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by Mark Brownell

directed by Irene Tassiopulos

Adam LeBow assistant director

"Playballs" presents the adventures of Lucy Posner and her quest for every American girl's dream: to be a Major League umpire! Full of high hilarity and a lotta heart, it's a contemporary comedy by Toronto playwright Mark Brownell, based on a true story (see below).

The crackerjack three-actor "Playballs" squad features Lisa Soloway as Lucy Posner while Robert Fileta and Declan Galvin play everyone else she encounters on her wild ride through the trials, tribulations, and triumphs of becoming a pro umpire.

Director Irene Tassiopulos assembled an all-star team of fellow Open-Fisters
to work behind the scenes as well: assistant director/stage manager Adam LeBow, veteran sound designer and frequent Open Fist collaborator Peter Carlstedt, co-choreographer (with Ms. Tassiopulos) Amy Watt, and Jon Stafford and Terri Smith helming the sound and lights.

Playballs-related links

• You Gotta Have Balls To Make It In This League
  (the true story behind Playballs)

• The Exploratorium's "Girls of Summer"

• The Baseball Reliquary's "Shrine of the Eternals"

• "Against All Odds"
  (from Referee magazine, August, 1986)
  click here for full text of article

• "Remembering a Lost Scoop"

• Small-Cast One-Act Guide Online
  (includes production history and copyright info)