PPP's On the Edge...
27 Wagons
Full of Cotton
written by Tennessee Williams
directed by Jim DeBastiani
This show was PPP's entry into the
held March 2, 2013 at Possum Hall
and was adjudicated to be the
DTA Fest 2013 Runner Up!
The Delaware Theatre Association's DTAFest2013 statewide one-act play competition was held at Possum Hall on Saturday, March 2. And what a great day it was as groups from Wilmington to Georgetown competed for a chance to move on to regional competition in April!
PPP's entry, "27 Wagons Full of Cotton," won the Best Production Runner Up--which comes with an invitation to the Eastern States Theater Association Festival which will be held in Rome, NY in April. In addition the show won adjudicator awards for Best Director: Jim DeBastiani; Best Performance by an Actress: Jill Lewandowski, and Best Makeup: Beth Howlett. YAY!
Congratulations to PPP DTA Festival Chair Kenney Workman and his many volunteers for a wonderful event. The many people from "up north" who came to Possum Hall for the first time were very, VERY impressed with our beautiful facility and raved about our "southern hospitality." Proud? You bet!
THE CAST
Flora Meighan...
Jill Lewandowski
Jill LewandowskiJake Meighan...Fred Dean
Fred DeanSilva Vicarro...Chuck Rafferty
Chuck RaffertyDirector...Jim DeBastiani
Jim DeBastianiOn The Edge
In 1999, Possum Point Players created the "ON THE EDGE" experience for the purpose of providing "risk-taking" theatre to our public and volunteers. Possum Point Players ON THE EDGE creates, produces and/or performs theatrical works that allow those involved to take risks in their desired art form. Those risks are taken to teach, to stretch and to enlighten and/or entertain the actors, audience and other participants.
The first show of Possum Point Players ON THE EDGE was a performance of Jean Paul Sartre's No Exit. The sold out house raved about the performances, choice of play and the overall evening's activities. The group then produced An Evening With Joyce Carol Oates the next year. This proved to us that there is an audience for "non-traditional" theatrical experiences.
Possum Point Players ON THE EDGE stage remains a strong component of PPP's mission to bring the live theater experience in all its forms to residents and visitors alike. The group meets every Thursday, 6:30p at Possum Hall. If you enjoy character exploration and development, Possum Point Players ON THE EDGE is for you!
441 Old Laurel Road - Georgetown, Delaware / Mailing Address: P O Box 96, Georgetown DE 19947 / Office Phone: 302-856-3460
Judy Venturini, Executive Administrator / TICKETLINE: 302-856-4560 / EMAIL: mail@possumpointplayers.org
On Our Stages...
Get to Know Us...
No Exit was the first presentation for PPP's On the Edge. Director Jim DeBastiani created an environmental theatre space where the division between audience and performer was intentionally blurred. He moved the acting area into the audience creating a theater in the round, but invited the audience to engage the play from the actors point of view by sitting on the stage area. A wall of white light was used to define the space while a patch of red light identified the door. Audience members were able to choose how close to Hell they wanted to be: on the set, or at a safer location further away.
The cast of No Exit included: Patrick Maloy, Lisa Parsons, Lee Lott, and Rick Parsons.
Two years in development, Angel Fire represents an exhaustive search through the poetry and short stories of author, Joyce Carroll Oates. This project began after director/creator Jim DeBastiani’s daughter came home from school with the short story, Extenuating Circumstances. Fascinated by Oates’ viewpoint, Jim’s work began. The result is a compilation of poetry and short stories driven on the struggles of finding, recognizing and keeping perfect love.
The set design is unique for the Possum Stage. Done in charcoals, and designed by Sheree Zinszer Bedell, a series of ramps and platforms lead the performers to the panicle of desire. Through out this journey the actors never rest on the stage floor. They are either negotiating the ramps or taking refuge on the small platforms above the stage floor.
Through a generous grant from the Humanities Forum, Joyce Carroll Oates attended our performance and presented a reading from her latest novel, Blonde.
The cast included Lisa Parsons, Sheree Zinszer Bedell, Rick Parsons, Kristen Drunen, Kelly Warrington, and Patrick Maloy.
Past Possum Point Players ON THE EDGE Productions...
From the Possum Point Players ON THE EDGE Archives...
l to r: Sheree Zinszer Bedell, Joyce Carol Oates, Jim DeBastiani
Possum Point Players
Conceived by Jim DeBastiani and Fred Dean
Compiled by Jim DeBastiani, Fred Dean, and Sharon Gambrill
PPP's ON THE EDGE at ESTAFest 2012!
Kudos and congratulations to PPP's On the Edge for its traveling performance of ECHOES OF WAR.
The group performed and competed in the annual Eastern States Theatre Association Festival 2012 in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania in April. The group was invited after a successful turn at the Delaware Theatre Association held in Wilmington in March. The ESTA performance earned an Outstanding Achievement in Costuming certificate. Everyone involved with this original has made us all proud Possums!
On the road with ECHOES OF WAR: kneeling from left--Hannah Lowe, Kori Lewandowski; standing from left--Fred Dean, Marsha Shull, Colleen Small, Jill Lewandowski, George Spillane, Claudius Bowden, Jim DeBastiani, Michael Short
About the play...
Perhaps Tennessee Williams' most famous one-act play, 27 Wagons Full of Cotton was a sensation after its publication in 1946. The story became even more controversial after director Elia Kazan released the 1956 movie Baby Doll which was based on this play.
The story: In order to boost his own cotton ginning business, Jake Meighan sets the local Syndicate Plantation ablaze. The superintendent of the Syndicate Plantation sends over 27 wagons full of cotton for ginning, and turns aside his suspicions that Jake is the arsonist in exchange for apparent sexual favors from Jake's wife, Flora.
