Lehman’s First Annual Playwrights’ Festival

By Nile Gayle

Bronx Journal Staff

For years, Lehman College has hosted plays in the Lovinger and Studio Theatres. Performed by students, these plays, such as the recent production of Hairspray, were all written by well-known playwrights. Determined to change that, William M. Hoffman, a Theatre professor at Lehman, decided to host plays penned by students.

The result was Lehman’s first annual Playwrights’ Festival in May. In another first, actors didn’t rehearse or memorize lines, but rather sat on stage together and read from their scripts.

Several Lehman students were selected as playwrights for the festival. Conor Anderson, a senior majoring in creative writing, wrote What’s On Your Mind? Dialect poet, actor and Theatre major Jennifer Douglas wrote and performed in The Magic Tree. Other student plays included Jump, Mannequin Girls, Becoming Anna Freud, Plan B, Friday Night Fights and Unity.

The event had a huge turnout. Along with students, there were a number of staff and faculty who attended the show. Several students from other campuses inside and outside of CUNY were also there in attendance with friends and family.

The festival was special because many students made their debut as actors. Some of the playwrights acted out their characters. Sonia Paulino, author of Plan B played the character Crystal. Other playwrights were too shy to perform and fellow students performed the roles. Psychology major Luis Antonio played the character Junior in Friday Night Fights and Theatre major Felix Baez played the character Ramiro in Unity. Jean-Paul Morales, a veteran of over 12 Lehman productions, played the character Kyle in Plan B. Last but not least, Professor William Hoffman performed as Noah in What’s On Your Mind. Hoffman is a playwright and author of As Is which appeared on Broadway. He has won several awards for his work, including a Drama Desk, an Obie, a Tony and a Pulitzer nomination for best play.

The hope, says Hoffman, is that hosting productions performed AND written by Lehman playwrights will encourage students to write more and work harder. Ultimately, he says, it could also be a stepping stone for any performers who wish to pursue professional careers in the theatre.