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MILLIGAN COLLEGE, Tenn. (Jan. 16, 2015) — A Milligan College student’s very first play was selected by the Barter Theatre to be featured in what was originally planned as the inaugural College Playwriting Festival on January 16-18 in Abingdon, Virginia. While the festival has been postponed until 2016, citing a lack of funding, the Barter is planning an alternate opportunity to honor and educate the winners.
Sophomore Colin Morgan’s play “The Interloper” was selected along with five others from participating area colleges and universities including Milligan, East Tennessee State University, Emory & Henry College, King University, The University of Virginia’s College at Wise and Appalachian State University.
Nicholas Piper, director of new play development, Barter’s Appalachian Festival of Plays and Playwrights (AFPP), as well as the College Playwriting Festival, has invited each winning playwright to the first rehearsal of “The Gnome” (winner of and developed through Barter’s AFPP) on Jan. 23, which is slated to be performed in spring 2015.
The college playwrights will be able to meet the writer of “The Gnome,” Isaac Rathbone, the dramaturge and director of the production, in order to ask questions about the process and the business of being an artist. The students also will be invited to watch another rehearsal and preview a performance of the production.
“This festival was designed to give undergraduate students a glimpse into the professional world of theatre by developing short plays with professional artists as mentors and participants,” said Piper. “Hopefully, allowing students to attend a professional rehearsal and have access to professional artists will allow us to fulfill our goal, albeit on a much smaller scale, and give these students a meaningful, educational experience.”
Theatre is a strong academic area at Milligan, with plays produced each semester. Students enrolling in the class “Writing for Stage and Screen,” offered each fall, will have a chance to be involved in the Barter’s next College Playwriting Festival.
“For the past 30 years, Milligan has shared a unique relationship with the nationally-renowned Barter Theatre, a treasured institution that has launched many careers by hiring former Milligan students in a variety of capacities and fulfilling my own desire to work as a professional actor, director and teacher,” said Richard Major, associate professor of theatre. “While it’s disappointing the festival was postponed because of a lack of funding, the Barter Theatre has once again proven their commitment to the development and support of young, emerging artists.”
As a first-time playwright, Morgan never thought his one-act play, an off-beat comedy about two friends searching for aliens at a supermarket, would be selected by his professors for submission—much less by the Barter Theatre.
“I couldn’t believe it,” said Morgan, who is from Gray, Tennessee, and double-majoring in theatre and photography.
One day at the supermarket, the play’s main character, Ted, meets an old friend from high school, an oddball named Warren. After catching up, Warren convinces Ted to help him hunt aliens in the store.
An interloper, someone who feels out of place in a situation, refers both to the aliens in the story and Warren, who feels outcast, according to Morgan. He thinks the Barter Theatre picked his play because it is relatable and grounded in the relationship between these two men.
“Colin has written a quirky, engaging piece that we think will not only be fun for the audience to hear, but for the actors to perform as well,” said Piper.
The Barter Theatre already has given Morgan notes to help improve his play. One note suggested he work on increasing the dramatic stakes for his main character. Thankfully, the biggest lesson he learned in “Writing for the Stage and Screen” last fall is that writers have to constantly revise.
“The quality of dramatic writing being created by Milligan students is truly impressive,” said Deborah Harbin, adjunct instructor of communications and theatre, who co-teaches the class with Kenny Suit, associate professor of film studies. “Our classroom has become a testing ground for some genuinely innovative and creative scripts that cover a wide range of subject matter and styles.”
Harbin, Suit and Major picked three selections for the festival from 13 submissions at Milligan.
While Morgan has acted in previous plays at Milligan and hopes to continue acting and being involved in theatrical productions, he’s intrigued by playwriting.
“Now that I’ve gotten a feel for it, I’m going to stick with it,” said Morgan. “Playwriting is a lot of fun to me.”
Future plans for the Barter Theatre’s College Playwriting Festival will be announced at a later date, according to the theatre.
For more information on Milligan arts events, visit www.milligan.edu/arts.