FutureFest revisited: What’s not to love about aging lady wrestlers?

Director Annie Pesch, who’s been involved in local theater since she was a kid, said she’d never read anything quite like “Magnificent Hubba Hubba,” the over-the-top comedy selected as one of six finalists for FutureFest 2017.

The Dayton Playhouse’s annual new play festival, which took place July 21-23, is designed to provide constructive feedback from audiences and professional adjudicators to the playwrights.

Pesch says she knew immediately that this comedy was special and put in a bid to direct the story of two over-the-hill female wrestlers who are urged to stage a rematch by a teenage admirer. “I could see these epic fights with spotlights, colorful costumes, and colorful characters,” Pesch says. “The fact that these women wrestlers of a certain age are so vibrant and strong is very appealing.” Her instincts paid off: the show earned the adjudicators’ top award for the weekend and was also named the “Audience Favorite.”

When accepting her award, New York playwright Olga Humphrey — who has written films and TV shows as well as a number of other plays — said it was exciting that a comedy was being honored. She said she’d been impressed by all the plays introduced over the weekend and had learned something from each one. “It’s a tough, lonely and hard profession and sharing it makes it very special,” she told the audience. “I’ve made some wonderful new friends here. I couldn’t have asked for a more wonderful birth of my play.”

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Humphrey said she especially appreciated the fact that the cast asked to take her out after the show and give her their personal feedback. “Actors are so important to playwrights,” she said.

Dressing the set

What to do when a script calls for a living room set decorated with a wide range of artistic vaginas?

That was the unusual FutureFest challenge faced by Chris (“Red”) Newman, now in his third season as Dayton Playhouse resident scenic designer. Friday night’s opening drama — “On Pine Knoll Street” — specified that one of the characters is “distracted by rooms decorated with sculptures, paintings, and metalware — all featuring vaginas.” The script also instructed that some of them be Japanese and Haitian art.

Luckily, Newman is also the artist and interior decorator who runs Cheeky Monkey Decorative Painting in Miamisburg. In just a few days, he created more than two dozen pieces of original art for the set. I know I wasn't the only member of the audience who was impressed by the elaborate set but didn't realize at first what I was looking at!

After the show, playwright Mark Cornell of Chapel Hill, N.C., was presented with one of the paintings, signed by all of the cast members from his show. “The fun thing about theater,” Newman says, “is that you never know what will be thrown at you.”

Opportunity grants available

Individual artists of all disciplines — writers, painters, photographers, actors, musicians, dancers, sculptors, film makers and more — are invited to apply for an Artist Opportunity Grant from Culture Works and the Montgomery County Arts and Cultural District (MCACD).

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The program, funded by MCACD and administered by Culture Works, provides grants “to help artists take advantage of specific, imminent opportunities for professional development and the creation or completion of new work.” Applicants must reside in Montgomery County, and grant funded-activities must be completed during calendar year 2018.

In 2016, the first year of the grant program, six artists received funding to complete local and international exhibitions, artist residencies, and professional training in music and theater. For this 2017 grant cycle, $30,000 in funding is available with awards expected to range from $250-$2,500. Artists can apply through the Culture Works website from Aug. 1 through Sept. 30, 2017. Applications will be reviewed by an independent panel later in the fall.

More details about the competitive grant process are available on cultureworks.org/artistgrants.

WYSO launches series on disabilities

Public Radio station WYSO has launched a new storytelling series highlighting the experiences of Ohioans living with disabilities. "Just Ask: Talking About Disability" airs each Wednesday on "All Things Considered" and Thursdays during "Morning Edition" through August. The stories are archived at WYSO.org.

The program grew out of a training the Yellow Springs station conducted this spring with four Miami Valley disability advocacy groups: the Access Center for Independent Living, Montgomery County Board of Developmental Disabilities Services, United Rehabilitation Services and Wright State University's Disability Services Center. For six weeks, WYSO "Morning Edition" host and reporter April Laissle and Community Voices producer Anna Lurie collaborated with people with disabilities to create radio stories. Each story in in the series focuses on topics participants said were most important to them.

“World of Art ” geared to kids

A make-it-and-take-it art event for children ages 3-12 will take place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 5, at the City Park in Tipp City. The "World of Art" is the fifth annual children's art adventure hosted by The Tipp City Area Arts Council in cooperation with a number of community organizations.

Meet Scott Epic, our Daytonian of the Week

Participants must wear a wristband that can be purchased in advance for $5 online at www.tippcityartscouncil.com or at Tipp Monroe Community Services (3 E Main St, Tipp City), or on the day of the event for $7 at the information booth.

New artists’ market opens on Crane Street

We've written about Jes McMillan, the entrepreneurial artist who runs The Mosaic Institute in Miamisburg. At Dayton's First Friday at 5-10 p.m. on Aug. 4, Jes will host a grand opening of her Crane Studios Market in Dayton.

The Market is located at 221 Crane St. — two blocks from Front Street — in the same building as Dayton’s new Indoor Bike Park. The space features 13 studios where local creatives have opened shops to sell their wares. To date, tenants include RatHawk Nation, Cocheil Arts, Fantasia Caramela, Phillips and Company, and McMillan’s own Mosaic Art Studio. For the opening she’s invited more than 20 other vendors to sell items and plans to have a food truck and live music as well.

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The Mosaic Institute (a 501c3 nonprofit), offers “free mosaic instruction to all who wish to join in the creation of murals that will reside in neighborhoods, organizations and businesses that show excellence in community advocacy.”

“So far in the new Mosaic Institute Community Studio at Crane, we have completed two glass mosaic murals with the Montgomery County Courts, Monday and STOP,” McMillan says. “We are working towards a continued partnership program with Montgomery County to involve adults incarcerated for drug abuse in the creation of murals that will be donated as a means of art therapy.”

For the first large Dayton project, McMillan says she's focusing on the train overpass at Keowee and First streets. "We have several smaller painted murals prepared for under the overpass and are gathering funds to paint the bridge itself," she says. "Our goal for the first year is to focus on East Dayton and paint several positive message murals in that area." In addition to the community portion of her business, McMillan's space at Crane also includes a mosaic art studio where you can drop-in for make-and-take projects and classes. For more information, visit miDayton.org

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