With a short play festival named after a gambling game where players bet on what number the ball will land on in the spinning roulette wheel, it’s only natural that MadLab’s Theatre Roulette, opening May 3rd, can be broken down by the numbers.
13 – This is the 13th annual Theatre Roulette. And while that may be unlucky to many, MadLab was not gonna let superstition stand in the way of continuing Central Ohio’s longest running short plays festival.
14 – Technically, this is the 14th Theatre Roulette as in 2009 MadLab presented The Quintessential Roulette, featuring the favorite shows of the first ten Theatre Roulettes as selected by their audiences.
12 – The number of short plays featured in this year’s festival.
11 – The 11th annual Theatre Roulette was the first performed in MadLab’s space they moved into in 2010.
10 – The number of playwrights involved in this year’s festival.
9 – The number of states that those playwrights come from ( Missouri, California, Maine, Iowa, Washington, Pennsylvania, Illinois, North Carolina, and Colorado).
8 – Show time every night is 8:00 except for the closing day, may 26th, when all 12 shows will be performed starting at 2, 4 and…8. Also, the cost for a ticket if you’re a MadLab member.
7 – The number of playwrights for whom this is their first Theatre Roulette (Nicholas Sawin, Gary Dooley, David Vardeman, Elena Hartwell, Spenser Davis, Steven Shapiro and Jeffrey Wolfe.
6 – The number of plays making their world premiere in this year’s festival. Also, the number of plays making their Ohio premiere. This is also the 6th Roulette to feature the work of Mark Harvey Levine.
5 – I got nothing.
4 – The number of plays on each of the 3 rotating nights of plays. Also, the number of weekends you have to catch Theatre Roulette.
3 – The number of rotating nights of Theatre Roulette, this year aptly named Snake Eyes, Box Cars, and High Rollers. There are also 3 playwrights returning for this version of Roulette, Mark Harvey Levine, Greg Freier, and Alex Dremann. This is Alex Dremann’s 3rd Roulette appearance. There are also 3 actors making their MadLab debuts in this year’s Roulette, Audrey Rush, Michael Schirtzinger, and Austin Wiezbiski
2- Greg Freier and Gary Dooley both are having 2 different plays they wrote produced in this year’s Roulette. This is Greg Freier’s 2nd straight year being featured in Roulette. 2 is also the number of countries represented by the playwrights this year as Gary Dooley lives in the UK.
1 – My own shameless plug. I appear in one of the plays, Based on Real Events.
MadLab will present Theatre Roulette 2012, at 8:00, May 3th-May 26th, Thursday through Saturdays at MadLab, 227 N. 3rd St. Columbus. Tickets cost $12, $10 Students/Seniors, $8 Members. Call 614-221-5418 or visit www.madlab.net.
GCAC Presents is a bi-weekly column brought to you by the Greater Columbus Arts Council – supporting art and advancing culture in Columbus – in partnership with the Columbus Arts Marketing Association, a professional development and networking association of arts marketers. Each column will be written by a different local arts organization to give you an insiders look at the arts in Columbus.
