This story was originally published by ArtsATL.
Staged readings written by retired Emory professor Dr. Mel Konner are being performed through Sunday, Nov. 10, at the 7 Stages Black Box. The works were hand-selected by Konner’s longtime Emory colleague, Vincent “Vinnie” Murphy, theater professor and founder of the university’s Brave New Works series. Murphy is also directing the Mel Konner Play Festival.
The plays, which share themes of love, adventure and survival, include “Jessica: A Romantic Sequel to ‘The Merchant of Venice’” (7 p.m. Thursday), “Fatsoff: Being the Very Tragical Comical History of the Life of the Real Falstaff as Told by the Fake One” (7 p.m. Friday), “Catalysis” (2 p.m. Saturday) and “Sixteen Springs: The Missing Years of ‘The Winter’s Tale’” (2 p.m. Sunday).
“I feel like the most important work [for me] is to uncover unrecognized playwrights with a strong, vibrant voice,” Murphy said in a recent interview with ArtsATL.
“And when I discovered that Mel Konner had … challenging, funny and beautifully wrought plays that never had a professional production, I asked his permission to get them out to the Atlanta audience in a staged reading format.”
Konner, who spent years teaching and writing books on a range of subjects, said that building the festival of staged readings has been an exciting new challenge.
“I loved my first career, but it’s been so uplifting to do something different,” he said. “It’s a rebirth, really. A book, for years, involves just you and an editor. A play almost immediately involves the writer in a turbulent, wonderful world.”
THEATER PREVIEW
Mel Konner Play Festival
Through Nov. 10 at 7 Stages Black Box Theater. Free: RSVP at 7stages.org. 1105 Euclid Ave. NE, Atlanta. 404-523-7647.
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