Festival showcases dynamic work by women

You'd think that there'd be no need for a women's playwriting festival in the 21st century. These days, you hear more talk about women rising above glass ceilings than issues of parity.

But Donna Guthrie thought differently when she created the Six Women Playwriting Festival three years ago. Guthrie, who is also responsible for the Rocky Mountain Women's Film Festival, is a playwright herself. She knew that women still lag far behind men in seeing their plays produced.

And maybe there needs to be a place just for women - even if it's for only four days, starting Thursday. Eve Tilley, Birgitta De Pree, LeAnne Carrouth and Rhonda Greder direct.

"A women playwright's festival celebrates the voices of women," says De Pree, artistic director of the Manitou Art Theater. "This year, we have plays about the changing needs in a marriage, friendship at the ballpark, stereotyping, the war in Iraq and lost love rediscovered. The plays explore the lives of men and women, black and white, young and old, single and attached. The stories belong to all of us; we just get to hear them from a woman's perspective."

More than 200 scripts came in from all over the country - from Alaska to New York. In this juried competition, the 10-minute plays could be no more than 10 pages, and were to play with the theme of beginnings and endings.

"Luckily, they're short plays," says Linda Nicholos, play-submission coordinator. "In a 10-minute play, some just capture your interest, and if they don't capture it, it's not long before you're finished. They're fun to read."

Here we talk to playwright and director Joan Lipkin about the female voice in theater.

The producing artistic director of That Uppity Theatre Company in St. Louis, Mo., her "Crab Cakes" is one of the six plays performed this year.

Question: Why do we still need a women's playwriting festival?

Answer: Sadly, less than 20 percent of the plays currently produced in regional theaters are written by women, and less than that are directed by them. A festival makes it possible to see a wealth of diverse talent at one time, in both writing and directing, and shows the arts community what they are missing.

Q: How does the female voice in theater differ from a man's?

A: I don't think there is a singular female voice, but it is different, to be sure. If art derives from our individual sensibilities, then it would make sense that women might write differently than men because they have different experiences physiologically and culturally in the world.

Q: How does working with other women change the experience for you?

A: It depends on the individual woman, of course. But it can be enormously encouraging.

For the most part, men are still the gatekeepers when it comes to deciding whose work will be done or funded. I am both touched and inspired by Donna Guthrie, who started this festival, with help from her friends.

There are a few theater companies around the country that specialize in work by or about women. But work by women is still not sufficiently represented, either commensurate with the talent that is out there or the percentage of women who make up the planet.

It would be wonderful if more communities took a page from Colorado Springs's book and did similar festivals. And the 10-minute format makes it easier to mount more pieces and have more representation.

DETAILS

"Safely Assumed" Andrea Fleck Clardy

Meeting by chance, an elderly white woman who likes to shoplift and a young African-American man confuse and enlighten each other.

"Seventh Inning Stretch" Layla Dowlatshahi

A lonely construction worker searches for meaning at a baseball game.

"Crab Cakes" Joan Lipkin

With the economy plummeting, a management executive seeks support from his wife in an unexpected way.

"The Wedding Night" Deborah Magid

Mae's grandson and Max's granddaughter just got married at the Plaza Hotel. Mae and Max have a quiet talk and make a surprising discovery.

"Home Fire" Sharon Farrell

The mother of a fallen soldier is forced to choose between attending a ceremony to honor her son or continuing to protest the war that got him killed.

"Leaving Her" Rosemary Foley

A golfer husband says, "I'm leaving now." But he is walking out on their marriage. Her response is the one-act comedy.

SOURCE: sixwomenplayfestival.com

SIX WOMEN PLAYWRITING FESTIVAL

What: A juried festival of 10-minute plays
When: 7 p.m. Thursday, 8 p.m. April 17 and 18, 2 p.m. April 19
Where: Louisa Performing Arts Center at the Colorado Springs School, 21 Broadmoor Ave.
Tickets: $18; 685-4729, themat.org, sixwomenplayfestival.com

Disclosure: Gazette arts and culture editor Warren Epstein appears in one of the festival plays.