At First Sight

August 2011

At First Sight: World premieres take the stage at the Magnetic Field

WRITER:

Alexander Z. Blume

PHOTOGRAPHER:

WNC Staff

ILLUSTRATOR:

WNC Staff

I don’t think playwrights learn a great deal from writing a play and sticking it in a drawer. They need to see it,” says Steve Samuels, artistic director of The Magnetic Field in Asheville. At the only theater in the Southeast that produces all original work, they get that chance. It also gives actors the opportunity to perform in never-before-seen plays, like the recent production The Witches Quorum.

Anyone interested in performing or writing is invited to the monthly Magnetic Midnights, when each attendee is allotted five minutes to show their work, whether it be writing, acting, comedy, music, or dance. The performers and pieces that impress, earn slots on the theater’s schedule.

This café, bar, and performance house is also the only place around where the audience can grab local fare and drinks before taking a seat in front of the stage. The Magnetic Theatre is open Friday and Saturday nights for plays, and hosts poetry slams, storytelling, live music, and comedy shows throughout the week. Don’t miss the next premiere, August 11-September 2. The Last Laugh, A Comedian’s Tragedy by Samuels tells the tale of a gay comedy troupe director, a drug-addled, 19th-century poet, and the patron who brought them together. www.themagneticfield.com

KEYWORD TAGS:

Theatre