Hungry for something a little different? The Jason Miller Playwrights’ Project has just the thing to tickle your theatrical taste buds. And the best part is JMPP is more than willing to share the recipe. Take four talented writer/performers. Toss in four different stories. Add the inability to sleep. Blend in some serious stuff coated with a bunch of laughs. Top with freshly baked bread, a salad, main course and dessert. Set at The Olde Brick Theatre in Scranton and voila — you’ve got “Insomniac Salad: A Kitchen Table Collaboration.”
“Insomniac Salad” tells the story of Mari, Kitty, Fiona and Stella, four very different women who formed a friendship when insomnia brought them together at a university sleep clinic. Though their lives all follow different paths, they continue to meet for dinner. During their late-summer dinner party, the four friends share a meal as well as their doubts, frustrations and dreams. Billed as a comedy about serious issues, “Insomniac Salad” is co-written and performed by four off-stage pals Roya Fahmy, Alicia Grega, Maureen McGuigan and Sarah J. Stachura. Though she’s up to her elbows in baked goods, Stachura took a few minutes to talk about her place at the table.
“I’m very lucky to have these three women as my friends,” says Stachura of her castmates. She joined the project already in progress and plays Stella, a registered nurse in her mid-30s. Stella is engaged to be married, and she’s not just gaining a husband but also an overbearing mother-in-law. Stachura feels the table setting is an ideal place for the characters to discuss their lives.
“The kitchen table is a place where people gather,” she says. “Eating is a very communal thing on a lot of levels. It’s a very simple thing to do. It’s a social thing. It breaks the ice in a lot of ways.”
Stella and company will actually be preparing the meal during the course of the show. Bread will be baking, filling the theatre with a delicious scent. Of course there will be salad. But there’s also a main dish, and Stella is responsible for the dessert at the end. The character’s penchant for baking as a means of coping with her insomnia comes directly from Stachura’s own experience. A few years back, while working a job with unusual hours, Stachura found herself unable to sleep but perfectly able to whip up a variety of baked goods.
With all the culinary creativity in “Insomniac Salad,” Stachura jokes that instead of a tech rehearsal, the cast will need a food rehearsal.
“Our main prop is food,” she says. “I think we’re going to have a lot of fun with that. I’m looking forward to it.”
And Stella, Mari, Kitty and Fiona have every intention of being good hostesses and sharing in the fun. After the show, audience members will be asked to share their thoughts on the production and partake in the meal created onstage.
“Hopefully it will inspire people to talk about the show and bring their thoughts and insights to the theatre,” Stachura says.
Creating “Insomniac Salad” has been a unique experience for Stachura, who has performed in both more traditional theatre and with a local improv group. Shaping the story has been an interesting journey, from the initial meeting where the four writers talked about how to fill an hour of performance time through bouts of writer’s block to preparations for opening night. Stachura credits her fellow writers/cast members with bringing the project to this point.
“The four of us are harmonious. We’re all comfortable enough that we’re able to be honest and open and allow the project to take its course.”
Honesty and openness are hallmarks of the Jason Miller Playwrights’ Project. Under the stewardship of Scranton Public Theatre, the JMPP was founded in honor of the late playwright and artistic director, who envisioned creating a writer’s forum. Experienced writers are invited to submit a one-act or full-length script for review at any time, following which selected writers will be invited to participate in the project.
This fall is a busy one for JMPP. In addition to “Insomniac Salad,” the project will present staged readings of “City Counseling, Please Hold” by Charles Blewitt and “Paddy, We Hardly Knew Ye” by Steve Corbett. After both readings, audience members will be asked to offer their thoughts toward continued script development. For the next several Sundays, though, JMPP invites theatre fans to spend some time at the table with the women of “Insomniac Salad.”
“We want people to be able to relate to these women and see where we’re coming from,” explains Stachura. “If you enjoy eating, you’ll like the show. If you have any sort of a life, anything happening in your life, then you’ll relate to it. One of our catchphrases is, ‘Even though you can’t sleep, you still have to get up in the morning.’”
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“Insomniac Salad: A Kitchen Table Collaboration” presented by the Jason Miller Playwrights’ Project, Sept. 6, 13, 20, 27 at 4 p.m. at Scranton Public Theatre at the Olde Brick Theatre (126 W. Market St., Scranton). $10 suggested donation or pay what you can. Info: 570.344.3656.
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