The second annual LaBute New Theater Festival is underway at the Gaslight Theater, with the man himself scheduled to attend this weekend.
Neil LaBute’s world premiere, Here We Go ‘Round the Mulberry Bush, is being performed every night of the festival. The play features a man warning a convicted pedophile away from his family—the typical lighthearted romp we’ve come to expect from the man behind Fat Pig and In the Company of Men.
Ideally, LaBute says, he’ll be an ongoing part of the festival, which looks poised to become the highlight of the summer for St. Louis theater geeks for years to come.
“I love the idea of this festival (not because of my name on it but because I love this form of short drama) so it ends up being a great way for me to try out new material and to see new material,” LaBute said via email.
(LaBute, who has a reputation as a misanthrope because of his plays but has been pretty gracious about doing press for this festival, wrote that he prefers email for convenience but also because trying to be clever and quick with a printable response is nerve-wracking.)
“You never know what will grow out of an event like this and that's what I love being a part of,” he wrote. “It's also great to be connected with something like this in the Midwest, which is a place that I always feel is 'home' to me (having been born in Michigan and having spent a lot of time in Kansas, Illinois, Indiana and Minnesota over the years).”
LaBute’s work is edgy, often exploring men and women tearing each other apart. Festivals, he says, are great laboratories for seeing how a play will function in front of an audience—even the potentially more conservative audiences in the Midwest.
“I think festival audiences are great audiences; they aren't just there for a night of entertainment (which I hope they get as well) but because they understand the dynamic of what you're doing and they want to be a part of that. The same would apply to a festival in New York or London but I do think this will be a great place to see how this particular play works in an intimate space with a very concentrated audience,” he wrote.
The festival, which kicked off July 11 and continues through Aug. 3, features the new work by LaBute as well as performances of seven new works from professional playwrights and readings of the three winning plays from high school students.
“I started out as an educator and I love teaching or at least coaching writers at whatever stage of their career they're in,” LaBute wrote. “I started writing in high school and so I understand being in that place and trying to figure out how to do it, how to find your voice and understand structure and all the rest. I love that [St. Louis Actors’ Studio founder and producing director] William Roth has made this an important part of the festival and so I'll always try to support that however I can.”
The winning plays come from three New York writers, one from Los Angeles, one from Seattle, plus North and South Carolina. One of the high schoolers is from St. Louis, with the others coming from Illinois and Georgia.
All the plays were required to have no more than four characters with minimal changes in scenery and setting. The call for submissions specifically noted that the plays should make use of the Gaslight’s intimate dimensions.
The festival is produced by the St. Louis Actors’ Studio. Thursday through Saturday, performances begin at 8 p.m. with Sunday shows at 3 p.m. and the high school plays being read at 11 a.m. on July 26.
For more information and to get tickets, visit www.stlas.org.
