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THEATER Love is a funny thing Four Fun Productions presents 'Love, Lust & Chocolate Cake' Comment By Angela Decker for the Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Angela Decker for the Mail Tribune Posted Feb. 10, 2016 at 12:25 PM By Angela Decker for the Mail Tribune Posted Feb. 10, 2016 at 12:25 PM » Social News Four Rogue Valley playwrights will highlight the wacky side of romance over Valentine’s weekend with five short comedies they’ve written, directed and produced. Darlene Ensor, Diane Nichols, Cynthia Rogan and Mail Tribune city editor Catherine Noah, collectively known as Four Fun Productions, will stage plays that are a far cry from the romantic cliche of chocolates and flowers. This is a labor of love for the playwrights, who took on every aspect of theater production from costumes and set design to the coffee at intermission. “We wanted to take the next step and push ourselves a bit more. Usually as writers, we just hand the script to the director and then show up opening night,” Ensor says. “It felt right to do a show with a Valentine’s theme. We all love comedy and romance and, of course, chocolate cake.” “Love, Lust & Chocolate Cake” plays at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Feb. 12-13, and 2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 14, in the Bellview Grange, 1050 Tolman Creek Road, Ashland. Tickets are $15 and can be purchased in advance at brownpapertickets.com or at the door (cash or checks only). See www.facebook.com/fourfun for information. Ensor says each short play reflects the skill and comedic sensibilities of the writers. In “A Couple of Nuts,” by Rogan, two women who like to go to funerals because they enjoy food make a connection with someone else who attends funerals for the same reason. “Break Up,” by Nichols, is a conversation between Adam and Eve as they figure out how to make fire. In “Scoring Points,” also by Nichols, a man wants to take his relationship with his girlfriend one step further, though she’s too involved in the football game to take notice. "Smeck, Smack, Baker's Man," by Noah, is a noir comedy involving a beautiful dame, a hardboiled detective and a chocolate cake. Ensor’s play, "Welcome to Hallmart,” is the story of a woman whose dislike of Valentine’s Day changes when a wacky package arrives via special delivery. Ensor says there is a recurring theme among the plays. “They are all about personal relationships, the good and the bad, coming together and breaking up,” she says. Three of the plays are 10 minutes long, and two are 20 to 25 minutes each. Ensor says the joy of one-act plays is that they offer a small segment of a life experience. “There’s enough time to tell a story, but it’s not like a full play with lots of scene changes and character development — you just dive into the story,” says Ensor. “Also, if an audience member doesn’t care for it, the show is over in a few minutes.” Ensor says that while there were organizational challenges in bringing the production together, the playwrights all learned a lot in the process. “There must be books on how to produce plays entirely on your own, and in retrospect, maybe we should have read one, but I’d encourage anyone interested to talk to people and give it a try,” Ensor says. “It’s been an education and a lot of laughter.” The four women have been working, writing or performing for many years in the Rogue Valley and became friends as their paths overlapped on the local theater scene. Ensor has written a dozen plays, as well as newspaper and magazine articles, and published a novel called “The Amazing Graces.” Ten of her plays have been presented at various venues, including Ashland Contemporary Theater, Paschal Winery and Camelot Theatre. Nichols is also an actor and director. She’s starred in a number of local productions and has seen her plays produced in Seattle, Wilsonville, Grants Pass and Ashland. Her short works are regularly seen at Barnstormers, where she recently directed “Outward Bound.” Rogan’s short stories and essays have been included in various publications, and seven of her one-act plays have been produced locally and in Seattle. Several years ago, she released a novel, “Symphony of Dreams,” and she recently completed her latest manuscript, “Switch.” Noah's plays have been produced in Manhattan, Colorado Springs, North Hollywood, Seattle and Ashland. Four Fun Productions assembled a cast of veteran actors well-known to Rogue Valley audiences: Joe Caron, Kristen Lorange Caron, David Dials, Becky Durango, Melissa Olmstead, Adriana Sanchez, Derek Shetterly, Eve Smyth and Pam Ward. Actor Kate Sullivan directs “Baker’s Man,” while the other playwrights are directing their own plays. “The rehearsals have sparked a lot of hilarity,” Ensor says. “It is a wonderful feeling bringing together such talented people and working to create something great.” The writers believe that wonderful feeling lights up all five of the plays, Ensor says. “We think the audience will come away feeling really good. It will be an awesome Valentine’s weekend, and people will leave smiling.” Reach Ashland freelance writer Angela Decker at [email protected]. By Angela Decker for the Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Angela Decker for the Mail Tribune Posted Feb. 10, 2016 at 12:25 PM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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