Actors Alley Offers New Playwrights a Glimpse of the Limelight

In Los Angeles, a town with a constant abundance of new talent, it is often difficult to break into show business.

But for the past 10 years, Actors Alley Theater in Sherman Oaks has been providing new playwrights with a rare opportunity to showcase their works. Through the theater’s New Works Program and Actors Alley Too, newcomers to the theater scene can watch their creations come to life on stage--and at the same time, audiences can enjoy such presentations.

As the coordinator of the New Works Program, Jan Marlyn, a casting director, personal manager and former actress, wields more than a little power. For the most part, it depends on her as to whether a new play is accepted into the New Works Program.

Each week Marlyn receives about half a dozen plays from local writers, as well as others from across the country. Often she sifts through the submissions but at other times, she’ll pass scripts to the company’s play reading committee. Actors on the committee will evaluate the plays and provide Marlyn with synopses of the works.

When a play shows particular promise, Marlyn said, it will be included as part of the New Works Program and scheduled for a staged reading.

Initially, a director is assigned to the chosen play, and it is up to him or her to cast the piece, usually by calling upon any of the company’s 60 or so actors. After one to five rehearsals, the play is presented before a live audience on a Sunday afternoon.

In the staged reading, actors, with scripts in hand, do the piece with a minimum of direction and blocking. Afterward, audience members--ranging from would-be writers to senior citizens from the community--are invited to give the playwright feedback in terms of character development, relationships among the characters, dialogue, plot development and climax. They are dissuaded from giving their opinions on how to improve the play.

It is up to the playwright to take the piece home and rewrite it. After revisions, the work can be resubmitted with the possibility of being mounted at Actors Alley Too. Until January, Marlyn was also in charge of this program, but because of her busy schedule, company member Paul Backer has taken over the post.

If accepted at Actors Alley Too, a play will be given a five- to six-week run on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday evenings. Usually, the director who worked on the staged reading will have the opportunity to direct the show during this limited engagement. Performances are free, but donations are accepted.

Two one-acts, “Marmots” and “Very Nearly a Pinter,” by Seattle-based playwright Max Bocek, will constitute the next production at Actors Alley Too. Set to open April 24 for a five-week run, the contemporary comedies are takeoffs on the works of playwrights David Mamet and Harold Pinter, Backer said. “Marmots” was part of the New Works Program last summer.

In recent years, both the New Works Program and Actors Alley Too have featured plays by several up-and-coming writers, such as Dennis Clontz and T.J. Walsh.

Clontz had his first Equity-waiver play done through the New Works Program in the summer of 1984. Titled “Fire/Photograph,” the play was produced that fall at Actors Alley Too and went on to win the Dramalogue Critics Award for playwrights.

Another of his plays, “Night Breath,” met with even greater success. After a staged reading in the fall of 1985, the play, which Clontz describes as a “ritualistic, poetic drama,” was produced on the main stage in February, 1986.

Actors Alley Too and what is known as main stage productions occupy the same theater, but the latter take place Thursday through Sunday.

The 1986 production of Clontz’s play generated 11 Dramalogue Critics Awards. The play opened Off-Off-Broadway in New York City this month.

A member of the prestigious Los Angeles Theater Center’s Playwright Unit and a winner of a Nicholl Fellowship from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Clontz, 36, describes himself as obsessive when it comes to his writing.

He says he seriously took up writing in 1982 and already has completed 11 plays, three full-length screenplays and three short film scripts. “It’s the single most important thing in my life,” he said.

Because of the escalating cost of producing Equity-waiver shows, Clontz said, it is especially difficult for emerging playwrights to find a showcase. If it weren’t for Actors Alley, he said, he probably would not have made such headway.

Walsh’s romantic comedy “The Love Song of Alex Vandenberg” had a staged reading in February, 1987. During a main-stage run that summer, movie director Camilo Vila came to see the play and subsequently optioned a screenplay version of it, which is now being circulated among production companies.

Some people who are in show business but not usually as playwrights have submitted their plays. Casting director Joe Scully had a staged reading of his work, and Dramalogue critic T.H. McCulloh’s play went on to Actors Alley Too.

Marlyn, originally from Trenton, N.J., came to Los Angeles after a 10-year stopover as one of the thousands of struggling actors in New York. Seven years ago, she auditioned for Actors Alley and, after being put on a waiting list, was accepted into the acting company. About two years later, she started assisting Alan Woolf, the head of the New Works Program at the time, and became head of the program two years ago.

After casting several shows at Actors Alley, Marlyn has cast a variety of other projects, including the movie-of-the-week “Bonanza: the Next Generation.” And her directing experience at Actors Alley led to her receiving two grants to direct a short film--not surprisingly, one of Clontz’s works.

“When I wanted to direct, no one wanted to give me a chance,” Marlyn said. “Working at the theater has allowed me to build up my resume.”

She wholeheartedly encourages writers, including first-time playwrights, to mail their works to the theater. (A self-addressed stamped envelope for return of the manuscript is appreciated.)

Especially desirable are one-act comedies, she said, but added, “We’ll look at anything.” Directors are also welcome to send in their resumes for consideration.

Because of the theater’s small size and limited production budget, writers are wise to keep sets simple and the cast small. When a show is produced at Actors Alley Too, it uses the same set as the play running Thursday through Sunday, Backer said. Thus, determining when a show will open in the theater is linked to how well it adapts to the set already in place.

Another consideration is finding a director, since playwrights are not permitted to direct their own work, although they may recommend a director for their staged reading.

Marlyn and Backer receive no salary. “I really like giving people a chance,” Marlyn said, “and you never know when you’ll find that next great playwright.”

Actors Alley is at 4334 Van Nuys Blvd . in Sherman Oaks. For information call (818) 986-2278. Ziaya is a regular contributor to Valley Calendar.