Acorn and Ice

The first ice storm made them postpone, but Friday night's blizzard would not keep the aspiring playwrights as well as the actors and actresses of Acorn Productions from working their craft.

Meanwhile, the driver of the Epiblogue almost refused to go to the Westbrook headquarters of Acorn Productions in the inclement weather, making this reporter late for the reading of three plays written by local Mainers.

"Perfect Joe," by Lynne Cullen, "I Thought You Were Dead," by Kathy Hooke, and "Deformities," by Keith Anctil were the dramas of the evening. These readings, which were postponed from their regular 2nd Friday spot to Dec. 19, were part of a series of plays work-shopped in a writing and improvisation class held by Michael Levine, producing director of Acorn Productions.

"I Thought You Were Dead," has an absent-minded professor come back into his children's life as a ghost. While he searches for a "A Tale of Two Cities" and "Wuthering Heights" the children help the ghost of their father realize he is really looking for his late wife. Hooke said the play raises questions about coming to peace with death as being an acceptable and necessary part of life.

"Perfect Joe," is a humorous banter between a husband and wife discussing just what the perfect husband and wife would be for each other. Anctil's "Deformities" was a cut-up of a longer play that transpires in a mental institution.

The readers included: Seth Berner, Nate Speckman, Harlan Baker, Stephanie Ross, Patricia Mew and Kerry Rasor; local talents associated with Acorn. Because it was a reading, Randall Tuttle read stage directions to help the audience understand the action. Everyone did very well, but I think Baker had too much fun reading his parts to the surprisingly full house.

During a question and answer session afterwards with the writers, one woman said the plays had a common theme regarding the magical power of families, and I thought this was a good summation of the works.

Acorn hosts a different set of plays on the second Friday of every month, weather permitting, in Westbrook. Hooke and Cullen said their plays were finished, but I would argue that a full performance would flush out more direction from these works. Overall, the readings were a pleasant and humorous experience that offered an opportunity to view the plays in their last few miles in a marathon to completion.

For more information about the readings go to acorn-productions.org.