GOING VIRAL goes to the West End
Three different venues! Pretty cool. Wish I could be there to see it.
Three different venues! Pretty cool. Wish I could be there to see it.
More places will be doing more of my plays!
I mentioned before that my one-minute television apocalypse drama/not drama REGULARLY SCHEDULED will appear during this Saturday's Boston Theater Marathon Warm-Up Laps. HOWEVER! It, and my one-minute advertising apocalypse drama/not drama MARKETING PARTNERS, will also appear in Playsmiths' Flash Fest in New York City this June.
My ten-minute social media apocalypse drama/not drama GOING VIRAL, which will appear on two stages simultaneously this weekend (this Friday though Sunday at Tiger Lily Theatre's Night of Shorts in Knoxville, Tennessee, and this Sunday's Boston Theater Marathon), makes its international debut in London, June 4th–6th, courtesy of Encompass Productions' Bare Essentials event.
And lastly, my ten-minute family planning apocalypse drama/not drama THE FORMATIVE YEARS, which currently appears in Houston, Texas, as part of Pandora Theatre's Vox Feminina festival, makes its New England debut in the 9th annual Artists' Exchange One Act Play Festival this July and August in Cranston, Rhode Island.
Okay, enough about me! Here's a lot of funny cat pictures.
I'm pleased to announce that the Boston Actors Theater will be producing my ten-minute play GOING VIRAL at this year's Boston Theater Marathon. Danielle Leeber is directing, and I think it's in good hands.
Steel yourself for ten straight minutes of hilarity, folks. Probably more than ten—the Marathon is many hours long and it features plays probably much funnier than mine.
But bank on ten at least.
Just wanted to say "break a leg!" to the cast and crew of my short play THE FORMATIVE YEARS, which makes its world premiere tonight at Pandora Theatre's Vox Feminina Festival. Wish I could be there!
Tiger Lily Theatre, who will be including GOING VIRAL in their Night of Shorts this May, are graciously featuring a "Meet the Playwright" questionnaire they did with me on their blog today.
Check it out! (And my giant black and white face! Check that out too!)
As a follow up to yesterday's post about GOING VIRAL having its Boston premiere at the Boston Theater Marathon, I just learned that REGULARLY SCHEDULED—a one-minute play I wrote as part of last year's 31 Plays in 31 Days challenge—will have its world premiere during the BTM's Warm-Up Laps on May 10th.
Suffice it to say that I will definitely be doing this year's 31 Plays in 31 Days. I wrote them because they made me laugh—I never imagined that so many would get staged (or published)!
Guess who's back at this Boston Theater Marathon this May? THIS GUY.
Or... THIS GUY'S PLAY.
I don't know yet who's producing, directing, or acting in it, but I can only hope that I'm half as lucky as I was earlier this year with the Long Island City One Act Festival or last year with Bridge Rep of Boston's Boston Theater Marathon production of THE INTERVIEW.
As last year, I'm planning to sit through the entire thing—all ten hours. Who's with me?
I'm excited to announce that the ten-minute play that took the LIC One Act Festival by storm (did it...? sure!) will be appearing in Tiger Lily Theatre's Night of Shorts this May 9th through 11th in Knoxville, TN, and also in an upcoming episode of Boston Play Cafe, which I'm recording this May, air date TBD.
(I'm really excited about Boston Play Cafe, because I get to work with Adam Lauver again—yes, the very same Adam Lauver who played the Interviewee in Bridge Rep's Boston Theater Marathon production of THE INTERVIEW.)
And! The kind folks of Pandora Theatre called to let me know that they'd like to include another of my 31 Plays in 31 Days efforts, THE FORMATIVE YEARS, in their Vox Feminina festival. This will be its world premiere, and I'm sad to miss it—but if you're going to be in Houston late April/early May, I encourage you to check it out!
Nay, I beseech you.
Just a quick one to let you know that you'll be seeing me in print later this year:
I learned that a monologue I wrote for 31 Plays in 31 Days called DAVE RAMSEY WEPT will be included in vol. 3 of interJACtions: Monologues from the Heart of Human Nature (here's a link to vol. 2); and
My (ahem!) award-winning short play GOING VIRAL will appear in vol. 2 of The LIC One Act Festival (here's a link to last year's).
Exciting times!
Whaaaaaat?! Oh yes. I don't know what else to say except that Max Hunter also won "Best Director"... and neither of us would have been awarded these if the cast (below, starting left and going clockwise: Joanna Carpenter, Mia Jessup, and Rebecca Gray Davis) hadn't been as funny, nuanced, playful, and, well, perfect as they were. I really lucked out on this one.
Photos below are from Joanna's Instagram (thejoannac).
My girlfriend and I went down to New York this past weekend to visit with friends and also catch my short play GOING VIRAL at the Secret Theatre's Long Island City One Act Play Festival.
I just saw "cycle A," which was only one-third of the whole, but from this alone I was really impressed by the festival. Usually with ten or so short plays you'll get a couple good ones, one great one, a few that make you go "huh," and four or five that make you grimace. (Your mileage may vary.) But I enjoyed every play I saw, including, of course, mine, which... can I brag?... was so good, you guys. The actors had great chemistry and they/the director found many subtle and hilarious moments to play with. I was so proud of them that I smiled and then skulked past them in the lobby without introducing myself, for I am sometimes shy in these situations.
Anyway, I guess the audience agreed, because GOING VIRAL is going to the semifinals! Discounted tickets ($7.50!) are here if you find yourself in New York this Friday, January 31st, without plans: https://www.goldstar.com/events/queens-ny/long-island-city-one-act-festival
In related news, a one-minute play I wrote, MARKETING PARTNERS, is going to appear at Spokane Stage Left's Fast & Furious Festival this Friday and Saturday, January 31st and February 1st.
The cast will feature Joni Elizabeth, Leslie Ann Spencer, Steve Kane, and Jason Young, and if they can pull off this play in one minute or less I will be very, very impressed.
This Friday evening will mark the first time that two plays of mine are being performed on the same night. That deserves a drink, right?
My play opens tonight! It's probably more accurate to say that the Long Island City One Act Festival opens tonight, of which my play is a small part, but just allow me this, would you?
The director and cast are as follows:
Directed by . Max Hunter
Parent 1 . . . . Mia Jessup
Parent 2 . . . Joanna Carpenter
Daughter . . . Rebecca Gray Davis
They all appear to be talented and accomplished folk. I can't wait to see what they do with it!
You can find more information about the Secret Theater and (discounted!) tickets here.
Twice is a trend! I'm excited to announce that another ten-minute play I wrote, Going Viral, will have its world premiere this January at Secret Theatre's Long Island City (LIC) One Act Festival.
(That's New York! People in New York will be reading aloud the things I wrote!)
An earlier, much shorter version of this play appears in my 31 Plays in 31 Days effort. You can read it there. Or don't... and be surprised when you see it!
"When can I see it?" you ask? Well! My play will be part of "Cycle A" at this year's LIC One Act Fest, which means you can catch it at the following times:
Thursday, 16 January, 8:00pm
Sunday, 19 January, 8:00pm
Friday, 24 January, 8:00pm
Saturday, 25 January, 2:00pm
The semi-finals and finals run 30 January to 1 February, should my play make it that far. But let's not get ahead of ourselves!
You can learn more about the Secret Theatre here. And if you're an actor in New York and want to audition for the festival, they're being held Saturday, 14 December, from 10am to 2pm. Learn more here!
Just a quick post to say that The Other Otter, a newish daily humor website, has published two of my 31 Plays in 31 Days pieces:
Very exciting! Keep your eye on these guys—there's some funny stuff in there.
Daunting challenge? Near-impossible goal?
...Or greatest idea ever?
I'll be participating in this year's 31 Plays in 31 Days challenge and posting my results in the Download section of this site.
Or just click here and, magically, you will be transported.
Who else is in? C'mon, I need peer pressure to keep me honest.
My first professionally produced ten-minute play, The Interview, gains a second life this July at the third annual Hovey Summer Shorts Festival! This time it's directed by Edmund W. Golaski and, unlike the Bridge Rep of Boston production, will be a complete surprise to me, since I likely won't be attending any of the rehearsals. Very much looking forward to seeing what they come up with! The shows run 8pm July 12th, 13th, 19th, and 20th at Hovey Players (9 Spring St., Waltham, MA). Tickets are $15, and you can reserve one by emailing reservations@hoveyplayers.com or calling 781-893-9171.
Some of my thoughts on The Interview's production process were featured in Bridge Rep's latest newsletter: check it out here.
Just a quick post to say that I posted a reflection piece about attending the world premiere of my short play, The Interview, at my blog-like site The Unwritten Word.
It was a great day. One of the best.
Olivia D'Ambrosio, Producing Artist at Bridge Rep of Boston (and also director for the Boston Theater Marathon performance of my short play), has really been knocking it out of the park with these promotional images.
Am I biased because my name is at the top and my words are at the bottom? Possibly. Let's look at another to be sure.
Nope. They're just awesome.
I attended another rehearsal last night and was blown away at how much nuance the actors and director were able to layer in since just Monday. It's really coming together, and Olivia, Deb, and Adam deserve so much praise for their complete commitment to my little play. I cannot wait to see the final version this Sunday at 2pm!
My god, that graphic. Would you look at that graphic? Beautiful.
Navel-gazing aside, I met Deborah Martin and Adam Lauver (the INTERVIEWER and INTERVIEWEE, respectively) last night while witnessing? presiding over? whatever it is a playwright does during a rehearsal of his or her play. Mostly what I did was watch and listen, and I'm so glad I did.
You guys, they were so good. As written, I think the play has some really funny moments and a bit of heart. As performed by them last night, it was actually hilarious and even poignant. The choices they were making were so, so funny. They found moments to play with that, in my mind, were just words on their way to an entirely different moment. By Thursday (the final rehearsal) I have every confidence that they will have elevated the material far above anything I could have imagined.
Which is exactly what I had hoped for. The play is written in a way that Olivia, the director, calls "actor-friendly." I didn't include many stage directions because I wanted to give the actors and director a lot of room to explore. Even in the casting of it, either role could be male or female. This is why I love theater—the script is only the first piece of the play. It's what everyone does with the script that makes it a play.
And if I can say so (this website has my name on it, so I guess I can), it's going to be a great play. Tickets for this Sunday's Boston Theater Marathon can be purchased here!