HELENA — Starting Friday, November 4th, the Last Chance New Play Fest will debut some new Montana playwrights’ works.
Organizers say it's a good way to get exposure for new work my Montana playwrights.
“So, one of the things that you want as a playwright is to get an audience reaction. And so, you might be revising the piece. And so, to get an early feel for how well the play is doing, it's really nice to have a venue where that can be done,” says a producer of the fest and playwright, Ross Peter Nelson.
Founded in 2015, and operated by the Experimental Theatre Cooperative, the fest highlights the works of primarily Montana writers. The fest can not only include plays, but also storytelling and improv. This year the fest is made up of 7 10-minute short pieces created from a prompt given by the fest, 3 Indy 1 acts, and a full-length play.
This is a great opportunity for playwrights to get an idea of how their written pieces work on stage in front of an audience.
“When you write something, you've got it going on in your head. But when you see it on stage, it's kind of different,” says Peter Nelson.
Bruce Hall, one of the fest’s playwrights, has written, composed, and directed around the county. He finds this fest to be a real opportunity for playwrights.
“I think it's important because it gives opportunity where there wouldn't otherwise be opportunity; playwrights, actors, directors,” says Hall.
This year’s 10-minute shorts prompt was “Altered State.” Tickets for the plays can be found online.
