Then “Magic” happened.
For the past month, Horstman-Evans has been in New York City preparing her original play, “Magic, Moonlight, and Mardi Gras,” for the New York New Works Theatre Festival, which opened Oct. 3 and runs through Nov. 6.
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“I’ve been dreaming of this chance, having producers watch the play,” she said.
The festival presents 30 to 40 shows selected from hundreds of submissions created by unknown talent at the Duke Theatre on 42nd Street and Broadway that will be judged by a host of Broadway producers and Emmy Award-winning talent.
After years of harboring hopes to write for children’s television, this is Horstman-Evans’ prime opportunity to show influential industry decision makers her talent
A mini-reunion with fellow Catholic Central graduates and theater veterans Paul Cronley and Tom Schindler guided Horstman-Evans in the right direction.
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For Horstman-Evans, who spent 13 years in New York as an actress and later moved to Denver, it’s like seeing the city in a whole new way.
“Magic, Moonlight, and Mardi Gras” was written for 25 child performers ages 6 to 11, but will be performed by adults during the festival.
The play centers around a young magicians’ convention in New Orleans. Some of the performers find their belief in magic challenged due to social problems, but they pull together to regain their sense of wonder and grow.
What sets Horstman-Evans’ creative style apart is she doesn’t write for a star, she said, but for an ensemble, pushing lighting, sets and costumes into the background in favor of character.
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“Every child deserves to be seen and heard,” she said. “I write the way kids talk. I write for them. As an adult, you have to work for a child.”
That’s why Horstman-Evans started her performing group, Neighborhood Playhouse, where she gives as many performers who want to act the chance.
“The creative process has never, ever let me down, and I knew that if kids could learn that, they could apply it to anything — science, math, law, production, even life itself,” Horstman-Evans said.
She, Cronley and Schindler have fond memories of their theater teachers at Catholic Central, Bob and Jacqueline Heman, and still feel their influence.
Though Horstman-Evans rarely gets back to Springfield, she has a group of former classmates, friends and supporters who are excited about her opportunity.
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Though she’s mostly paying her own way to stay in New York and participate in the festival, Horstman-Evans started a GoFundMe account to help defray the costs. She said any leftover money will be donated to charities for natural disaster victims.
But it could be worth it in trying to realize her dream.
“For anyone who’s had an opportunity, I feel like I’m investing myself,” she said. “It’s so exciting to stay in the moment. Can you be an overnight success after 30 years?”
For more information on the New York New Works Theatre Festival, go to www.nynwtheatrefestival.com/.
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