“How do authors reckon with unoriginality?” Leonidas Gonzalez asked.
Four years ago, Gonzalez was an aspiring playwright as a junior at Pine Ridge High School, looking forward to writing out and staging a play as an incoming senior.
COVID-19 dashed those dreams.
Now, as a senior at Stetson University, Gonzalez is catching up for lost time and planning to put on his original play, The Writer’s Room, in May at Shoestring Theatre in Lake Helen.
The play will be the third fully student-run performance at Shoestring Theatre, solidifying the theater’s mission of youth education in the community.
A COMMUNITY STAPLE — Active in the local theater scene since the 1940s, Shoestring Theatre, now at 380 S. Godwin Street in Lake Helen, is a key member of Volusia County’s arts community. A core mission of the theater is youth education. Not only does the theater offer youth programs, but its board of directors includes high-school and college liaisons.
“We consider ourselves a teaching theater, preparing artists with the needed skills to go on to successfully direct, act or serve technical needs in future productions,” Shoestring President Lori Lemoine told The Beacon. “We are excited to continue to expand this part of our mission this coming summer with the fully staged production of Leo’s The Writer’s Room, and feel fortunate to be able to serve our area students in the exposure and participation of the arts.”
The Writer’s Room follows Oliver, a writer whose unpublished story is stolen and secretly adapted into a popular movie. Oliver reckons with the theft while characters Oliver created come to life on the stage.
Oliver, the nonbinary main character, asks what it means to be original in a world where so many stories have already been told.
Gonzalez has been hard at work since last spring planning the production, and he hopes to begin casting soon. He specifically is looking for young adults ages 17-18 all the way up to people in their mid-30s.
The Writer’s Room will be directed by Gonzalez’s highschool friend Ash Alier. Gonzalez was able to act in Alier’s play during their time together at Pine Ridge High School, and the playwrite hopes to offer similar opportunities to other budding actors.
The play will debut at Shoestring Theatre May 3-4, just weeks before Gonzalez graduates with his bachelor’s degree from Stetson University.
“I want to try to work in play-publishing or some kind of theater-related work,” Gonzalez said.
In the meantime, he’s just excited to involve the community in a work he cares so much about.
Interested in being a part of The Writer’s Room? Gonzalez can be reached by email at jgonzalez21@stetson.edu or by phone at 386-878-9898.
