “It was a story worth exploring. And plus, it had all female characters, which in theaters today, there are a lot of theaters looking for strong women characters.”

With such dynamic discussions in the play, there will be a short talkback after every play. In fact, Napa Valley Players asked the authors if they have any specific questions they’d like them to ask of the audience.

The Valley Players perform at the CrossWalk Community Church in Napa June 9-10. There is a $10 suggested donation made at the door. For more information, please visit valley-players.com or contact Valley Players at valley.players.napa@gmail.com.

Look for more plays in the Summer Staged Reading Series on July 7th, July 8th, August 4th and August 5th thanks to the Arts Council Napa Valley and Napa Valley Presents!