Players Centre in Sarasota stages local playwright’s ‘Mammoth Bones’

Every year, the Players Centre for Performing Arts holds a New Play Festival, a competition that features reading of original works by area playwrights. About a year later, the winning play from the festival gets a full staging at the Players Centre.

In 2016, the winner was Connie Schindewolf, a well-known playwright in the area. Her winning play is titled “Mammoth Bones,” and it is running on the Backstage Theatre, the Player’s black box space, through Sunday.

The story has to do with a man named Robert who hears the sounds of ancient mammoths after finding a bone in his yard. He wonders whether he may be communicating with the spirits of the past, or if the medication he’s taking is playing with his mind. Family bonds ultimately help him hold onto his sanity.

It’s directed by Carole Kleinberg and features Mark Shoemaker as Robert, plus Judy Glynn, Betty Robinson, David Meyersberg and Jesse Rosenfeld.

By the way, the winner of the recent 2017 Players New Play Festival “Before Steepletop” by Arthur Keyser. The full production of that one is set for Aug. 21-26, 2018.

Details: Through Aug. 27, The Players Centre for Performing Arts, 838 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota. 7:30 p.m. Thursday-Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday. $15. 941-365-2494, theplayers.org.

This story was originally published August 23, 2017 at 4:04 PM with the headline "Players Centre in Sarasota stages local playwright’s ‘Mammoth Bones’."