2004-05 Season
Orabelle's Wheelbarrow by Sheri Reynolds
Sheri Reynolds was born and raised in rural South Carolina. She received her BA from Davidson College in 1989 and her MFA from Virginia Commonwealth University in 1992. She has published three novels - Bitterroot Landing, The Rapture of Canaan (a New York Times bestseller and an Oprah Bookclub Selection), and A Gracious Plenty. A fourth novel, The Firefly Cloak, is forthcoming from Harmony in March 2006. Also an associate professor of creative writing and literature, she holds the Ruth and Perry Morgan Chair of Southern Literature at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia. She lives on Virginia's Eastern Shore. Orabelle's Wheelbarrow is her first play. www.sherireynolds.com
About the play - Orabelle's Wheelbarrow
Promises in Orabelle's wheelbarrow are old and new, silly and serious - but all are broken. She dares to show Leona, a woman trapped by promises, that sometimes promises have to be broken for new ones to appear.
Orabelle's Wheelbarrow Reading
ORABELLE'S WHEELBARROW, a new play by Sheri Reynolds, New York Times bestseller and Oprah Bookclub author, was given a public Reading to an overflow crowd on Monday June 13 at 7pm on Orlando Repertory Theatre's lobby stage. The Virginia playwright was in attendance to receive audience feedback which helped sharpen her edits. Her finished script was given a World Premiere production Sept 13-18, 2005, on The Rep's Tupperware stage. Cast members for the Staged Reading were Josie Deamus (in the title role), Aqueelah Roberson, Paula Rossman, Pam Baumann, Sam Waters, Beth Cunningham, and Bob Lipka.
Our PlayFest entry was DRIVEN TO ABSTRACTION by D.W.Gregory and was directed by Kathleen Lindsey at the Lowndes Shakespeare Center in Orlando as a workshop production in January 2005. Audience surveys told us that 35% of the audiences had never been to a reading of a new play before!
A Reading of Barbara Kreher's new play SOMETHING TO DRAW ON was presented October 5 and directed by Lyndol Michael. The Palm Bay FL playwright was in attendance and gained valuable insights from audience reaction and feedback in a post-Reading session hosted by Peg O'Keef.
Rehearsal for
SOMETHING TO DRAW ON
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Cast of
SOMETHING TO DRAW ON
(L to R both rows):
Marissa Davis, Alex Bedria, Margot H. Knight, Mitchell O'Rear, Kathleen Lindsey-Moulds
Photos by Tim Tew, Studio Tew
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Director Lyndol Michael (L) and playwright Barbara Kreher
discussing script edits
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A nine-state playwriting competition (Southeast region) began in September 2004 and concluded with the February 2005 announcement of the winning script: Orabelle's Wheelbarrow by Sheri Reynolds who lives on Virginia's Eastern Shore.
