S2S2S Will Present a Staged Reading of Southlake as its Penultimate Production
by Audrey Liebross
Script2Stage2Screen (S2S2S) will present a staged reading of a new original drama, Southlake, written by Mike Byham, as its monthly production for May. Stan Jenson, a well-known local actor, backstage professional, and my fellow writer at Coachella Valley Theatre World, will direct.
Formed in 2010 by a small group of playwrights as an arm of the Unitarian Universalist Church of the Desert (UUCOD), S2S2S started as a vehicle to premiere original plays. It has developed into a diverse performing arts organization in the Coachella Valley with the mission of highlighting social justice issues, families, sexual equality, the dignity of humanity, and the joy and humor of life. Most of the readings I’ve seen tilt towards comedy. However, Southlake, in keeping with a story about a Vietnam veteran, sounds likely to be highly serious, albeit with a hint of the supernatural.
Southlake allows us to peek in on the life-defining moments of Randall Scott, a Vietnam veteran who with his pregnant wife Rose settles into the quiet farming suburb of Southlake, Texas, in the early 1970’s. Told through scenes that alternate between then and 2022, it’s a story of love, regret, change, and redemption. The cast consists of Rupert Smith, Jesus Sandoval, Jana Giboney, Sabastian Reva, Jessica Lenz, and Steve Giboney.
Mike Byham, who lives in the real Southlake, Texas, is a Pittsburgh native who has recently returned to the theatre scene following a 20+ year hiatus, primarily spent as a soccer dad. Mike’s plays have won multiple awards. His full-length comedy, The Up and Down Detective Agency, is available online via Stage-Write Plays Publishing. Mike is a member of the Dramatists Guild.
Meet the cast and director of Mike Byham's SOUTHLAKE, directed by Stan Jenson. Two staged readings: Friday & Saturday, May 24 & 25 at 7:30 pm - Unitarian Universalist Church of the Desert, 72-425 Via Vail, Rancho Mirage
Back row, l. to r.: Rupert Smith, Jesus Sandoval - Front row, l. to r.: Steve Giboney, Jessica Lenz, Stan Jenson, Jana Giboney, Sabastian Reda
Script2Stage2Screen is the performing arts project of UUCOD. The performances will take place at 7:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, May 24th and 25th, at UUCOD, 72-425 Via Vail, in Rancho Mirage. UUCOD is located just off Dinah Shore, across the street from the Rancho Mirage dog park. Tickets are $15 cash or check at the door, or they may be purchased via PayPal on the website, script2stage2screen.com. Will call reservations can be made at script2stage2screen@gmail.com.
As many devotees of S2S2S’s work know by now, this is the company’s last season. The June staged reading will be the final one that S2S2S presents before permanently closing its figurative doors. That play will be Engagement Rules, by Rich Orloff (June 21-22, 2024), a comedy that follows the intertwined lives of two couples who have become good friends despite (or because of) their multi-decade age gap.