Staged reading in Elgin features work of local writer
Submitted by Elgin Cultural Arts Commission
The Elgin Cultural Arts Commission presents “Pictures of a Wasted Man” at 8 p.m. Friday, Nov. 11, and Saturday, Nov. 12, and 2 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 13 at the Elgin Art Showcase, 164 Division St., eighth floor, in downtown Elgin.
This staged reading is the fourth in the ECAC's Page To Stage series which provides Elgin audiences the opportunity to participate in the development of new plays. This event is sponsored by the Elgin Cultural Arts Commission, Elgin Art Showcase, city of Elgin, and is free to the public.
“Pictures of a Wasted Man” tells the tale of a homeless Vietnam vet and the cast of characters he meets in the shelter of the local library. After a brief success as a writer, he has spent many years wrestling with his personal demons. The playwright imaginatively uses the stage to get inside the head of this “wasted man.” This script first saw life as a seven-page manuscript for a creative-writing class. Over the years the author, Bruce Worthel, added characters, expanded scenes, and enlarged the scope of the story.
Unlike a fully mounted play, a staged reading utilizes actors carrying scripts while delivering their lines and acting out the events of the play. A narrator is often used to describe the visual elements and action of the play. The playwright will attend each performance to assess audience response, address questions and entertain feedback.
Worthel started out composing poetry and song lyrics. Writing short fiction improved his abilities and he eventually sold some magazine stories.
After complaining about poorly written documentation at work, he was offered the opportunity to do better. Soon writing became part of his job.
He returned to school, got a degree in writing and language from Aurora University, and became a full-time technical writer at Fermilab.
Worthel started his stage career singing and playing guitar in the early 1970s. It wasn't until 2002 that his wife dared him to audition for a part in “As You Like It.” He was cast, fell in love with the theater, and has since acted all around the Chicago suburbs. In Elgin, Worthel appeared in three shows for Vex Theatre, “Jekyll and Hyde,” “One for the Books,” and “A Turn of the Scrooge,” as well as in “Big River” at Elgin Community College.
This free event features Catie Early of East Dundee, Max Romano of Sleepy Hollow, Bill and Taylor Sherry of St. Charles, Ann Marie Nordby and Geoff Maher, both of Arlington Heights, Larry Boller of Geneva, August Conte of Lake Zurich, and Terrell Riggins of Palatine. Richard Pahl of Elgin is the director; Rich Geiger of Palatine serves as technical director.
To learn more about Page To Stage and the Elgin Cultural Arts Commission, contact City Liaison, Sylvia Grady, by email at grady_s@cityofelgin.org or go to www.cityofelgin.org.