The Citrus Theatre Arts Department’s annual showcase delivered two hours of entertaining original works from students on the opening night of Emerging American Voices Oct. 15 inside the Little Theatre.
This year’s showcase was special, with all three original plays written by female screenwriters with three female directors and three female main characters.
Each play provided laughter and lighthearted moments, but each also provided important lessons about life.
Cherie Brown and Neil Weiss, who have seen their concept of the showcase grow over the years, were both heavily involved with this year’s performance.
Brown directed Citrus alumna Alysha Ferguson’s “Courage” to open the evening.
“Courage” was a fun cartoon that tells the story of a litter of puppies from a long line of family police dogs. Courage, played by Andrea Carrillo, who is the runt of the litter is always falling short of her training in her siblings’ eyes, but more importantly her mother and owners’ eyes.
Ferguson said afterwards she was going for a Disney Pixar-feel and it definitely had that quality. With pleasing characters, including two firefighting dalmatians played by Aiden Spencer and Matthew Eaton and a creative story, the first act left the audience wanting more.
The second screenplay of the evening was “Cadence,” written by Francesca Flores and directed by Citrus alumna Summer Stratton.
“Cadence” was the most serious of the three plays as it follows the life of an aspiring journalist named Rita who struggles to live up to her family’s expectations, all while trying to discover who she is. Rita, played by Johanna Romo, deals with life obstacles the audience can relate to, which created a connection to the character.
The final performance of the evening was Chelsea Barron’s “Baggers,” directed by Jacqueline Fregeolle.
“Baggers” was filled with comedy, beginning with Barron who played Jamie, a grocery store employee with aspirations of winning the National Grocer Association’s bagging competition. Jamie has to convince her manager played by Danielle Diaz to let her become a bagger and is willing to go drastic lengths to make it happen.
After the three one-act performances ended, there was a brief panel discussion with the writers and directors. Ferguson, Flores and Barron all said they intend to see their screenplays through and complete them in the future.
Overall, it was a great event to observe the process of writing, directing and acting in a workshop setting. Students who enroll in Weiss’ screenwriting class in the spring will have an opportunity to have their work considered for next year’s Emerging American Voices in the fall.
