John DiMartino: CIT security guard, playwright
DiMartino is a budding playwright who pays the bills by working the 9 p.m.-to-4 a.m. shift as a security guard at the Thomas J. Watson Sr. Center for Information Technology (CIT). Since 1989, he has been checking I.D.s and ensuring nothing goes awry in the computer clusters of the CIT.
In his off hours, he writes plays and short stories. "I've been writing well before some of these students were born," said DiMartino, 40, of West Warwick. "I really enjoy the process of writing; sometimes the end product isn't that bad either. I really get a kick out of watching my plays on stage."
DiMartino's latest play - "Risk" - was performed as part of the Actors Theatre's production of "Men's Stories '96: Men Working." The Providence Journal-Bulletin called it the best of the three plays performed as part of the production. "The austere production mounted on the small but comfortable stage at Cranston's William Hall Library is basic theater," wrote John Martin in his review. "But the players know the basics, and in some cases evoke a big-theater response to the messages conveyed in these tight little plays."
"Risk" opened with the characters Byron and Oliver on opposite sides of the proscenium, illuminated by small spotlights and engaged in a cryptic phone call. Byron is an unpublished writer. Oliver is a fast-talking publishing representative who guarantees fame and riches in return for up-front cash from Byron. It is a con that escapes poor Byron.
Byron not only risks his life savings, but the well-being of his family. He hopes that being an acclaimed author might relieve the burden of being a breadwinner.
"Risk" isn't the only work by DiMartino to receive praise. His play "The Close" has been performed in several locations in Rhode Island and Connecticut. He also has presented several monologues at AS220 and the Providence Athenaeum.
DiMartino readily acknowledges that his writing stems from experience. So is the character of Byron modeled after him? "No," said DiMartino, the co-founding artistic director of the Actors Theatre. "I don't know anyone in the publishing industry and have never really tried to market any of my works. I would love for my writing to one day augment my income, though." - Richard P. Morin
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