Gablestage in Coral Gables was hit doubly hard in spring, 2020. The coronavirus pandemic struck at just around the time the theater was preparing to mount its production of Arthur Miller’s “The Price.”
Then, they lost the man who was the driving force behind Gablestage for 20 years. Joseph Adler died in April after an 18-month battle with cancer. He was Gablestage’s Producing Artistic Director — which meant he not only handled most of the day-to-day operations, but he was largely responsible for choosing the thought-provoking plays that would become the theater’s trademark.
Despite the challenges -- and the heartbreak -- the theater has not turned back from its mission of presenting cutting-edge pieces.
Through Sept. 25, Gablestage will present ENGAGE@GableStage, a series of online world-premiere projects, selected through a commissioning grant process. The theater granted eight awards ranging from $1,500 to $3,000. The artists were tasked with creating short-form digital content true to Gablestage’s tradition of confronting “today’s issues and ideas.”
A few of the pieces deal directly with the psychological and societal effects of the pandemic -- like “Intimate/Internet, by Brandon Urrutia and Michael Yawney (premiering Friday, Aug. 14). It’s about a young man searching for love on the internet, after moving back to his parents’ home during COVID-19 lockdown. Can one find true intimacy online when the only decent Wi-Fi is in Mom’s kitchen?
The rest of the plays explore other themes likely to resonate with South Florida audiences. Like Rachel Finley’s “American Bullet,” which premieres Sept. 4. The solo show was born of every parent’s worst nightmare; Finley’s son was a student at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School at the time of the 2018 shooting.
In one of his last interviews, the late Joseph Adler was asked what Gablestage does. He responded that he wanted theater-goers to get in their cars after the show, go to a restaurant and argue about it. The people who run Gablestage see no reason to soften that ethos.
“You want to tackle the hard issues,” says director Margaret Ledford, who’s been curating entries for ENGAGE@GableStage. “Theater allows you to ask yourself the hard questions. And evaluate it and grow.”
IF YOU GO (ONLINE): ENGAGE@GableStage
The online pieces premiere 7 p.m. every Friday through Sept. 25 on Gablestage’s website. The premieres are free to watch — and the shows remain free for viewers on the site thereafter.
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This interview is part of “Intermission,” a WLRN series looking at how South Florida’s arts community is coping during the COVID-19 pandemic.
If you’ve got a story for us, please send an email to “talk to us at wlrnnews dot org”, with the word “Intermission” in the subject line.
