A short story is all you need to hear an effective and moving piece on life.
Pear Theatre is inviting the community to their annual “Pear Slices” event, a chance for local playwrights to present eight small 10-minute shows that range through themes such as family, technology and modern politics. This event is used as a starting point for writers to experiment with their ideas and later use them for longer pieces of content.
Paul Braverman, a playwright, actor and founding member of Pear Theatre Playwrights Guild, is showcasing two new stories: “A Mysterious Demise” and “Deuce Cooper: Full House.” In “A Mysterious Demise,” Braverman said that it is an absurdist piece that incorporates characters from the public domain to explain the story of Humpty Dumpty. His other piece “Deuce Cooper: Full House,” is a homage to a noir detective story. Deuce Cooper is a recurring character that Braverman has included in various other “Slices” events through the years and in this new edition to the series, Deuce and his wife Donna are watching over an assassin as his trial date nears.
He said “Slices” allows local talent to share their voices and background. He said there aren’t many theaters that “generate new content” this often, allowing new artists to share their plays in the hope they would spread beyond the Bay Area. He said an average play at “Slices” will be 10 minutes, enough time to make an emotional impact on an audience.
“I’ve written probably 50 plays, and most of them, in some way or another, address empathy,” he said. “In my longer work and in my one-act plays, that are in that sort of 30 to 50-minute range and every single one of them has empathy, and that’s also been the theme of several of my short plays.”
Bridgette Dutta Portman, the playwright of “Stargazers,” dives deep into the relationships of siblings and how their fractured relationship is displayed when they come together for the anniversary of their father’s death. Portman said while writing the play, she thought about her own relationship with her brother and then challenged herself to see what it would be like to be in the characters’ shoes.
“Those kinds of characters are interesting and I studied psychology for a bit in college, and I think maybe that is what helps me inhabit these character breakdowns.”
She said that the current administration’s removal of federal funds for the public arts has made it difficult to be a playwright. She said writing is the only way she can cope with difficult situations and using her voice will help her in this uncertain future.
“I’ve been involved with this theater for a long time,” she said. “It’s very close to my heart. I think it’s a wonderful group of people to work with. I’ve always had a really good experience at “Slices” and there aren’t all that many opportunities for playwrights to have new work presented, especially in the current climate.”
To learn about “Pear Slices” and read about the other playwrights’ work, visit thepear.org/slices25.
