See a free staged reading at ECAC

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 free 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.

“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 Bruce Worthel 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, 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, Bruce Worthel, will attend each performance to assess audience response, address questions and entertain feedback.

This free event features Catie Early of East Dundee, Max Romano of Sleepy Hollow, Bill and Taylor Sherry from St. Charles, Ann Marie Nordby and Geoff Maher from Arlington Heights, Larry Boller from Geneva, August Conte of Lake Zurich and Terrell Riggins from 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 at grady_s@cityofelgin.org.