THEATER:Student’s play getting off the ground

FOR THE RECORD

In Friday’s “Student’s play getting off the ground,” the date of the play’s opening was incorrect. “Air Born: The History of the Wright Brothers,” opens March 15 at Orange Coast College’s Drama Lab Studio. For more information, call (714) 432-5880.

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It’s not unusual to see an original play by Orange Coast College student Sean Engard being produced at OCC — he’s penned about 15 one-acts in the past — but this weekend’s opener is a special occasion.

It’s a full-length opus titled “Air Born: The Story of the Wright Brothers,” and it takes place, as one might expect, in Kitty Hawk, N.C., where the first manned flight occurred Dec. 17, 1903.

Engard, 23, has plenty of experience in directing from his years with the college’s Student Repertory Theater, but he’s passed the staging of “Air Born” on to Alex Golson, head of the college’s drama department.

The world premiere was unveiled Thursday night and will continue this weekend and March 22 through 25 in OCC’s Drama Lab Theater.

“I know it’s a bit of an unusual topic,” Engard acknowledged, “but I wanted to write a historical piece that had strong educational overtones.

“There were other teams around the world at the time of the Wright Brothers that were attempting to be the first to achieve sustained powered flights in heavier-than-air machines,” the playwright added. “I think it was highly significant for this country that the inventors of flight turned out to be Americans. Their accomplishments dramatically influenced the future of this nation.”

While the play deals with such technical topics as history, science and motorized transportation, “Air Born” is anything but mechanical, “It’s a fun comedy,” its author promises.

“I sort of wanted to bring a Rosencrantz and Guildenstern flavor to controlled, motorized flight,” Engard said, referring to the minor characters in “Hamlet” whom playwright Tom Stoppard brought center stage in his “Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead.”

Orville and Wilbur Wright made four power-driven flights at Kill Devil Hill, N.C., on a cold and blustery day 104 years ago. Engard has opted to focus on the brothers as character studies.

“Wilbur, the elder brother, is the one who got hit in the face with a hockey stick when he was a youngster and had to have reconstructive surgery,” Engard said. “He’s a bit out there — slightly scattered.

“Orville is the stable one who’s always checking Wilbur. He keeps the pieces together and the project on track. There are lots of funny moments in the show.”

Engard began writing the play over two years ago, finishing the first draft in three months. He showed it to Golson, who’s a bit of a Wright Brothers buff himself.

“It was very creative,” Golson said. “I felt that Sean was definitely on to something very good.”

Reams of rewrites followed as Engard “scaled some things back and did some refocusing. We changed a couple of scenes because they were technically difficult to pull off on stage.”

A year ago, Golson notified Engard that he wanted to direct the play on campus this spring. “I had no anticipation that Alex would want to direct it,” Engard said. “Frankly, I was quite surprised and extremely flattered.”

Since the cast was chosen and rehearsals began, the playwright has made himself scarce around the theater, dropping in from time to time to watch an occasional rehearsal.

“I think it’s important that I maintain a distance from the production,” he said. “I don’t want to interfere. I’ll show up on opening night and make certain that the actors are still saying the lines as I wrote them.”

Engard, who’s been an OCC student for five years, is wrapping up that phase of his budding career. He’s applied to Juilliard School in New York, but if that doesn’t work out, he’s been accepted into the theater programs at the Cal State Fullerton, Long Beach and Los Angeles.

“I don’t mind staying home and studying here if that’s the way it goes,” he said. “I love Southern California.”

IF YOU GO

WHAT: “Air Born: The History of the Wright Brothers.”

WHERE: Orange Coast College Drama Lab Theater

WHEN: 8 p.m. tonight, Saturday and March 22 through 24, and at 2:30 p.m. Sunday and March 25

COST: $8

CALL: (714) 432-5880