Montana Playwrights Network Premier Project opens

From Montana Playwrights Network

The results are in for the Montana Playwrights Network 2019 Montana Premiere Project.

Three theater companies in Montana, including Havre-based Montana Actors’ Theatre, have made their selections of original plays written by Montana Playwrights and offer theatre productions of their selected plays in October, November and January/February in association with the Montana Playwrights Network.

Coming up in Havre at the Montana Actors’ Theatre: Oct. 11, 12, 13, 17, 18, 19, 2019: “The Vorbit Incident,” by Missoula playwright Jay Kettering.

See more on MAT’s production later this week in the Havre Daily News.

The Missoula performance is produced by the Downtown Dance Collective and features Montana playwright Leah Joki’s original comedy “The Poppovichs” Nov. 14, 15, 16, 21, 22 and 23. For tickets and more information, people can visit their website at http://www.ddcmontana.com, or call 406-360-8763.

“I have always thought that anyone who lives past the age of 50-years old is on borrowed time,” Joki said. “The herd simply starts getting picked off. I started to notice in my own family that the dynamics were always up for grabs and you couldn’t predict the outcomes. Although this is not completely autobiographical, all of these characters are members of my family. All of these incidents happened to them, or someone we knew. I couldn’t have made this (stuff) up if I tried.”

The final production featured in MPN’s 2019 Montana Premiere Project will be in Helena at the new Helena Avenue Theatre. For more information or tickets, people can call or text 406-235-0353.

Titled “Plumb Local,” this production features three one-act plays based in Montana’s culture, and also includes original music performed by Helena musician, Steven Gores. Dates are Jan. 31 and Feb. 1, 2, 6, 7 and 8.

“Plumb Local” includes Cynthia Webb’s “Driver’s Ed,” a comedy that explores a mother’s discomfort in answering questions about sex with her daughter. The play arose from the idea: What if the unspoken thoughts on both sides had a life of their own? Another offering is Jay Kettering’s “Flotsam, Jetsam, & Bill.” Kettering describes it this way: “Bill’s plan is simple: Catch one more beautiful trout, then blow his brains out. But a young stranger interrupts his plan, and when a pair of mysterious creatures emerges from the river, Bill begins to look at his life and time in a whole new way.” The final original one-act is Pamela Mencher’s “Montana Fish Story,” which examines what might happen when local catch-and-eat fishermen collide with a guided, trophy fish seeker from out-of-state.

Montana Playwrights Network is a 501(c) 3 non-profit organization incorporated in Montana. MPN was formed to provide a forum focusing on story as expressed through a variety of formats, including but not limited to playwriting, storytelling, poetry, history, non-fiction, essays, and memoirs. The network is looking to connect with writers, storytellers, teachers, performers, theatre companies, libraries, book clubs and businesses that are interested in storytelling as a way to build communities across Montana.