‘Someday’ Arrives for Young Playwright

Sold out.

These words can be the most disappointing ones a teen-ager can hear when standing in line at a box office. But for Gina Bowman, the words mean success.

Opening night for her first play, “Someday,” at the Elizabeth North Theatre in San Diego, was sold out. That Jan. 10 night, a small crowd had gathered in hopes of cancellations, but most were turned away.

Bowman, a junior at Katella High School in Anaheim, is one of the winners of the fifth annual California Young Playwrights Project’s 1989 competition. It is a program of the Gaslamp Quarter Theatre Company in San Diego, designed to develop the talents of young writers.

“I’ve liked to write and have been writing since elementary school,” said Bowman, 17. “I had always wanted to write a play but never knew how.”

Bowman attended a CYPP workshop in her creative writing class at Katella early last year.

“There was a picture of a basement on the prompt (topic suggestion) we were given,” she said. “I still remember. I was sitting in the library when it came to me.”

What came to her was the idea for her play, the one-act drama “Someday.”

She describes it as “a simple story about two young girls who get together, not because of their differences but despite them.”

One character, Milla, is the daughter of a Russian ballerina. The other, Penny, is a street-smart black girl. The two meet by chance on the streets of East Los Angeles. There, they talk--sharing their dreams for a better life--and become friends.

“The story is not political; that is very important to me,” Bowman said. “I was more interested in dealing with the social and family problems of these two.”

“Someday” started as a creative-writing class assignment for teacher Jim Sieg at Katella.

“Mr. Sieg, I guess, inspired me,” Bowman said. “He’s why I decided to stay up late and stay home on weekends.”

Sieg, currently on leave from Katella to be a guest lecturer at Cal State Fullerton, said he “realized early on in the class that Gina was a talented writer. She’s a very sophisticated writer. Although she’s only 16 (at the time of the class), she writes like she’s 25. There’s a big brain in that little body.”

Bowman said the creative writing class was the first in which she was really given constructive help with her writing.

“In English (classes), I’d write and get an ‘A’ and that was it. In creative writing, things that were fine (before), weren’t fine any more.”

Bowman’s younger sister, Lorenda Bowman, 14, also proved a source of inspiration.

“It was nice to have her around,” Bowman said. “She was about the age I was writing about. It was good to have somebody to draw from. She was really helpful and gave me an idea for the end.”

Of her family in general, Bowman said: “They put up with me when I was moody and grouchy from getting only four or five hours of sleep at night. I definitely appreciate it.

“When I write, I need complete silence. I’d ask them to go out for dinner or something when I was finishing a scene, and they would.

“The day of the deadline my mom helped me from after school until 11:30 p.m. When my back and neck were killing me, she’d type for a while and let me rest, then I’d get on the typewriter and she’d dictate to me. She was great.”

“I’m thrilled and really happy for her,” said Shirley Gierman, Bowman’s mother. “This is what she wants to do. She’s always been interested in it. She wants to write.”

Bowman said she also received support and understanding from her friends during her writing.

“ ‘That’s what Gina does; Gina writes,’ ” was their attitude,” according to Bowman. “They were just as excited as I was when I won.”

On Nov. 1, 1989, the day of Bowman’s 17th birthday, news arrived that she had won the CYPP competition.

“We were having a family dinner that night, so it was a mixed celebration,” Bowman said.

The play immediately went into production, something with which Bowman was very much involved.

“It seems that CYPP’s main goal is to help us benefit from the production process,” she said. “Debbie Salzer, the producer, was really helpful in making sure that this experience doesn’t go to waste.”

Bowman said she worked closely with the play’s director, Ann Lyon. “The rewrites are actually the hardest part,” Bowman said.

“I got to go to the auditions and say who I liked (for the roles). They were really interested in what I had to say.

“It was great how Sonja Azizov (Milla) and Chris Morris (Mischa) worked together. I think they’re really believable as a brother and sister,” Bowman said.

“There were a few times when I wouldn’t go to San Diego for a couple of weeks and the progress would be remarkable. I was really surprised--most of my play is exactly the way I intended it to be.”

In assessing the play, her former creative-writing teacher said: “It was a play about freedom. Someone not as much a writer as she is would have made it a cliche or propaganda.”

Bowman said she plans to continue writing. “For money, I’ll probably get into journalism and writing short stories. As far as plays are concerned, I’m pretty interested in exploring this genre--it’s more productive, but I’m not going to limit myself to anything.”

“Someday” will be performed through Sunday with the three other winners of the statewide contest: “The Testing of Abraham” by Aaron Arredondo of Fresno; “Setbacks” by Eric Kobrick of San Diego, and “Avatar of Descent” by Jay Schwartz of Culver City.

The Elizabeth North Theatre is at 547 4th Ave., San Diego. Performances are scheduled for tonight at 8, Saturday at 2 and 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. Tickets are $8 (students and seniors $6). For reservations, call (619) 234-9583 after 1 p.m.