Jasper Announces the Winning Playwright for the 2024 Play Right Series

The Jasper Project is excited to announce that Chad Henderson’s play Let it Grow, has been selected as the winning play in the 2024 Play Right Series competition. Henderson’s play was unanimously chosen from 14 submissions by a committee of four theatre artists including Dewey Scott-Wiley, Libby Campbell, Bakari Lebby, and Jon Tuttle. Henderson’s play will be workshopped during the summer as part of the Jasper Project’s fourth Play Right Series, then presented as a staged reading. Previous winners of the Jasper Project’s Play Right Series include Randall David Cook’s Sharks and Other Lovers, Colby Quick’s Moon Swallower, and Lonetta Thompson’s Therapy.

The Play Right Series was created by Jasper in 2017 as a catalyst for encouraging new theatre art from South Carolina playwrights. The project is unique in that it invites community members to join the project as Community Producers, individuals and couples who take part in the workshopping of the manuscript while they learn about the process of creating theatre art. A minimum fee of $250 per person allows an individual to become a Community Producer who goes on to be recognized as an honored guest at the staged reading of the new script at the end of the project. Previous Community Producers have included James and Kirkland Smith, Bill Schmidt, Ed Madden, Bert Easter, Wade Sellers, Libby Campbell, Paul Leo and many more. Stay tuned for more information on openings for the 2024 Community Producer roster.

Chad Henderson is a professional theatre artist in South Carolina who is known for directing contemporary plays, musicals and original works that mix music, movement, imagination, and invention to create unforgettable works for the stage. Henderson served as the Artistic Director of Trustus Theatre (2015-2021) in Columbia, SC, and is the current Marketing Director for the South Carolina Philharmonic, where he most recently produced Home for the Holidays at Koger Center for the Arts. Selected Trustus Theatre credits include: The Brother/Sister Plays, Green Day’s American Idiot, Evil Dead, Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, The Last 5 Years, Assassins, The Great Gatsby, Next to Normal, and The Restoration’s Constance - an original musical for which Henderson also authored the book. Henderson has directed with various theatres in South Carolina including Workshop Theatre of South Carolina, The Columbia Children’s Theatre, Spartanburg Next Stage, and Theatre South Carolina (USC). Henderson has completed three residencies at The Studios of Key West, where he developed new works and directed as part of TSKW’s One Night Stand, a 24-hour new play project. His short film Overture, which he wrote and directed, won the 2017 Second Act Film Festival Audience Choice Award. In the last theatre season, Henderson directed Hundred Days (Workshop Theatre), a staged reading of Moon Swallower (Jasper Project), Don’t Let Pigeon Drive the Bus (Columbia Children’s Theatre), and Clyde’s (PURE Theatre). Other Charleston directing credits include Living Dead in Denmark (College of Charleston), The Brothers Size (Piccolo Spoleto), and PURE Theatre’s lauded production of Fun Home in 2018 which was revived for Piccolo Spoleto that same year. Chad lives in Columbia, SC with his wife Bonnie, whose love and support fuels his passion for the theatre. Visit his website for more information on the artist.

Announcing Call for Original New Plays for PLAY RIGHT SERIES 2024!

Play Right Series: 2024 Call for Submissions

The Jasper Project announces the fourth cycle of its Play Right Series, a collaboration between area theatre artists and Jasper Community Producers—or theater aficionados, supporters and even newcomers. The project will culminate in summer 2024 with the staged reading of a brand-new South Carolina play. 

Submitting A Play

The play submission window is now open. 

• Playwrights must be natives or residents of South Carolina.

• The winning playwright must be present for development sessions with Community Producers in Columbia during the summer, 2024 (specific dates to be determined later), and must agree to offer program credit to The Jasper Project at any subsequent productions or publications.

• Plays may address any topic, using language appropriate to the subject matter; we are not, however, considering musicals or children’s plays. 

• Submissions must be one-act plays, 45-75 minutes in length, typed according to industry-standard format (see our Sample Format). Collections of shorter revue sketches on a common theme will be considered.

• Please include, as a cover sheet, a one-page bio of the playwright and description of the play, including cast size and any unusual technical demands, bearing in mind that smaller and fewer are usually preferable.

• One submission per playwright, please.

• Please submit your play no later than January 31, 2024,  to playrightseries@jasperproject.org

Play Selection

When the submission window closes on January 31, 2024, the Play Right Series committee will read and select a play for development through the spring and summer.  “Development,” in this case, means round-table readings with paid actors and directors and attended by Community Producers and Professional Others, followed in the summer by rehearsals and presentation at Trustus Theatre’s Side Door stage. 

The process will be facilitated by Jasper Community Producers—audience members invested in the development process and supportive of the state’s literary talent. In exchange for a modest financial contribution Jasper Community Producers will be offered insider views of the steps and processes inherent in creating theatrical art by attending readings and rehearsals, and informative talks and presentations including conversations with the actors, director, playwright, stage manager, costumer, and sound and lighting designer. The result: Community Producers learn about the extensive process of producing a play and become invested personally in the production and success of the play and its cast and crew, thereby becoming diplomats of theatre arts.

Celebrating the 2023 Play Right Series and Everyone Involved ~ a message from Cindi

Congratulations to the Cast & Crew of the PRS 2023 Winning Play THERAPY by Lonetta Thompson!

Cast & Crew of Lonetta Thompson’s THERAPY

Emily Deck Harrill, Ric Edwards, Marilyn Matheus, Michelle Jacobs, Allison Allgood, Elena Martinez-Vidal and center front Lonetta Thompson

Forgive me if this message still reads a little giddy but we’ve just completed the culmination of the Jasper Project’s 2023 Play Right Series and it just feels so good!

Here’s a little history. I came up with the idea for the Play Right Series in 2017 as a way to promote and support original playwrighting from SC artists while at the same time gently informing members of the community about how much time, energy, talent, and WORK HOURS go into the creation of theatre.

I have this theory that one of the reasons arts (of all disciplines) are not valued as they should be is that, due to our lack of proper arts education and appreciation in schools, among other reasons, the average working South Carolinian doesn’t learn and build their worldview knowing that in addition to art being a talent, it is also work. If the arts are not a part of one’s life, many people think of art as a hobby or something only children engage in until they grow out of it. Think piano and ballet lessons. The average person may not discern the difference in hobbyists, crafters, and artists—all important parts of our culture, but also distinctly different. They may not realize how many of their fellow South Carolinians make their livings as professional artists or in one of the unique and highly skilled jobs that fall under the profession of arts administration.

When we started the Play Right Series in 2017 with our first play, Sharks and Other Lovers written by David Randall Cook and directed by Larry Hembree, I hoped that by inviting Community Producers to become a part of the process they would act as diplomats of local theatre, sharing their experiences and encouraging others to make live theatre part of their entertainment options. The plan was—and still is—that we ask Community Producers to invest $250 each in the production of a brand-new juried play by a SC playwright with their investment going to pay a cast and crew (and playwright) to workshop that play from the first table reading to a ticketed staged reading. (Some, like Bill and Jack, donate even more.) The CPs are invited to meet with the cast and crew over the course of a month or so and take part in the workshopping of the script before serving as our guests of honor at the public staged reading.

In 2022, Chad Henderson directed last year’s winning play, Moon Swallower by Colby Quick to a SRO audience. It was almost a full production of the play.

Last night, under the direction of Elena Martinez-Vidal with stage management by Emily Deck Harrill, this year’s Community Producers and generous sponsors produced the staged reading of Therapy by SC theatre artist Lonetta Thompson. The cast included Marilyn Mattheus, Allison Allgood, Michelle Jacobs, and Ric Edwards. Illustrious SC playwright and Jasper Project board of directors member Jon Tuttle oversaw the entire project for the second year in a row and all I did was bring cookies.

RIC EDWARDS

ALLISON ALLGOOD

MARILYN MATTHEUS

MICHELLE JACOBS

LONETTA THOMPSON (LEFT) AND EMILY DECK HARRILL

Some of last year’s CPs were so pleased with the project in 2022 that they came back this year –thank you to Kirkland and James Smith and to the incredibly supportive Bill Schmidt for this. New CPs and sponsors included Shannon and Steven Huffman, Jack and Dora Ann McKenzie, Betsy Newman, and Amy and Vincent Sheheen, as well as new JP board members Keith Tolen and Libby Campbell. JP board president Wade Sellers and I were CPs again, as well.

This morning, messages streamed in on the group email thread Jon initiated for ease in communication, showering each other, actors, CPs, and playwright alike with congratulations and heartfelt feedback. Keith Tolen says, “I will never watch a performance the same without thinking of the work that makes it seem effortless. Thanks to all because you made it an experience that I will not soon forget.” Kirkland Smith says, “It was a wonderful experience and I very much appreciate your openness, honesty, and talent!”

AUGUST 6, 2023 PANEL TALK-BACK

AUGUST 6, 2023 PANEL TALK-BACK

AUGUST 6, 2023 PANEL TALK-BACK

It is extremely unusual for me to use the term “I” when referencing anything the Jasper Project does. That’s because without an enthusiastically working board of directors who share the same passion that board president Wade Sellers and I have about the importance of service to our fellow artists and arts administrators, we wouldn’t be able to accomplish anything. But this time, I’m so proud of how this little seed of an idea of mine has been implemented and improved upon by the generous and talented individuals who participated in Play Right Series 2023, that I want to claim it! It’s a legacy thing, but also, the Play Right Series is Jasper at its finest. An idea becomes a mission and good people play parts small and large to fulfill that mission, making it a reality.

Congratulations to everyone involved in Play Right Series 2023. In addition to everyone already mentioned, this includes board member Bert Easter, who shared some of his beautiful items from Easter Antiques at the Red Lion for the stage set, and to Ed Madden for helping Bert haul said stuff to and from CMFA; also to Christina Xan, Libby Campbell, and Kristin Cobb for working the event; to Bekah Rice for her graphic arts skills and for laying out the book that many attendees and all CPs and sponsors took home with them; to Bob Jolley at Muddy Ford Press for donating his time and financial resources to this project; and to One Columbia and Columbia Music Festival Association for rehearsal and performance space.

Clearly, we have the village that it takes to birth new art in Columbia, SC.

Announcing the Cast & Crew of Lonetta Thompson's THERAPY - Winner of the 2023 Jasper Project Play Right Series

It is with great pleasure that we announce the cast and crew of the Jasper Project’s 2023 Play Right Series Winning Play — THERAPY — by Lonetta Thompson!

Elena Martinez-Vidal — Director

Elena Martínez-Vidal is an actor, director, and teacher. Recently she was in Montgomery, in 2019. The last show she directed was Marjorie Prime in 2019. Trustus Theatre is her theatrical home since appearing in a show in 1989 when the theatre was on Assembly street. She was a Company member from 1993 to 2019, then transitioned to Company Emeritus. Elena has a BA in French and Theatre Arts from Dickinson College, PA, and an MFA in Theatre: Acting from USC. She also has 30 hours of courses in Communication and a Certificate of Leadership in Higher Education from USC. By day, Elena works at Midlands Technical College.

Dr. V — Marilyn Mattheus

Marilyn Matheus is a theatre artist who portrayed Modjeska Monteith Simkins in the Supper Table theatrical performance. Matheus received her BA from Kent University and her MA from South University. She is currently the Director of Media Relations at the Department of Social Services in Columbia. Matheus has appeared in many local theatre productions with recent performances in the “Freedom Rings: A Celebration of Martin Luther King Jr.” event at the University of South Carolina and A Song for Coretta at the Kershaw County Fine Arts Center

Alex — Allison Allgood

 Allison Allgood has a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre Arts from Furman University and loves stage and voice acting.  Some of her favorite roles in Columbia include MacBeth (Second Witch) with the SC Shakespeare Company, The Red Velvet Cake War (Elsa Dowdall) at Town Theatre, Belles (Audrey) at Workshop Theatre, and Mr. Burns: a Post-Electric Play (Jenny/Bart) at Trustus Theatre.  Allison has recorded eight full-length audio books.  She has a degree in counseling and works as a high school counselor

Chris — Ric Edward (Richard Edward III)

Richard Edward iii is a stage & screen actor based in Columbia, South Carolina. It is his mission to help his artistic community grow, and is an advocate for actors who struggle with the stigma of dyslexia, and ADHD. Special thanks to My daughter Cora Jean Calk for being the best scene partner in the whole world, and to my beautiful wife.

Not Pictured — Michelle Jacobs- Is excited to be performing again after a small hiatus. Credits includes: The Color Purple, Kinky Boots ,Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, (Workshop Theater), Hurricane Diane, By the Way Meet Vera Stark, Good People, The Motherfucker with the Hat, The Glass Menagerie, HAIR: The Tribal Love-Rock Musical, For Colored Girls who have Considered Suicide/ when the Rainbow is Enuf, (Trustus Theater) Knock Me A Kiss, Henny Penny, & Whisper @ The Movies (The NiA Company).

Playwright — Lonetta Thompson

Lonetta Thompson is a graduate of the University of South Carolina with a B. A. in English and a Minor in Theatre. As an actor, she has performed for years on stages in Columbia and surrounding cities, most recently touring with Spark, an Outreach initiative of the SC Governor’s School for the Arts and Humanities in partnership with Workshop Theatre of South Carolina. She is a member of the NiA Company and Company Emeritus with Trustus Theatre.  Prior to entering the Play Right Series, she had written a handful of short stories and one other script. By day, Lonetta is an eLearning Developer with a large insurance company. She has one daughter and one grandson.

Stage Manager — Emily Deck Harrill

Emily has played a variety of roles in many theatrical productions in the Columbia area. She appeared in Love, Loss, and What I Wore and the 2014 production of Evil Dead: The Musical, both at Trustus Theater. She also appeared in The Crucible (Elizabeth Proctor), Inherit the Wind, Arsenic and Old Lace, You Can’t Take It with You, and The Exonerated (Sunny Jacobs) for the Arts at Shandon series. Emily has directed and appeared in Smoke and Mirrors and All in the Timing. She designed the sound for Village Square Theater’s production of Harvey, and she’s served as Stage Manager or Assistant Stage Manager for a variety of productions over the years, including Trustus Theater’s production of The Flick and Chapin Theater’s 2022 Ten Minute Play Festival.  

By day, Emily is an attorney who has a terrible penchant for run-on sentences. She holds a double undergraduate Bachelor of Arts degree in theatre and government from the College of William and Mary. She has two adult children of whom she is quite proud.

Play Right Series Director — Jon Tuttle

Also …

Max — Michelle Jacob — photo and bio coming soon!

You’re invited to be an integral part of this project by becoming a Community Producer — Read more about the perks and fun of community producing here!

Ready, Set, Jasper’s Play Right Series is Ready to GO! We Just Need YOU!

Following on the heels of a super-successful 2022 season when the Jasper Project’s Play Right Series launched first-time playwright Colby Quick’s Moon Swallower onto the stage with a highly sophisticated staged reading directed by Chad Henderson last summer, we’re excited to kick off the winning 2023 Play Right Series selection of Lonetta Thompson’s THERAPY!

The cast and crew are on their marks, the rehearsal hall is reserved, and the schedule is set—we just need to recruit a few more Community Producers to be able to wave the starting flag.

Are YOU the Community Producer we’ve been looking for?

What is the Play Right Series?

In an effort to enlighten and empower audiences with information about the process involved in creating theatrical arts, at the same time that we increase opportunities for SC theatre artists to create and perform new works, the Jasper Project created the Play Right Series.

The purpose of the Play Right Series is to allow a select group of volunteers insider views of the process of creating theatre art by offering limited open readings, rehearsals, and discussions of theatrical work. We can also offer folks the opportunity to actually PRODUCE A PLAY by keeping production costs low and involving community assets already in place, in exchange for an established minimal financial contribution of $250.

This also increases opportunities for theatre artists to create and participate in new art without being attached to an existing theatre organization, while providing affordable and experimental theatre experiences for new and emerging artists and their audiences; thereby expanding cultural literacy and theatre arts appreciation throughout the SC Midlands.

How does this work?

Every Sunday afternoon in July 2023, starting July 9th, you are invited to join with the cast, crew, and fellow Community Producers of Therapy for an enlightening and entertaining session that pulls back the curtains of theatre development and illuminates how a stage play goes from page to stage. Your first session will offer you a private viewing of the first step in any play production, the Table Reading – this will be the first time the cast of Therapy reads their parts together for their director, Elena Martinez-Vidal.

Subsequent sessions will focus on essential ingredients in the production of a successful staged reading, such as the stage manager’s job; props, lighting, blocking, and sound; unique insights from the director; how the actors prepare for their parts; playwright perceptions from this year and past projects; and an invitation to the dress rehearsal. In addition to your invitation to gather with the cast and crew every Sunday in July, each session will also feature exciting snacks and beverages. And many more surprises each week!

Finally, you’ll take your reserved, best-in-the-house seats to a ticketed staged reading of Lonetta Thompson’s Therapy on Sunday, August 6th.

And there’s more.

Your name will be included as a Community Producer on programs, posters, press releases, and other promotional materials as well as in the perfect bound book, Therapy by Lonetta Thompson, published by Muddy Ford Press and registered with the Library of Congress, and you will take home your own copies of Therapy as a souvenir of your experience.

What is expected of Community Producers?

We hope you can make it to every exciting Sunday afternoon meeting, but we understand if you have to miss some. Each session will last from 90 – 120 minutes.

The financial commitment for a Community Producer is a minimum of $250 per person, but institutional sponsorships are also available and appreciated. You can also sponsor a student for $250 if you are unable to participate yourself.

Our hope is that you will be so enlightened and inspired by this experience that you will become a diplomat of live theatre, fresh playwrights, and the Jasper Project and encourage your friends and colleagues to participate in live theatre themselves!

If you are interested in becoming a

Community Producer or sponsor -

email playrightseries@jasperproject.org

NiA Celebrates 25th Anniversary with Lonetta Thompson's Play Jump at the Sun

The NiA Company will celebrate its 25th anniversary in conjunction with Family Fun Night at the Columbia Museum of Art on Friday, May 26, beginning at 5:00.  There will be DJ sets from DJ B Folks, arts activities, design challenges, scavenger hunts, and food and drink available for purchase.  At 6:00, NiA will reprise Lonetta Thompson’s family-friendly play “Jump at the Sun,” which it first performed ten years ago.  The play explores the historical events of the Great Migration and the Harlem Renaissance along with key artistic figures like legends Zora Neale Hurston and Jacob Lawrence.

Lonetta’s play “Therapy” is next in line for the Jasper Project’s Play Right Series.  Through July, she, her cast and an audience of Community Producers will meet to discuss the creation, development and marketing of a play, culminating in a public staged reading at the CMFA on August 6

Jasper sat down with Lonetta and NiA founding artistic director Darion McCloud for a quick Q and A:

Lonetta Thompson

JASPER:How did you get involved with JUMP AT THE SUN?  I realize you’re the author, of course, but what led you and NIA together for this project?

THOMPSON: If memory serves, NiA had the opportunity to perform during the time Jacob Lawrence's The Migration Series was on exhibit at the museum and Darion graciously allowed me write something (since I was running around calling myself a writer all the time).  

JASPER: Is this play connected to Alicia Williams children’s book?    Or does it come straight from Zora? 

THOMPSON: I wrote this over ten years ago, and I Alicia Williams' book was published in 2021. I was researching the artists from the Harlem Renaissance and came across a quote from Zora Neale Hurston where her mom used to always tell her to "jump at de sun" and thought that was the perfect title.  (The full quotation is: “Jump at the sun. You might not land on the sun, but at least you’ll get off the ground.”)

 

JASPER: What do you hope is the principal message an audience member might come away from the play with?  What do you want them to know or do or feel?

THOMPSON: First and foremost, I just want people to know these wonderful artists (a lot of whom came from the south) and how they came together and created magic. They were so gifted and talented and passionate and that community they created is still at the top of my list of times and places I would go if I had a time machine.  Beyond just exposing our audience to these artists, I want people to be inspired by all forms of art and the impact it has on our lives whether we realize it or not. 

JASPER: Your career as a playwright is suddenly getting a lot of sunlight, what with THERAPY going into development this summer by the Jasper Project.  How does this chapter of your life feel to you as a creative person?  And are there more developments afoot we should know about?

THOMPSON: I am definitely in awe of my reality right now! I've always fancied myself a writer but was hesitant to put myself out there. I was lucky to find a satisfying creative outlet by being on stage. I do have a few things I'm working on and just plan to continue to develop my voice (and confidence!). 

DARION McCLOUD

JASPER: What occasioned NIA’s performing this play ten years ago?  And why is now the right time to remount it?

MCCLOUD: I think it was more than ten years even but we’ll go with that. At that time I had a day gig as the Outreach Manager with CMA. And the Jacob Lawrence (one of my artistic heroes) Migration Series was on exhibit.  So I approached Lonetta with the idea of creating a piece about The Harlem Renaissance with Lawrence’s Migration Series at the center   

JASPER: Is NiA involved in/at the heart of the other activities going on at the CMA on the 26th?  Or is this a consortium of many other good organizations?

MCCLOUD: NiA is one of the museum’s offerings on that day including creation stations and of course access to the permanent collection.

JASPER: Now that COVID is lifting maybe, what can we look forward to next from NiA?  What changes will see from the pre-COVID NiA?  Perhaps a better way to put that: it’s been 25 years for NiA: how have you grown?  What have you learned?  Where are you going? 

MCCLOUD: After twenty-five years we grown exponentially. We first came together to give black actors opportunities. Now that mission has expanded with opportunities as the engine. That means opportunities for all kinds of actors, for audiences that don’t always get the type of work we present or can’t afford it. This idea of providing opportunities for those with little still drives us.

JASPER: You, personally, could rest on your many many laurels.  Why don’t you?   What motivates you?  This question never expires.  Your answer may change as time goes by, and if it doesn’t it needs repeating.

MCCLOUD: First, thanks for the kind words. But there is so much need. I still believe “art makes everything better” and the world is always in need of better experiences. We hope to contribute to making better fathers, better mothers, better leaders, better followers.. Yeah, all through the shared experiences of theatre…of Art.  

Announcing the Winner of the Jasper Project 2023 Play Right Series - Lonetta Thompson

Congratulations Lonetta Thompson!

The Jasper Project is delighted to formally announce that Lonetta Thompson is the winner of the 2023 Play Right Series competition for her play, Therapy.

Lonetta Thompson is a graduate of the University of South Carolina with a B. A. in English and a Minor in Theatre. As an actor, she has performed for years on stages in Columbia and surrounding cities, most recently touring with Spark, an Outreach initiative of the SC Governor’s School for the Arts and Humanities in partnership with Workshop Theatre of South Carolina. She is a member of the NiA Company and Company Emeritus with Trustus Theatre.  Prior to entering the Play Right Series, she had written a handful of short stories and one other script. By day, Lonetta is an eLearning Developer with a large insurance company. She has one daughter and one grandson. 

Lonetta’s play, Therapy, will be the focus of a staged reading on Sunday, August 6, 2023.

~~~

Now it’s your chance to join the Jasper Project’s Play Right Series as a Community Producer.

Are you the kind of person who always wants to know more about the art you experience?

·         Why did the playwright write their characters the way they did?

·         What was the director trying to accomplish by having an actor move across stage, turn their back to the audience, or break into dance?

·         How did an actor make me feel the way they did simply by turning their head?

If you have a passion for knowing more, understanding process, inspiration, and impetus, and seeing how a virgin play goes from page to stage, you are a good candidate for becoming a Jasper Project Play Right Series Community Producer.

 ~~~

What is a Community Producer?

Community Producers are important members of the Play Right Series Team who, in exchange for their investment of a modest amount of funding, ($250 each or $500 per couple) become engaged in the development of a virgin play from the first time the actors meet until the production of a staged reading of the play in front of an audience.

During July 2023, Community Producers will gather every Sunday to explore the process of a play moving from page to stage with presentations that include

• Meet the Playwright: Lonetta Thompson

• Meet the Director: Elena Martinez-Vidal

• First Table Reading with your host, Jon Tuttle

• Behind the scenes with the Cast of Therapy

• Stage managing, props, costumes, lighting, & sound with your host, Jon Tuttle   

And finally, a Staged Reading before a live audience with the Community Producers front and center as our esteemed Guests of Honor*

You’ll enjoy wine, cheese, socializing, and an assortment of other unique snacks at every event, as well as Jasper Project swag bags

* For the Staged Reading, Guests of Honor will be seated in the best seats in the house, acknowledged from the stage and in all programming, promotions, and press releases, as well as on the Jasper Project website and in the Fall 2023 issue of Jasper Magazine.

Ready to sign up as a Community Producer?

Watch this space for more information or drop a note to info@JasperColumbia.com

How does this work?

Every Sunday afternoon in July 2023 you are invited to join with the cast, crew, and fellow Community Producers of Therapy for an enlightening and entertaining session that pulls back the curtains of theatre development and illuminates how a stageplay goes from page to stage. Your first session will offer you a private viewing of the first step in play production, the Table Reading – the first time the cast of Therapy reads their parts together for their director, Elena Martinez-Vidal.

Subsequent sessions will focus on essential ingredients in the production of a successful staged reading, such as the stage manager’s job; props, lighting, blocking, and sound; unique insights from the director; how the actors prepare for their parts; playwright perceptions from this year and past projects; and an invitation to the dress rehearsal. In addition to your invitation to gather with the cast and crew every Sunday in July, each session will also feature exciting snacks and beverages. And many more surprises each week!

Finally, you’ll take your reserved, best-in-the-house seats to a ticketed staged reading of Lonetta Thompson’s Therapy on Sunday, August 6th.

But there’s more.

Your name will be included as a Community Producer on programs, posters, press releases, and other promotional materials as well as in the perfect bound book, Therapy by Lonetta Thompson, published by Muddy Ford Press and registered with the Library of Congress, and you will take home your own copies of Therapy as a souvenir of your experience.

What is expected of Community Producers?

We hope you can make it to every exciting Sunday afternoon meeting, but we understand if you have to miss some. Each session will last from 90 – 120 minutes.

The financial commitment for a Community Producer is a minimum of $250 per person, but institutional sponsorships are also available and appreciated. You can also sponsor a student for $250 if you are unable to participate yourself.

Our hope is that you will be so enlightened and inspired by this experience that you will become a diplomat of live theatre, fresh playwrights, and the Jasper Project and encourage your friends and colleagues to participate in live theatre themselves!

Play Right Series History

The Play Right Series is an endeavor to enlighten and empower audiences with information about the process involved in creating theatrical arts, at the same time that we engineer and increase opportunities for SC theatre artists to create and perform new works for theatre.  

Our first project in the Play Right Series was in 2017 when Larry Hembree led project members to produce a staged reading of Sharks and Other Lovers by SC playwright Randall David Cook. Sharks went on to win a number of awards and has been produced off-Broadway.  

Our second play, community produced in the summer of 2022, Moon Swallower, was written by first time playwright Colby Quick and directed by Chad Henderson. Moon Swallower was performed as a staged reading at the Columbia Music Festival Association in August 2022 and subsequently performed in its entirety by USC Aiken. 2022’s Community Producers included James Smith, Kirkland Smith, Paul Leo, Eric Tucker, Ed Madden, Bert Easter, Bill Schmidt, Wade Sellers, and Cindi Boiter. 

SC Playwright Professor Jon Tuttle of Francis Marion University was the project manager in 2022 and returns as to the position in 2023.

That Gentle Nudge -- CALL for SCRIPTS for Jasper's Play Right Series

DEADLINE DECEMBER 31, 2022

In an effort to enlighten and empower audiences with information about the process involved in creating theatrical arts, at the same time that we engineer and increase opportunities for SC theatre artists to create and perform new works of theatre arts , the Jasper Project is pleased to announce a new series of audience-friendly plays called the Play Right Series.

The play submission window is now open; it will close on December  31, 2022 at which time the Play Right Series committee will select a play for the next round of development. 

Read submission details →

“Development,” in this case, means round-table readings and discussions with paid professional director, cast, and crew, and attended by Community Producers and other professionals, followed by rehearsals, and a public presentation of a fully realized staged reading.

The development process will be facilitated by Community Producers—audience members invested in the development process and supportive of the state’s theatrical and literary talent who exchange a modest financial contribution for the experience.*

A final version of the winning play will be published and filed with the Library of Congress, with copies distributed to the winning playwright as well as industry leaders in the area and beyond.

Professor Jon Tuttle will serve as the Project Manager for the Jasper Project’s Play Right Series again in 2023.

Jasper Announces Call for Scripts for Play Right Series 2023

Still reveling in the success of Colby Quick’s Moon Swallower, The Jasper Project is pleased to announce the next cycle of the Play Right Series, a collaboration between South Carolina theatre artists and Community Producers, culminating in 2023 with the staged reading of another brand new South Carolina play.

The play submission window is now open; it will close on December  31, 2022 at which time the Play Right Series committee will select a play for the next round of development. 

“Development,” in this case, means round-table readings and discussions with paid professional director, cast, and crew, and attended by Community Producers and other professionals, followed by rehearsals, and a public presentation of a fully realized staged reading.

Read about the 2022 staged reading of Colby Quick’s Moon Swallower, directed by Chad Henderson..

The development process will be facilitated by Community Producers—audience members invested in the development process and supportive of the state’s theatrical and literary talent who exchange a modest financial contribution for the experience.*

A final version of the winning play will be published and filed with the Library of Congress, with copies distributed to the winning playwright as well as industry leaders in the area and beyond.

Professor Jon Tuttle will serve as the Project Manager for the Jasper Project’s Play Right Series again in 2023..

• Playwrights must be natives or residents of South Carolina.  

• Plays may be on any topic, using language appropriate to the subject matter, though please: no musicals or children’s plays, and only one submission per playwright.

• Submissions must be one-act plays, 45-75 minutes in length, typed according to industry-standard format. 

• Collections of shorter revue sketches on a common theme will be considered.

• Please include, as a cover sheet, a short (one-page) biography of the playwright and description of the play, and include cast size and any unusual technical demands, bearing in mind that smaller and fewer are usually preferable.  

• Please submit your play to playrightseries@jasperproject.org

DEADLINE - DECEMBER 31, 2022

*In 2022 CPs each invested $250 tax deductible

Columbia Theatre Stars Come Together for Jasper Project Staged Reading of MOON SWALLOWER

SUNDAY AUGUST 28TH

DOORS AT 3:30 - SHOW AT 4 PM

CMFA - 914 PULASKI STREET

$10 W/ RECEPTION

MOON SWALLOWER BY COLBY QUICK

left to right - Chad Henderson, Chris Cockrell, Michael Hazin, and Becky Hunter

Join some of the city’s most exciting theatre artists this Sunday as they bring a brand-new play to the stage of CMFA. Directed by Chad Henderson, MOON SWALLOWER by Sumter playwright, Colby Quick, is the winner of the 2022 Jasper Project Play Right Series.

A one-act coming-of-age exploration that embraces the world of Youtube, gentle drug use, family dynamics, performative Christianity, and yes, the possibility of werewolves, this is not your typical staged reading.

Check all your expectations of straight back chairs and music stands at the door. Henderson has included lights, music, sound effects and more in this tease of what a full-blown production would look like. And the actors are anything but sedentary. From fight scenes to actors climbing on tables and hissing like creatures of the night, this is an exciting look at an exciting new project coming out of Columbia, SC.

Tickets are only $10.

Join this accomplished cast and crew for a fun Sunday reading complete with wine, snacks, and an opportunity for you to learn more about the page to stage process courtesy of the Jasper Project!

BECKY HUNTER

CHRIS COCKRELL

MICHAEL HAZIN

LONETTA THOMPSON

RICHARD EDWARD

CHAD HENDERSON

PRESS RELEASE: THE JASPER PROJECT PRESENTS A STAGED READING OF COLBY QUICK’S NEW PLAY, MOON SWALLOWER, WINNER OF THE 2022 PLAY RIGHT SERIES PROJECT

Sunday, August 28th at 4pm

Columbia Music Festival Association

914 Pulaski Street

Panel Presentation and Reception to Follow

The Jasper Project is excited to present the staged reading of MOON SWALLOWER a new play by Sumter playwright Colby Quick. MOON SWALLOWER is directed by veteran theatre artist Chad Henderson and features Michael Hazin, Lonetta Thompson, Richard Edwards, Becky Hunter, and Chris Cockrell.

MOON SWALLOWER is the winner of the Jasper Project’s 2022 Play Right Series, an endeavor in which unpublished playwrights are invited to submit their work in competition for a cash prize, publication of their play in book form, and workshopping and development of the play with skilled professional theatre artists, culminating in a staged reading. Dr. Jon Tuttle, playwright in residence at Francis Marion University and member of the Jasper Project board of directors, is the director of the Jasper Project Play Right Series.

MOON SWALLOWER is an alternative coming-of-age story of a young man who finds himself stuck somewhere between small town ideologies and big world expectations with a heavy influence of social media, domestic awkwardness, and the possibility of werewolves. It is a comedy that has kept the case laughing throughout rehearsals.

The Play Right Series is a unique machination for bringing new plays and playwrights to the forefront of local performing arts by calling on Community Producers to invest a modest amount of money in the workshopping and ultimate staged reading of the play in exchange for their intimate involvement in the processes involved in taking a play from page to stage. Community Producers for MOON SWALLOWER are Bill Schmidt, Bert Easter, Ed Madden, Paul Leo, Eric Tucker, Kirkland Smith, James Smith, Wade Sellers, and Cindi Boiter.

The first iteration of the Play Right Series involved a new work from SC playwright Randall David Cook whose play, SHARKS AND OTHER LOVERS was produced in 2017 and directed by Larry Hembree. SHARKS AND OTHER LOVERS has gone on to win multiple awards and be presented throughout the US.

The Staged Reading for MOON SWALLOWER will be held Sunday afternoon, August 28th at 4 pm (doors at 3:30) at Columbia Music Festival Association, 914 Pulaski Street. Tickets are $10 in advance and $12 at the door. The performance will be followed by a panel discussion including cast and Community Producers, hosted by Jon Tuttle, with a reception following. Copies of the play, MOON SWALLOWER, will be available for purchase at the event or online at Amazon.com.

Tickets are available at  The Jasper Project.

Jasper Presents the Staged Reading of the 2022 Play Right Series Winning Play -- Moon Swallower by Colby Quick

MOON SWALLOWER STAGED READING

SUNDAY AUGUST 28TH — 4 PM

at CMFA

TICKETS $10 ADVANCE - $12 AT THE DOOR

The Jasper Project presents the staged reading of a brand-new play, Moon Swallower by novice playwright, Colby Quick.

Quick is the winner of Jasper’s second Play Right Series competition in which he competed with other unpublished playwrights for an opportunity to have his play workshopped and developed by a team of seasoned theatre artists with the end result being a staged reading and the option of further development toward a fully realized stage production.

Moon Swallower will be presented at CMFA on Sunday August 28th at 4 pm with a talk back session and reception following the reading.

Moon Swallower is directed by Chad Henderson with a cast that includes Lonetta Thompson, Stann Gwynn, Becky Hunter, Richard Edwards, and Michael Hazin. Katie Leitner is the stage manager. Veteran playwright Jon Tuttle is the project manager for the 2022 Play Right Series.

The 2022 Jasper Play Right Series is made possible by the contributions of a team of Community Producers, all of whom will have contributed financially to the development of the project and have, reciprocally, been involved in the process from an educational perspective.

They are Bert Easter, Ed Madden, James Smith, Kirkland Smith, Bill Schmidt, Paul Leo, Eric Tucker, Cindi Boiter, Wade Sellers, and Jon Tuttle.

The purpose of the Play Right Series is to empower and enlighten Community Producers by allowing them insider views of the steps and processes of creating theatre art. In exchange for a  minimal financial contribution, Community Producers are invited to attend designated open readings and rehearsals, informal presentations by cast and crew, and opening night performances with producer credits. The result is that Community Producers learn about the extensive process of producing a play and become invested personally in the production and success of the play and its cast and crew, thereby become diplomats of theatre arts.

Community Producers’ names, and that of the Jasper Project, will also be permanently attached to the play and will appear in the published manuscript which will be registered with the Library of Congress and for sale via a number of standard outlets under the auspices of Muddy Ford Press and the imprint of the Jasper Project.

The Jasper Project produced their first Play Right Series in 2017, producing a staged reading of Randall David Cook’s Sharks and Other Lovers under the direction of Larry Hembree. 

About the playwright: Colby Quick is a thirty-one-year-old writer, singer, musician, actor, husband, and father of two. He is the lead singer and guitarist of a Stoner Doom band known as Juggergnome and in the development phase of a rap duo project called Ski & Beige. Colby played Ebenezer Scrooge in Northeastern Technical College’s stage production of A Christmas Carol in 2019 and is currently in his final semester at Francis Marion University as an English Major and Creative Writing Minor. “I have mostly written poems, songs, and short stories, as well as an unpublished novel.: Quick says. “When I was young, I would make stop-motion videos and I wrote scripts for all of them. I think this helped a lot with writing the Moon Swallower.”

About the project manager: Jon Tuttle is Professor of English and Director of University Honors at Francis Marion University, author of THE TRUSTUS COLLECTION (Muddy Ford Press, 2019), which includes six of his plays that premiered at Columbia’s Trustus Theatre, and a recipient of the South Carolina Governor’s Award in the Humanities.

Last Call for Play Right Series Community Producers

Meet Colby Quick.

Colby Quick is the Jasper Project’s 2022 Play Right Series Winning Playwright.

We’re wrapping up our cast of 2022 Jasper Play Right Series Community Producers and we have a few seats left at the table.

You can learn more about the process of how a play moves from page to stage, be our honored guest once a month at intimate, fun, and informative panel parties with Jon Tuttle, Chad Henderson, Stann Gwynn, Becky Hunter, Michael Hazin, and more, and have YOUR NAME attached as a producer to a brand new piece of theatre that will premiere as a staged reading in August, with you in the best (and most honored) seats in the house.

You can read more about the Play Right Series at the Jasper website but, in-a-nutshell, the purpose of the Play Right Series is threefold:

• ·         To empower and enlighten audiences (you) by allowing them insider views of the steps and processes of creating theatre art

• ·         To increase opportunities for theatre artists to participate in new art without being attached to an existing theatre organization

• ·         To provide more affordable and experimental theatre arts experiences for new and emerging theatre artists and their audiences; thereby expanding cultural literacy and theatre arts appreciation in the greater SC Midlands area.

The result: Community Producers (you) who learn about the extensive process of producing a play and become personally invested not just in the production and success of the play, but also in its playwright, cast, and crew, thereby becoming diplomats of theatre arts.

Last fall, the Jasper Project issued a call for a new one-act play and the competition was begun. Under veteran playwright Jon Tuttle’s direction, scripts were submitted and adjudicated by a committee of outside theatre artists. The winning play, Moon Swallower by Sumter writer Colby Quick, was selected as the play that we (hopefully, you included) will produce over the next few months, culminating in the first ever Staged Reading of this brand-new play in August 2022.

We’re delighted to announce that Chad Henderson has agreed to serve as the director of Moon Swallower and has included among his cast such outstanding Midlands artists as Stann Gwynn, Michael Hazin, Becky Hunter, and Lonetta Thompson.

We have scheduled a series of gatherings for Community Producers and Moon Swallower cast and crew over the next six months leading up to the Staged Reading. Each gathering will feature an interactive presentation as well as a unique social component that you can read about in the attached calendar of events. (SEE SCHEDULE BELOW!)

All we need to do now is fill out our roster of Community Producers, and I hope you will consider being among them. The minimum investment for Community Producers is $250 per person with 100% of the funds going to the production of Moon Swallower.

Our first gathering is at 5 pm on Sunday March 20th when Community Producers will meet each other and the cast and crew of Moon Swallower for the first time, hear playwright Colby Quick talk about his inspiration for Moon Swallower, and receive their signed copy of Moon Swallower to take home and be among the first ever to read. 

Sunday March 20th - Meet the team and Playwright Talk

Join playwright Colby Quick to learn about his inspiration for Moon Swallower and hear him discuss his writing process and challenges, as well as his own background and goals while enjoying Wine & Cheese.

    

Sunday April 24  - Table Reading

Listen in on the first ever table reading of Moon Swallower and enjoy a unique Beer Tasting with snacks.

 

Sunday May 22nd - Director Talk

Join director Chad Henderson to learn about his background and process, the industry lessons that prepare him for directing a play, and the unique challenges and solutions he has encountered in directing Moon Swallower while enjoying the project’s official signature cocktail, The Moon Swallower.

 

Sunday June 26 - Backstage with the Actors

Listen in as the cast of Moon Swallower discusses their processes, challenges presented by their characters, and more, and enjoy a summer picnic with spiked lemonade & finger sammies.

               

Sunday July 24th - Stage Managing, Props, Costumes, Lighting, and Sound

It’s out last Community Producer gathering before the big event, so Chad, Jon, and our stage manager will discuss the components above before we pop the champagne and party!         

Sunday August 28th - It’s finally time for the Staged Reading of Moon Swallower with a full audience and you get the best seats in the house!

Email Cindi@JasperColumbia.com

Colby Quick Wins Play Right Series and You're Invited to Join the Play Right Project Team as a Community Producer

The Jasper Project is proud to announce the winner of our 2nd PLAY RIGHT SERIES project—Colby Quick for his play, Moon Swallower

Colby Quick is a thirty-one-year-old writer, singer, musician, actor, husband, and father of two. He is the lead singer and guitarist of a Stoner Doom band known as Juggergnome and in the development phase of a rap duo project called Ski & Beige. Colby played Ebenezer Scrooge in Northeastern Technical College’s stage production of A Christmas Carol in 2019 and is currently in his final semester at Francis Marion University as an English Major and Creative Writing Minor. “I have mostly written poems, songs, and short stories, as well as an unpublished novel.: Quick says. “When I was young, I would make stop-motion videos and I wrote scripts for all of them. I think this helped a lot with writing the Moon Swallower.”

Now it’s your chance to join the Jasper Project’s Play Right Series as a Community Producer.

Are you the kind of person who always wants to know more about the art you experience?

• Why did the playwright make their characters the way they did?

• What was the director trying to accomplish by having an actor move across stage, turn their back to the audience, or break into dance?

• How did an actor make me feel the way they did simply by turning their head?

If you have a passion for knowing more, understanding process, inspiration, and impetus, and seeing how a virgin play goes from page to stage, you are a good candidate for becoming a Jasper Project Play Right Series Community Producer.

 

What is a Community Producer?

Community Producers are important members of the Play Right Series Team who, in exchange for their investment of a modest amount of funding, ($250 each or $500 per couple) become engaged in the development of a virgin play from the first time the actors meet until the production of a staged reading of the play in front of an audience.

Between February and August 2022, Community Producers will gather monthly to explore the process of a play moving from page to stage with presentations that include

• ·         Meet the Playwright: Colby Quick

• ·         Meet the Director: Chad Henderson

• ·         First Table Reading with your host, Jon Tuttle

• ·         Behind the scenes with the Cast of Moon Swallower

• ·         Stage managing, props, costumes, lighting, & sound with your host, Jon Tuttle

• ·         And finally, a Staged Reading before a live audience with the Community Producers front and center as our esteemed Guests of Honor*

You’ll enjoy wine, cheese, socializing, and an assortment of other unique snacks at every event, as well as Jasper Project swag bags and FREE admission to the Jasper Project 10th Birthday Celebration rescheduled for Thursday April 14th at 701 Whaley!

* For the Staged Reading, Guests of Honor will be seated in the best seats in the house, acknowledged from the stage and in all programming, promotions, and press releases, as well as on the Jasper Project website and in the Fall 2022 issue of Jasper Magazine.

Play Right Series History

The Play Right Series is an endeavor to enlighten and empower audiences with information about the process involved in creating theatrical arts, at the same time that we engineer and increase opportunities for SC theatre artists to create and perform new works for theatre. Our first project in the Play Right Series was in 2017 when Larry Hembree led project members to ultimately produce a staged reading of Sharks and Other Lovers by SC playwright Randall David Cook. Sharks went on to win a number of awards and has been produced off-Broadway. SC Playwright Professor Jon Tuttle of Francis Marion University is overseeing this project for 2022 with a new team of theatre artists including Chad Henderson (director), Colby Quick (playwright), Cindi Boiter and Christina Xan (Community Producer Liaisons), and more.

The Jasper Project is currently recruiting 10 individuals to join the Play Right Series as Community Producers. Click here or write to Cindi@Jasper Columbia.com for more information.

The Play Right Series, Community Producers, and Sharks and Other Lovers -- a message from cindi

When we started the Jasper Project last year as a non-profit entity dedicated to collaborative arts engineering, one of the first projects on our roster, after putting out the next issue of Jasper Magazine, was the formation of the Play Right Series.

The Play Right Series is an endeavor to enlighten and empower audiences with information about the process involved in creating theatrical arts, at the same time that we engineer and increase opportunities for SC theatre artists to create and perform new works for theatre. The word process is italicized because one of the four main missions* of the Jasper Project is to pull back the curtain on what, for most of us, is the magic and mystery of art. The Process.

How, for example, does a play get from a nugget in the playwright’s brain through her pen and all the way through re-writes, communication with directors, casting, table readings, stage readings, blocking, costuming, lighting, scoring, marketing, financing, rehearsal after rehearsal after rehearsal, and so much more, all the way to the stage on opening night?

We believe not only that the process of creating art deserves the same kind of accolades and wonder that the product does, but that knowledge of the process makes us both better audiences and patrons, as well as better artists ourselves. One of the ways we implement this belief is by involving Community Producers.

Community Producers are normal people, just like you and me, who invest a modest but meaningful amount of money in the production of one of the Play Right Series plays. In exchange for their investment, Community Producers are offered an insiders’ view of what goes on behind the scenes and are invited to follow the process of producing a new play from the first readings on.

The first in our line-up of new, audience-friendly plays is Sharks and Other Lovers, written by Columbia native Randall David Cook, and our first class of Community Producers is made up of Bonnie Goldberg, Roe Young, Bill Schmidt, Marcia Stine, Charles and Jean Cook, and Jack Oliver.

Larry Hembree is the director of the play and he believes strongly that this program is important for the Greater Columbia Arts Community at this point in time. “In a city that prides its arts and culture scene, the Play Right Series validates the performing arts’ work here and is a testament to artists and audiences that new work can be created and supported,” he says. “The long term goals [of the Play Right Series] are to continue to keep our city and state at the forefront of theatre by continuing to produce as much new work as possible.  Trustus has done a stellar job at this for over 30 years. So has the Columbia Children’s Theatre with its Commedia productions for young audiences.   Now the Jasper Project can continue to grow that. It’s exciting. Because this process is a true collaboration between playwright, director, actors and designers. It can only work if there is true collaboration among all the artists involved which certainly improves theatre skills for all of them.”

Sharks and Other Lovers stars Libby Campbell, Jennifer Moody Sanchez, Josh Kern, Glenn Rawls, and Perry Simpson. David Swicegood does costume and hair, Barry Wheeler is the sound designer, and Emily Harrill is the stage designer.

Because of the support of Bonnie, Roe, Bill, Marcia, Charles, Jean, and Jack, the Jasper Project is delighted to present a staged reading of Sharks and Other Lovers on Friday, April 28th and Saturday, May 6th. Both readings will take place at Tapp’s Arts Center and the cost is only $10. There will be a cash bar and an exciting discussion of the journey the play has taken thus far, and where it will go from here.

I hope you’ll join us for the first in an on-going series of experiments in theatre arts. It’ll be fun, and we’ll all be better theatre audiences (and hopefully artists) for having been there.

Take care,

Cindi

*The Jasper Project is committed to four integrated criteria:

• Process – illuminating the unique processes endemic to all art forms in order to provide a greater level of understanding and respect for that discipline.

• Community/Collaboration – nurturing community both within and between arts disciplines.

• Narrative – creating a more positive and progressive understanding of SC culture.

• Economy – being efficient stewards of arts funding committed to creating more with less. 

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