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Disclaimer: Any similarities between people
living or dead and the characters in Leigh Shein's award-winning
monologue, "Who Needs Changing," are purely coincidental.
Shein, a Bonita Springs resident, acknowledges he has a 2-year-old
daughter and a mother. They may have served as the inspiration
for his monologue, but the characters are purely fictional,
he said, laughing.
"It's not about my daughter or my mother. It's about
a hypothetical daughter and (grandmother)," he said.
Shein, 45, will perform his short monologue, which uses humor
to compare the mindsets of the two females, at 7:30 p.m. today
at the Norris Center in Naples as one of 10 winners of the
Florida Stories 2 competition sponsored by Gulfshore Playhouse.
This is the second year for the Florida Stories contest, which
encourages Southwest Florida residents to submit a poem, monologue
or theatrical scene about a memorable Florida experience.
The 10 winners get to see their work performed live by professional
actors during staged readings.
"It's really about digging deep and pulling out whatever
you want to express," said Kristen Coury, founder and
producing artistic director of Gulfshore Playhouse.
The other winners of the Florida Stories 2 contest are Chrissie
Paddock, Roger Baker, Margaret Lynch, Victor Hill, Patti Corsini
Caroli and Patricia Sullivan, all Naples residents; Karla
Thompson of Fort Myers; Lisa Campione of Port Charlotte and
Claire Hughes, a fifth-grader at Estates Elementary School
in Nap les. Paddock and Sullivan also won last year's contest.
Sullivan said she chose to write a sequel to her entry from
last year, which dealt with a widow and an older gentleman
meeting in an airport and finding love. This year's story
revisits the couple a year later, when the man is ready to
propose, and the woman has mixed feelings because she still
loves her husband.
Sullivan, who is in her early 70s, has performed with community
theaters and acted in some commercials in the Boston area.
This is the first time that she will see her own work performed,
she said.
"I've always been interested in writing," she said.
"This year, I was really interested in what happened
to these people. My husband and I have met a lot of people
(like the widow) down here."
Although most of the Florida Stories 2 winners will be in
the audience, Shein will perform his monologue and at least
one other winner's story. Although he said he has "dabbled"
in acting in Tampa, Chicago and Washington, D.C., the pressure
is on because he has never acted his own work before.
"I think when I wrote it, I just though someone else
would do it. I guess maybe it's harder because you can't blame
somebody else" if it doesn't go well, he said with a
chuckle.
Gulfshore Playhouse is more a name than a place right now,
and plans to construct the 500-seat main stage and 150-seat
studio playhouse in the Estero on the River development are
hinging on Lee County zoning approval. That is not stopping
Coury from beginning the education initiative that she says
will become a cornerstone of the activity at the theater.
The Florida Stories contest is just the beginning, she has
said.
"I think the community is reacting really well,"
she said.
To reserve tickets for Florida Stories 2, call the Norris
Center at (239) 213-3058. Tickets are $15 and can also be
purchased at the door.
© 2006 Naples Daily News and NDN Productions. Published
in Naples, Florida, USA by the E.W. Scripps Co.
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