Note: The following article is a press release intended for publication in the Wheeling newspapers during the run of this show. It was not published. Even though the production dates have passed, the verb tenses remain as originally written.
Pictured above is the cast of "Ever After and Other Departures" from left, top: Liz Pollack, Ryan Sears, Bert Furioli (of "Suburban Garden"), Cara Dailer and Rick call (of "Ever After"). Below are Arlene Merryman (left) and Butch Maxwell (right), of "The Strap," flanking playwright Tom Stobart.
A Local Playwright Is Showcased
Nestled along the narrow east side of Wheeling's Historic Centre Market District is an old-fashioned used bookstore called "Paradox," with a whimsical sign posting vague hours of operation. Inside the crowded shop, which is lined with every imaginable variety of literature, one will usually find the proprietor, Tom Stobart as he reads, writes or engages with customers. He is not just a merchant and consumer of literature, though; he is possibly one of Wheeling's most gifted writers.
Most people who know Stobart know that he is an old-school man of letters. He writes prose and poetry in longhand and with an old-fashioned typewriter. And while many know him from his role as a shopkeeper, or the primary force behind the "Empty Step" series of poetry readings, Stobart is undoubtedly the area's most prolific and widely-produced local playwright. Three of his best one acts are featured April 8 - 11, 2009, at 8 p.m. at the Independent Theatre Collective's venue in the historic Second Presbyterian Church building, at 20th and Market Streets in Wheeling.
Entitled "Ever After and Other Departures," the production offers three views of love between a man and a woman. In the first, "The Strap," a couple find themselves hopelessly "and comically" entangled in a web of arguments. In "Suburban Garden," a male is smitten by the beauty of a female, only to have fate intervene. In "Ever After," a lonely middle-aged man and a troubled young woman struggle to understand each other's definition of love.
"I am so pleased to have this opportunity to present my plays to a new audience," Stobart says. "I was initially afraid that my work would seem too old-fashioned for younger audiences."
But Jeremy Richter, managing director of the newly-formed alternative theatre, was enthusiastic about Stobart's plays. "I am delighted to have my work realized by such a talented young director, and I look forward to an ongoing artistic relationship," Stobart notes.
"I've found that Sto and I have quite a bit in common," Richter says. "We've both dabbled in acting, obviously we write - and in similar styles, too - but most of all, we are incredibly almost unbearably specific about our work. There is something to be discovered in each word of his plays. There is a purpose behind the order of those words . . . and it has been a challenge and a privilege to explore his work."
Over the years, Stobart has written six full-length and 17 one-act plays. His first play, co-authored with Carl Rauscher in 1969, was "The Ultimate Paradox." It was produced by Oglebay Institute's Parcel Players and included in the cast Peter Whittaker and Cathy Pyles, who went on to appear in such Broadway productions as "Cats." Through his work with Oglebay Institute, Stobart met his theatrical mentor, retired Towngate Theatre Artistic Director Harold O'Leary. Stobart credits O’Leary with giving him vital opportunity and guidance. "Harold's encouragement, patience and support were crucial to my development as a playwright and actor."
Stobart briefly studied playwriting at H.B. Studios in New York. "But one learns more from doing than studying," he reflects. "And, of course, we learn more from our mistakes than our successes." A case in point was the three act play "The World Travelers" Stobart wrote and directed the play, which depicted three characters at the ages of 20, 45 and then 80. "We rehearsed it in separate acts," Stobart recalls, "and then, the night before dress rehearsal , we put all three acts together for the first time. It was then that I discovered, much to my horror, that the running time of the play was four hours! We worked all night frantically cutting it and at dress rehearsal we presented the actors with a new script, cut to a mere two and a half hours."
"Looking In and Other Incidents," first produced in 1976, was his first "mature" work, in his own estimation. The original Towngate production featured Molly O'Brien, who is now a popular singer in the national folk music circuit. The play was popular enough to be revived at Towngate in the 1980s.
"Minor Auditions for a Major Role" was first produced in 1981. The semi-autobiographical play depicted a young actor, fresh out of high school, going to New York City with his sweetheart intent upon becoming a Broadway actor and "getting his Equity." The play was very well received at its Wheeling debut and was produced at the Scorpio Repertory Theatre in Hollywood, where it was directed by Nicholas Lewis. Other out-of-town productions of Stobart’s work includes the Shadowbox Cabaret in Columbus, Ohio, which produced "Ever After" and "Oh, Rob."
One of Stobart's proudest achievements is the full-length play, "A Toy Called God." It has been produced several times, including at Towngate and the Actors Company in Pittsburgh.
His most popular play is entitled "In Terminal Decline," a full length play set in a barely-disguised version of a (now closed) Centre Wheeling bar called Bud's. The cast of 17 eccentric characters based upon real frequenters of the bar drew record-setting attendance records at Towngate Theatre, and may still hold the record as the third largest draw to the venue.
Stobart's most recent full-length production to be staged at Towngate is "Under the Bridge to the Stars," which was staged in the early 1990s.
In the mid-1990s, Stobart directed much of his attention to the now-defunct Cornerstone Project, where he contributed to several one-act play festivals. With another local actor/playwright, Dr. Michael Ramsay, and Cornerstone's artistic director, Bob Athey, Stobart created the "NuWorx" play festival, in which several of his one acts were first featured. Among those were all three of the plays offered at the ITC event this week. "Ever After," in fact, was also featured in the Pittsburgh's "New Works" festival, where it won first honorable mention. It was also submitted to the Off-Off Broadway 29th Street Repertory Theatre, where it was produced.
"Suburban Garden" was first featured in Pittsburgh's "No Doze Dozen," a festival of original plays, each lasting no longer than ten minutes. Pittsburgh critic Christopher Ross singled out Stobart’s play as among the best of the offerings, and it was later revived in "The Best of the No Doze Dozen."
"Ever After and Other Departures" is presented April 8 - 11 (2009) at 8 p.m. at the ITC's home, the historic Second Presbyterian Church, at 20th and Market Streets, Wheeling. In the cast are Arlene Merryman, Butch Maxwell, Ryan Sears, Liz Pollack, Bert Furioli, Rick Call, and Cara Dailer. For more information, see itcgreenroom.com.