Heart-Beat
by R.G. Rader
December 2, 2000
Co-sponsored by the Bradford Area Public Library

The staged reading of Heart-Beat was presented as part of BLT's Playwright-in-Residence program

About the Show  ·  Cast List  ·  About the Playwright
 

About the Show

Heart-Beat tells a story of love found in one of the most unusual and haunting of places, the space between life and death in a coma.

"Two lost souls, trapped in limbo, must discover the true nature of love," says director Chris Mackowski. "For them, love really is a matter of life and death."

The play, says author R.G. Rader, "is about finding love, honesty, sincerity, and especially hope in those silent places where we cannot allow others, or don’t want to allow others. These two people, in their comas, find each other in a very real way and ultimately, hopefully, find hope."

Much of Rader’s work aims at getting into those silent places. "I like to find ways to get to places where we, as individuals, don’t allow others, or if we do allow others, we need to trust them very much," he explains. "Those spaces exist in the depths of our thought, in memory, in places where we go internally, dealing with our soul and our faith. So, this play is not so much about comas as it is about being in a place where you only allow a few in."
 

Cast List

Marie Costello — Doris, Joseph’s daughter
Marie is the morning sidekick for The Show on WESB, where she also hosts Midday Magazine’s "LiveLine" talk show. She also works as the station’s promotions director. Although Heart-Beat is her BLT debut, she recently appeared in Kiwanis Kapers.

Richard G. Frederick — Joseph
One of the co-authors of Kiwanis Kapers, Rick is a professor of history at Pitt-Bradford. Having appeared on stage many times, he is the adored idol of millions. He last appeared on-stage with BLT in The Fantasticks.

Chris Mackowski (Director)—Stage Directions
Chris writes plays and serves on BLT’s Board of Directors. He is an assistant professor of journalism and mass communication at St. Bonaventure University.

Duane Pletcher — Marvin, Doris’ husband
Duane, a founding member of BLT who’s currently serving as president, is the chair of the English Department at Bradford Area High School. He has appeared in The Foreigner, he directed Steel Magnolias, and he read in Excavation.

Katie Yurick — Jennifer (Jeanie)
A sophomore at Pitt-Bradford, Katie is a communications major from Warren. She recently performed in the college’s production of Good Night, Desdemona/Good Morning, Juliet. She performed in last year’s staged reading of Excavation, and she assisted with How I Learned to Bellydance in September.

(In the photo, from left: Costello, Frederick, Yurick, Rader, Pletcher, Mackowski)

About the Playwright

R.G. Rader divides his time between work as a professor, playwright, poet, and actor.

Rader has had plays produced in New York City and New Jersey and has been writer-in-residence at the William Carlos Williams Center for the Arts. He is presently playwright-in-residence with Arrowhead Theater Company in New York City.

In addition, Rader is the author of two books of poetry with his third collection, Kicking the Rain, to be published this winter.

Rader’s other current projects include several radio plays. For Valentine's Day 2002, in cooperation with season sponsor WESB radio, BLT will present Rader’s The Wind Behind Us, a radio play that tells the heartwarming tale of an elderly couple who share a journey into town and into their past.

Rader holds degrees in philosophy, theology, and writing. He lives with his wife, Mary-Jane, and son, Jason, in Passaic, New Jersey.

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PO Box 255 Bradford, PA 16701