Script2Stage2Screen will Present a Staged Reading of a New Play, Let it Rain

By Audrey Liebross

We are fortunate here in the Coachella Valley to have a fine theatre company called Script2Stage2Screen (S2S2S) that specializes in staged readings. An arm of the Unitarian Universalist Church of the Desert (UUCOD) in Rancho Mirage, S2S2S monthly presents new plays that audiences can enjoy at the bargain price of $15.

S2S2S’s next offering, which will be presented on January 26-27, 2024, is Let It Rain, written by Ed Friedman. Its use of a play within a play allows the playwright to explore what happens when modern people have concerns about a classic script; the playwright says, “Putting on a classic American play [The Rainmaker] should be easy for an established community theatre. Not so when there are competing agendas...”

Ed Friedman lives in Peekskill, New York. His short plays have been staged throughout the New York metropolitan area and around the country. His scripts appear in numerous anthologies and his prose in many literary magazines and books. His play The Keys to Life has been adapted for the screen into a film of the same title by the Northern Virginia Film Co-op. 

Clockwise from bottom left:  Larry Dyekman; Linda Cooke; Kevin Hayles; Timothy Rathke; Jonathan Brett; Lauren Nile; Jason Mannino; Kai Brothers; Frank Catale

Let it Rain is Hal O’Connell’s third directorial foray at S2S2S. Hal is familiar to Coachella Valley audiences, having appeared in numerous local productions for various theatre companies, both in serious and comic roles. Hal explains that a staged reading (as opposed to a traditional reading, where the scripts are positioned on music stands) consists of actors performing a play with costumes, props, and blocking, but with scripts in hand.

I had the pleasure of seeing S2S2S’s November presentation, A Very Holly Moosemas, which I thoroughly enjoyed. The sets and props were complex and thoroughly added to the story, despite the rudimentary nature of the venue’s stage. The actors’ interpretations were as advanced as in any well-done production, and the scripts did not get in the way of the dialogue or the action. (One gentleman looked like he was having problems reading some of the print, but he turned in a terrific performance anyway).

Let it Rain contains a mix of local favorite performers as well as new faces. In alphabetical order, the cast consists of Jonathan Brett, who plays Mick, an actor; Kai Brothers (Will, the police chief); Frank Catale (the Reverend Poole, a Methodist minister); Linda Cooke (Trina, president of the theatre company); Larry Dyekman (the Reverend White, a Lutheran pastor); Kevin Hayles (Doug, a librarian); Jason Mannino (Ernie, director of The Rainmaker); Lauren Nile (Maggie, a social worker); and Tim Rathke (Davey, stage manager of The Rainmaker).

 Lauren Nile, who is making her stage debut after a prominent career in social justice and related fields, has an especially interesting background. She is an accomplished author, keynote speaker, organizational development trainer, and retired attorney.  She is the author of On Race & Religion:  My Journey from Jim Crow to Mysticism and a host of essays and articles on a number of other social and political issues. In her keynote addresses, Lauren most often speaks about her favorite topic, “The Oneness of Humanity”. This background certainly seems to lend itself to her role in Let it Rain as a social worker. And another cast member, Larry Dyekman, has a theatrical background that also lends itself to his role as a Lutheran pastor — I have seen him in a production where he superbly performed the role of a Baptist minister. (Another amusing type-casting fact relates to the director, who has played at least two Catholic priests, but I digress.)

Ernie (Jason Mannino) gets an earful from Trina (Linda Cooke) as Rev. White (Larry Dyekman) looks on.

Coachella Valley Theatre World does not review S2S2S’s performances; by the time we’d be able to publish a review, their two-evening run would be over. We therefore urge our readers to follow our preview articles about S2S2S’s upcoming performances to make sure they don’t miss any productions.

Let It Rain will take place on Friday, January 26 and Saturday, January 27, 2024, at 7:30 p.m. All of S2S2S’s performances take place at UUCOD, 72-425 Via Vail Rancho Mirage, CA 92270 (across from the Rancho Mirage Dog Park). Tickets are $15 cash or check at the door, or they may be purchased via PayPal on the S2S2S website, www.script2stage2screen.com . Will-call reservations may be made at script2stage2screen@gmail.com.

The rest of S2S2S’s season consists of:

 The Most Distinguished Citizen of Ledbetter Gap, written and directed by Jason Hull (February 23- 24, 2024). It takes more than you think to win a big award in a small town!

 Life, Love, And The Pursuit, by Shelley Chester (March 22-23, 2024) Maxine Stafford, 67, meets a successful 55-year-old writer, Ryan Allen Squire. As Maxine attempts to play matchmaker for Ryan, the two develop an unlikely friendship that changes both of their lives.

 Young Playwrights’ Celebration: Main Character, by Brooklyn Rutledge (April 19-20, 2024). Cass is a completely, totally, absolutely average high school girl, definitely not anybody who would be a main character. She is overly aware of this fact, and yet, here she is dealing with all the annoyances that come from being the star of the show.

 Southlake, by Mike Byham (May 24-25, 2024). We peek in on the life-defining moments of Randall Scott – a Vietnam veteran who with his young, pregnant wife Rose settled into the quiet farming suburb of Southlake, Texas in the early 1970’s. Told through scenes that alternate between the early 70’s and 2022, it’s a story of love, regret, change and redemption. And there’s a ghost.

 Engagement Rules, by Rich Orloff (June 21-22, 2024). This comedy follows the intertwined lives of two couples who have become good friends despite (or because of) their multi-decade age gap. Both couples face problems at the intersection of sexuality and spirituality, forcing everyone to face questions that none of them can answer easily.