The Dogwood Fine Arts Festival’s second annual Emerging Playwright Awards returns to the stage of Beckwith Theatre this weekend.

Over the last several weeks, members of the theater company and the festival have sorted through scripts from young playwrights across Michigan and Northern Indiana, narrowing it down to three finalists. Judges and audiences alike will decide the victor of the contest, with over $2,000 worth of prize money up for grabs.

Readings of the three finalist scripts begin at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, with Elizabeth Frankel’s “A German Party,” presented by actors with Beckwith. They continue at 7:30 p.m. Saturday with Graham Techler’s “Moxie,” concluding at 2:30 p.m. with Gregory Strasser’s “Atlanta.” The readings are free and open to the public, with the audience ratings of the play helping to determine the winner.

The winning script will receive another reading during the Dogwood Festival, on Monday, May 11.

Over the next three days, the Dowagiac Daily News will profile each of the finalists. Next up is Strasser, who will close the readings on Sunday.

 

About ‘Atlanta’

Described by its author as a “family drama,” Gregory Strasser’s “Atlanta” is set in the farthest setting possible from the typical American living room, where most of those kinds of stories take place.

A mashup of two unlike genres, the University of Michigan student’s play tells the story of six people taking up shelter in an abandoned gas station, located miles outside of the last city standing in a country that has been permanently altered by catastrophe.

“The play is about a family forced to live with other people in a post-apocalyptical nation, ravaged by disease, and what they will do in order to survive,” Strasser said.

In what is sure to be the most unique of the three final stories read on stage this weekend, “Atlanta” is the young playwright’s attempt at combining a family drama with a story about the end of the world, he said. The play poses a number of questions to its audience, such as what defines a family, what lengths should someone go to protect a loved one, and is one’s personal survival more important than the survival of another, Strasser said.

The directing major, currently in his third year with Michigan’s School of Theater, was inspired pen the play after watching a production of Puerto Rican playwright José Rivera’s “Marisol,” which depicts a similar commentary on society set among the apocalypse.

“I wanted to do something that was epic, scary and horror-themed,” Strasser said.

A lover of stories since childhood, Strasser has been writing plays, short stories and other creative works since high school, he said.

His passion for the stage lies far beyond just writing, though. The actor, director and producer formed his own company, Artist Theater Company, which he is involved with outside of school, he said.

“It’s difficult [to manage], Strasser said. “But it’s also challenging, thrilling and fast-paced, which are things that I love.”

Despite his other commitments, Strasser has been steadily making improvements to his script since initially finishing it in September. He’s already submitted his script to other playwright contests, including his school’s annual Hopwood Awards.

The student plans on making the trip to Beckwith Theatre for Sunday’s reading, and is excited to see the reaction that visitors have to his work.

“I’m more interested in hearing what people have to say about my script versus the competitive aspect of it,” he said. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m a very competitive person. But ultimately, it’s a learning experience.”