The Mile Square Theatre will present 7th Inning Stretch – seven 10-minute plays about baseball – this Saturday, June 19. 7th Inning Stretch is the second annual fundraiser for the local theatre group, and will mark the debut of seven short plays relating to baseball.”I simply asked the playwrights to write their take on baseball,” says Artistic Director Chris O’Connor, adding that the plays are primarily comedies, with the exception of one dramatic performance.
The Mile Square Theatre, a professional theater company based in Hoboken, was founded by O’Connor in 2003. Last year’s performance of 7th Inning Stretch was a great success “artistically,” O’Connor says. However, since the event was held in August, many Hoboken residents were out of town on vacation, which is why O’Connor (a Hoboken resident himself) chose to hold this year’s production in June.
Anniversary celebration
He feels that the baseball theme will attract Hobokenites because of the game’s rich history in the city. In fact, the event has been scheduled to coincide with the anniversary of the first recorded baseball game, held on June 19, 1846, at Hoboken’s Elysian Fields.
“I wanted to choose something connected to Hoboken, so I had two choices,” he continues. “Baseball or Frank Sinatra. I thought baseball was a universal topic.” O’Connor adds that one of the plays actually includes references to the 1846 Hoboken game.
Playwrights whose work will be featured in this year’s 7th Inning Stretch include Tony Award-winner Warren Leight, Anthony Clarvoe, Michael Garces, Peter Hanrahan, Elisabeth Karlin, Katt Lissard, and Said Sayrafiezadeh.
“I’ve seen all of their works, and a couple of them are my friends,” O’Connor says of the playwrights. “Others I didn’t know, but I knew of their work and asked them to write for the benefit. All the writers were very excited about writing about baseball.”
While 10 minutes may not seem like a lot of time to fully develop the plot and climax of a play, O’ Connor insists that it’s easier than some people think.
“The 10-minute play form has become a very popular form,” he says. “You have to introduce characters, introduce conflict, develop the conflict … all in 10 minutes. It’s easier for a writer to create a 10-minute play.”
The plays are set in different locations and time frames, from 19th-century Hoboken to Game Seven of last year’s playoffs between the Yankees and the Red Sox. Actors will be dressed in period costumes, and stadium-style music (think “Who Let the Dogs Out?”) will be featured between plays.
7th Inning Stretch will feature 21 actors, all of whom – like the playwrights – are donating their time and talent to the production. Among the actors are Mike Waldron of Bayonne; and Sean Roof, Jennifer McCabe, and Annie McAdams of Hoboken. Lighting designer Jerome Hoppe also hails from the Mile-Square City.
Although children are welcome at the performance, O’Connor cautions that some of the material may not be appropriate for the very young.
“There is mature language, but it’s not extreme,” O’Connor says. “That’s the only caution – we’ve put it on our posters. It’s definitely not for little children.”
Fund-raiser for Cyrano
The proceeds from 7th Inning Stretch will fund the Mile Square Theatre’s production of Cyrano, which will have eight performances between July 14 and July 25 at Sinatra Park in Hoboken. Cyrano is the group’s first major production, and will be free to the public.
“We’re doing a big push after this with Cyrano. I’ve been raising money all year from foundations, corporations, and with government money,” O’Connor says.
The Mile Square Theatre hopes to perform 7th Inning Stretch every year, which will fund their future productions. In fact, O’Connor is already planning for next year.
“We really want to do something big because it’s the 150th anniversary of Hoboken,” O’Connor says. “I’ve already got a couple of playwrights lined up.”
On Stage
7th Inning Stretch
When: Saturday, June 19, at 8 p.m.
Where: DeBaun Auditorium, at the corner of Fifth and Hudson streets in Hoboken.
Tickets: $25 general admission, and $15 for students (with school ID) and seniors. (Proceeds will support the Mile Square Theatre’s production of Cyrano – a free performance, open to the public, which will be held in July at Hoboken’s Sinatra Park.)
For more info: see www.milesquaretheatre.org.
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