Casting the net
By KAREN SHADE, 4/23/2006
Stephen Haines (left) and Jason Watts pose for "Cast Me!," an audition competition based out of Oklahoma City. A. CUERVO / Tulsa World
Online competition lets Oklahoma actors prove the play's the thing
Part reality television, part theater drama -- neither lends themselves grammatically to a convenient catch-word mesh that even closely resembles the driving idea behind "Cast Me!"
Instead, Robert Matson and Lane Fields of Oklahoma City clarify the meaning of "Web play." It is not an Internet game site.
"We're both theater actors and performers on the stage. I'm also a writer. I've written original plays for the past four or five years here in Oklahoma City. We're also big reality nuts. We just love reality shows," Matson said.
Out of the combination of stage and small screen, they stirred the Internet to come up with the Web play, a play performed on the Internet instead of on stage for the world to view and judge the performances of the actors.
"I was thinking 'Internet-reality-theater competition,' " Matson said.
The Nightingale Theater, 1416 E. Fourth St., is the only location outside of Oklahoma City where "Cast Me!" will hold first-round auditions for its upcoming series of competitive Web plays. The audition will be from 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday.
First auditions also will take place on May 6-7 at Stage Center, 400 W. Sheridan Ave., in Oklahoma City.
Last year, the friends talked about ways of helping local actors get more stage and screen experience, exposure and the proverbial foot-in-the-door. Costs for headshots, audition materials and clothes, personal maintenance and travel can mount, he said.
In that way, "Cast Me!" is more than an entertainment vehicle, Fields said.
"Our hope is that these actors get some recognition from this and that it helps their careers," Fields said. "In Oklahoma, it can be a little difficult to make that next step."
Matson has penned a number of monologues, available at the "Cast Me!" Web site, webplaystudio.com. His Web plays -- and there are several -- are told through a series of monologues, making it possible for different actors to share in telling the stories.
"The one unique thing about this is when people download the solo performances, they're going to be actually watching a play, because all the performances they see, each monologue, is a different story that combines as one play. Through all those performances connected together, you'll be actually watching a short mini Web play," he said. ". . . When you're voting on a performance, you're also watching a nice beginning, middle and ending of a play."
The Web plays have not been cast, but demonstration auditions have been posted at webplaystudio.com. Actors must make the most of their monologue interpretations, a plain backdrop and camera time if they hope to advance and, ultimately, win.
"It's basically for an actor or for somebody who's always had the bug to do something different and innovative and wants to join this adventure with us. It will be a neat experience," Matson said.
"Along with that, we also include our viewers. They'll be able to view our performances on the Internet and vote for their favorite."
Television shows such as "American Idol" might come to mind, but Matson said, he never thought about Fox's popstar-in-the-making competition when he considered the outline for "Cast Me!"
"They all have the same route, most of the reality competition shows," he said. "It is a voting/eliminating process, and people like that."
The participants who are officially cast for the Web play competion will be summoned for callbacks on May 7 in Oklahoma City. Those whose auditions are made available on the Web get more exposure. The winner of the competition, who will be chosen over the summer as viewers watch the "Webisodes" of all the Web plays, will be the beneficiary of "theatrical" prizes, to help in the pursuit of a professional acting career.
The competition will be decided week by week through August.
Amber Whitlatch, owner of the Nightingale Theater, doesn't de ny that Web plays could be fun for both actors and the Internet audience. But she also sees the Web plays and competition's benefits in kindling new interest in local arts scenes, preventing a migration of artists from Oklahoma to better-known acting towns.
"Tulsa has a real flight-of-the-creative class issue. They're all leaving rural areas for big cities, and they're all leaving the country . . . so that they can get real work doing what they do. You don't choose to be an artist," Whitlatch said.
By showcasing the state's talent and getting nontheater folk involved with the voting, "Cast Me!" might encourage artists to stay in Tulsa and help spur cultural interest here, she said.
"The more artistically viable Tulsa is, the more economically viable it is. People need aggressive, alternative entertainment, and if they can't find it in Tulsa, they're going to go somewhere they can."
For more about the auditions at the Nightingale Theater, call (405) 286-9298 or send an e-mail to castme@cox.net or go webplaystudio.com.