This June, Abrams Spotlight Productions, Inc. is excited to present an original play written and directed by the one and only Mike Eserkaln!
Mike has graced the ASPI stage in the productions of Oliver and A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. His first experience directing a previously published play was the 2022 production of The Foreigner. He is also currently an advisory member of the ASPI board.
Director is not the only talent on his resume! Mike is an artist of various media: painting, digital, photography, improvisation, and writing. You can check out his work at www.eserkaln.com and/or at www.Patreon.com/Eserkaln.
With 38 years of theater experience, many of which spent doing improvisational comedy and original scripts, Lustful Youth: A Comedy is particularly meaningful. It is the first play that Mike ever had produced! And interestingly, it can now be considered a period play. Cue the nostalgia! This upcoming production will also be Mike’s fourth iteration directing this play, and he is very much looking forward to seeing the way that the cast takes to the script and makes it their own!
Having worked with the cast and crew before, Mike is excited to see them portraying different characters. They are all very talented people and their dedication to the production is already coming through at rehearsals.
Chaotic confusing mayhem! Three words describing the production from the writer and director himself. He believes audiences will enjoy the situation that Walt, the main protagonist, finds himself in, and the way that he and his imagination navigate the world they end up creating.
The original inspiration for the play began as a writing exercise, writing just plot with no character development. It was originally called “Plot”, and then he started writing dialogue between two characters and that developed into the rest of the story.
For the aspiring writers and playwrights, here is advice from Mike: “Stop thinking about writing a play and just write the play. Stop thinking, stop planning, stop excusing, just write it.”
Catch Lustful Youth, an original play by Mike Eserkaln, June 8-10 & 15-17 at 7pm and June 11 and 18 at 1pm. Tickets are on sale NOW! Purchase yours for one of the eight performances at abramsspotlightproductions.com. Please call the Box Office at (920) 826-5852 with any questions.
Let’s look back at ASPI’s 2018 production of this enduring musical