Chris O’Connor founded the Mile Square Theatre nine years ago. Even though the Hoboken company has blossomed into a well-respected professional theatre, he still looks back and calls the startup his “crazy idea.”
Every year since MST’s inception in 2002, the theatre company has hosted an annual fundraiser known as “7th Inning Stretch.” The performance serves as the primary fundraiser for the theatre company, and it features seven 10-minute plays about baseball, usually performed just one night every year.
‘A big part of the theatre company is to connect with the community.’ – Chris O’Connor, founder of Mile Square Theatre
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The performances are June 17 and June 18 at 8 p.m., and June 19 at 2 p.m. The second night will be a special night including catering.
Three per year
The company traditionally puts on three major plays a year – one for children, one for adults, and another holiday-themed play in December. MST also hosts summer camps for interested actors and actresses, as well as other drama initiatives in the community.
Since MST is a professional theatre, all of the actors and workers associated with the plays are paid. However, for the three-day performance, as in all the fundraisers in the past, the performers will be volunteers. In addition to helping fund the theatre’s three major plays, the night also serves to financially boost the educational initiatives of the theatre company.
“Any theatre company in America needs to have a strong revenue stream,” he said.
O’Connor said the company decided on the format of the fundraiser easily because he said it’s “relatively easy to convince a playwright to write a 10-minute play.”
O’Connor commissions playwrights for the fundraiser, and he only has three rules: “The plays have to be 10 minutes long, they have to have five characters or less, and they have to be about baseball.”
He said the plays vary, and can be pragmatic, comedic, bizarre, and absurd. O’Connor said more of them are comedies this year than usual.
O’Connor said one year, the theatre company opened up the call to any playwrights to submit work.
“We received about 80 plays for four openings,” he said.
Now they commission the plays and the event runs “like a well-oiled machine.”
The plays are commissioned in the fall, and delivered to the Mile Square Theatre on May 1. The directors then cast the plays, and rehearsals begin. Currently, the actors and actresses are rehearsing for the three-night spectacle.
Hoboken, plays, and baseball
Hoboken is known as the birthplace of organized baseball.
“We wanted to make the fundraiser thematic and connect it to Hoboken,” O’Connor said. “Baseball seemed to be the most logical theme for Hoboken. Plus, baseball is universal.”
The fundraiser has apparently caught the eye of Major League Baseball, who will be sending a camera crew to film at the Saturday night show for a segment on an episode of “This Week in Baseball” on FOX.
“We made a connection with them and they were really excited about what we’re doing here,” O’Connor said.
The Saturday night tickets are $50, and the night is billed as the “Triple Play Party.” The Triple Play Party will include a community-themed event in which restaurants from across the city donate food for the fundraiser.
The other shows are $25 for adults and $15 for seniors and students.
O’Connor said he recognizes that there are seemingly always fundraisers in Hoboken, but he said this one is different.
“What makes this unique is it’s an entertaining show,” O’Connor said. “You get a lot of bang for your buck.”
O’Connor is “strongly encouraging” those interested in attending to purchase tickets in advance. Previously, the event was held for one night in the DeBaun Auditorium at Stevens, which holds more than 400 people. However, this time, when the fundraiser is held in the Monroe Center, there will only be 120 seats available.
“We’re hoping to sell the theatre out for all three nights,” he said. “This year we’re bringing it home to the Monroe Center.”
O’Connor said having a deep love for baseball is not important for the show. “It may help,” he said, but it’s not necessary.
“People that love theatre and baseball will be in heaven,” he said. “I always tell people if they don’t like one play, just wait 10 minutes.”
This year’s playwrights are Jenny Lyn Bader, Brian Dykstra, Michael Jon Garces, Alex Gherardi, Matthew Lawler, Raymond McAnally, and Candido Tirado.
To order tickets, go to MileSquareTheatre.com.
Ray Smith may be reached at RSmith@hudsonreporter.com