In New York City? Near New York City? If you answered yes ti either or both questions you should see my short play Garbage Disposal!
Thespian Productions will be producing my ten minute play Garbage Disposal for their spring Theatre Madness event at Joria Main Stage Theatre.
March 7th and 9th at 8pm.
If you are able to make it, let me know what you think! Sadly I’ll be missing this production.
It’s playwrightbinge day 6, and I’m behind! Here’s what I submitted today to help catch me up…
Big Head Productions is seeking plays ranging from 5-15 minutes with the theme dark and twisted fairy tale. I just email over my short play Baby Pie. If you’re looking to submit, they’d like you to email your script as a pdf by April 1st.
Thespian Productions wants plays less that are less than 15 minutes for their Theatre Madness showcase coming this summer. They want plays without profanity or nudity that have not been produced in New York City. I’ve sent them my play We’re All Going To Die. The deadline for submitting is March 31, 2013.
Sonoma Stage Works wants plays that are either 10 minutes or 30 minutes in length. You must live in the Bay Area, and the deadline is March 15, 2013. I sent in my ten minute play Horny Like The Wolf.
Piney Fork Press Theater wants 10 minutes plays without nudity or profanity. You may submit up to three plays, and the deadline is May 1, 2013. I sent them Her Special Day, Garbage Disposal, and We’re All Going To Die.
That brings my tally up to 6! Officially caught up.
The theatre scene in the bay is jammed packed with some fun happenings, and YOU should know about them! Here are some events on the horizon that shouldn’t be missed:
March 10, at 7:30pm, three short plays by Karen Macklin: More Like Messy, Only Forever, and Saving Butterflies.
Monday, March 11, 7:30pm, The Queen’s Gambit by Iris Kokish.
Sunday, March 17, 7:30pm, Jabulile! and A Girl Like Me by Kemiyondo Coutinho.
Monday, March 18, 7:30pm, The Actual Stuff by Megan Cohen, directed by Susannah Martin.
March 18th, 19th, 25th, and 27th at 8pm.
At Cafe Royal.
Suggested donation of $5, no reservations needed.
The Exit Theater announces a new Saturday night monthly event in their Café- and an exciting new collaboration with the San Francisco Theater Pub!
Starting March 23rd, every third Saturday of the month, we invite writers, actors, directors, theater creators and theater audiences alike to an evening of quick script-making and flash-fried performance!
Join us for an 8:30 mixer followed by a 9:00 writing sprint where writers (any writers who care to participate that night) have 30 minutes to generate original monologues based around that night’s pre-selected subjects (will they be drawn from a hat? WHO CAN SAY?!?). We cast actors from the crowd (no experience necessary), then at 9:30, they perform the work on stage in the café for an on-the-spot, one-night-only instant festival! Come join in the communal creativity, either as writer, performer, or audience!
Hosted by local writers Stuart Bousel and Megan Cohen, admission to this event is free, with the Café staying open and staffed so you can purchase drinks and snacks all night long! No need for reservations! We’ll provide paper and pens, all you need to bring is your amazing, sexy mind and the desire to create for creation’s sake.
See you there!
And definitely, definitely, pass this notice along!
No Nude Men Productions, in association with the The Exit Theater, presents a one weekend only min-festival of three dramatic readings exploring what it’s like to make theater via the tried and true lens of the backstage comedy.
On Thursday, March 28, at 8 PM…
INTRIGUE! 19TH CENTURY GOSSIP! ALIENS! In The Wings, by Meghan O’Connor, brings you backstage of a theater that was bold and bored enough to put on an obscure, deceased man’s only play. This play is a two-for-one: you enjoy all the gripping drama on the stage, and all the shenanigans that go on in the wings. And there is an alien invasion to boot! Directed by Meghan O’Connor featuring Vince Faso, Tonya Narvaez
On Friday, March 29, at 8 PM…
America is in a financial crisis. Republicans are accusing the president of being a communist. And young women are worried about their futures, their love lives, and their place in the world. Welcome to Vassar College, 1934. In The Rose of Youth by Marissa Skudlarek, a drama department production of Antony and Cleopatra changes the lives of everyone who works on it: its formidable director, Hallie Flanagan; its male lead, Professor Gordon Post; and, especially, its leading lady, college senior Kalita Humphreys. Directed by Marissa Skudlarek, featuring Patrick Barresi, Jonathan Brooks, Alisha Ehrlich, Travis Howse, Paul Jennings, Jan Carty Marsh, Theresa Miller , Leer Relleum
On Saturday, March 30, at 8 PM…
Pastorella, by Stuart Bousel, is the tale of a present-day small theater troupe putting on a production of Tom Stoppard’s Arcadia. There is the hapless actress fresh out of college and wondering if she should have chosen a different route; the squabbling gay couple who have been upstaging each other ever since they met playing Hamlet and Laertes; the over-bearing diva-in-her-own-mind who is quietly sabotaging (or is it saving?) her commercially successful daughter’s career; not to mention the age old question of why people go into theater- and why they stay in it. Directed by Anthony R. Miller, featuring Annika Bergman, John Caldon, Andrew Chung, Jeremy Cole, Allene Hebert, Kate Jones, Charles Lewis III, Anthony Pinggera, Carole Swann, Peter Townley.
ADMISSION EACH NIGHT IS A MERE $10.00, with half of the door proceeds going to support the EXIT Theatre.
NO RESERVATIONS NECESSARY
All Terrain Theater’s Women in Solodarity: Cat Ladies is a showcase featuring female solo performances in honor of our quirky obsession with cats. This show, produced in association with the International Home Theater Festival, is All Terrain Theater’s second showcase dedicated to promoting the work of female Bay Area theater artists.
Directed by Rachel Bublitz
PUSSY: TEASER EDITION, written & performed by Maura Halloran
CAT NANNY 911, written & performed by Theresa Donahoe
KITTY’S PRESCRIPTION, written by Patricia Milton, performed by Martha Rynberg
THE METAMORPHOSIS, written by Carol Lashof, performed by Heather Kellogg
IT’S NOT YOU, IT’S ME, written by Rachel Bublitz, performed by Ramya Vijayan
MISSING: A CAT PLAY, written by Susan Sobeloff, performed by Colleen Egan
THE LIBRARIAN WHO WAS ALLERGIC TO CATS, written by Tracy Held Potter, performed by Colleen Egan
WOMAN WITH THE CATS, written by Rachel Bublitz, performed by Ramya Vijayan
Stage Management by Chelsey Little
April 5th, 8pm
April 6th, 2pm, 8pm
April 12th, 8pm
April 13th, 8pm
Tickets only $6.99!
Tuesday April 9th at 8pm
6 short plays will be read including my ten minute play Horny Like The Wolf.
TICKETS
General: $10
City Lights Subscribers: $5
After Frank by Patricia Milton
Auto-Incorrect by Bridgette Dutta Portman
Chrysomelidae Hide No More by Jennifer Lynne Roberts
Indelible by Beverly Butler
Laura and Curt: A Story of Love and Big Numbers by Rod McFadden
Piñata Fight by Elizabeth Flanagan
Romulus and Jewel: A 10-Minute Travesty in Five Acts by Diane Sampson
Say Uncle by Mordecai Cohen Ettinger
Two to Five with Three Seconds to Go by Susan Jackson
Thursday, Friday, Saturday, April 12 through 27, 8 p.m.
Now go and get your theatre on!
Last night the reading of Under The Gods’ Golden Cleats went incredibly well. I felt sick for the first twenty minutes and sweated bullets throughout the night, but it was well worth it! Every time I’ve heard one of my other long plays out loud, I’ve had huge scary rewrites following… Rewrites that involve taking the entire script apart, and trying to put it back together again. They needed the work, and were better after, but there’s something unsettling dismantling your baby and hopes that it’ll be better once it’s reassembled. This was not the case with my Achilles play. Under The Gods’ Golden Cleats is in a really good place. I have some tweaks for sure, and there’s some missing information, and my cheers are nearly all confusing and too wordy… But it’s staying in one piece.
I got a great response from everyone also on the center piece of this play. Reading the Iliad, and other texts about Achilles, I feel in love with the love between him and Patroclus. Their love story was an important story for me to tell, and I am so pleased with how well it’s working. When Patroclus takes Achilles gear and goes out on the football field in his place, some of my readers were getting really emotional. I’m really proud that I was able to do their relationship justice.
The staged reading of Under The Gods’ Golden Cleats is November 9th! And now that she’s heard it aloud and hasn’t run for the hills, I can announce that the brilliant and feisty Claire Rice will be directing! This will be a reading not to be missed, put it on your calendar!
Thank you again to all you lovely folks who made it out to read for me in Pacifica, and if you haven’t checked out Ann Thomas’ yahoo group Pacifica Table Readers be sure to do so! It was a great evening… And the pie was delicious.
That’s a picture of an ecstatic little girl. She just learned that her play has gone viral! In fact it was on BoingBoing! I told her that thousands of people have been reading her play, and she smiled from ear to ear. Thanks everyone, you’ve just made a little girl very happy!
If you do read the story on boing boing, read the comments, they’re super awesome.
Click through from facebook to see the picture.
The scripts have been copied, hole punched and put into folders… I’ve figured out how to have a play with 8 male parts and 10 female parts be read by only 8 people (oh, I hope I have at least 8 people….) And the pies have been baked…. I am ready for tonight! Under The Gods’ Golden Cleats is so massive on so many levels, I’m really looking forward to having the entire play read aloud. Up until now I’ve only heard 10 pages of it at a time at various scene nights. Hearing the whole play out loud will help me spot inconsistencies and problems in the script. Also, it’s always great to have fresh eyes see all of my typos. I will have many typos. I already found a hand full just flipping through my printed script… I actually forgot to list one of the characters in the character breakdown. Whoops. But that is what tonight is about, making my script less embarrassing….
If you are around Pacifica, or want to make the trek, email me and I’ll send you the address. I need a bare minimum of 8, but it would be lovely to have more readers… And it’s always nice to hear from more people. The potluck starts at 6 and the reading of the play starts at 7.
Hope to see you there!
Today is also the second day of playwrightbinge! During the months of March and September each playwright aims to submit 30 plays within that month. I am a big fan of anything that makes me send my work out, so I’ll be participating for sure. I’m already behind though, I don’t think I’ll get anything in today, and I didn’t get anything out yesterday… But never fear! I work best under pressure and I’m confident I’ll make up for lost time. If you’re also participating, good luck! I had a lot of success come out of last September’s binge. Get on it!
You heard right! I am making pie for all the lovely people coming out for the reading of Under The Gods’ Golden Cleats tomorrow night in Pacifica. It’s pluot pie (pluots are a mix between apricots and plums, in case you were wondering). Thank you in advance to my readers, you’ll all be reading a lot of different parts!
My little girl just wrote her first play! She’s 4 (she’ll be 5 in two weeks). It’s kinda hilarious… I asked her permission and she told me I could post it on my blog! So, here it is….
By Audrey Kessinger
Characters:
Scare People, F, very tall, wears a mask, growls, 18 years old. She goes to scare people school. She is an octopus monster with wings.
Audrey, F, 11 years old. Wears monkey pajamas.
Synopsis:
Audrey tries to get Scare People out of her house.
SCARE PEOPLE is in a kitchen. AUDREY enters.
SCARE PEOPLE: GET OUTTA MY HOUSE!
AUDREY: GET AWAY FROM ME RIGHT NOW!
SCARE PEOPLE: I AM GOING TO GO STEAL SOME BUTTER FROM YOU!
AUDREY: Put that butter back right now!
SCARE PEOPLE: I will not, no.
AUDREY: Scare People, don’t think about doing anything else! Don’t think about it!
SCARE PEOPLE: I AM GOING TO GO INTO THE REFRIGERATOR, BECAUSE THE SUN IS RISING!
SCARE PEOPLE goes into the refrigerated, and closes the door. AUDREY opens the refrigerator door, SCARE PEOPLE opens it, this happens several more times.
AUDREY: Go outside! You’re in big trouble, and we’re gonna put you outside and we’re never gonna open the door.
AUDREY shakes with fear. AUDREY gets a pen from a drawer. SCARE PEOPLE opens the door to the refrigerator and sneaks out. AUDREY stabs SCARE PEOPLE with a pen. SCARE PEOPLE puts a band aid on the cut.
SCARE PEOPLE: You lose, I’m gonna stay at your house!
AUDREY stabs SCARE PEOPLE with the pen again. SCARE PEOPLE puts on another band aid.
AUDREY: GET OUT OF MY HOUSE OR I’LL STAB YOU IN THE FACE!
SCARE PEOPLE tries to scratch AUDREY with his claws, but is not successful. AUDREY stabs him again with the pen. SCARE PEOPLE flies up to the ceiling. AUDREY gets a broom out and sweeps SCARE PEOPLE into the trash. SCARE PEOPLE gets out of the trash.
SCARE PEOPLE: YOU’LL HAVE TO DO BETTER THAN THAT!
AUDREY throws shoes at SCARE PEOPLE.
AUDREY: I’LL TRICK YOU, SCARE PEOPLE!
AUDREY gets a stick of butter out of the refrigerator, opens the door and throws the butter out. SCARE PEOPLE doesn’t go out to get the butter. SCARE PEOPLE gets back into the refrigerator and closes the door.
AUDREY (CONTINUED): Then I won’t go into the refrigerator. I’m going to sleep.
AUDREY exits to go to sleep. End of play.
Finally. I have been struggling for a loooooong time on this one. Naming plays typically isn’t this hard for me, but I’m not ashamed to admit that I was intimidated. And there was so much to include! I wanted a flavor of football, some Greek myth reference, and a image for the play. I could put off naming it while I was writing it, and even through some rewrites… But now that I have a draft I’m confidant with my brain naturally set out to name the thing next and I couldn’t move past it not being named. I just couldn’t do it. And then I thought about it so much, and came up with so many freakin’ options I was over saturating myself. But I have a name now that covers the things I want, and I am feeling pretty good about it. Want to know it? Okay!
A play in three acts by Rachel Bublitz
The tagline is: The story of Achilles placed on a football field.
Love it? Hate it? Feel free to share your thoughts.
PS
My sister had a baby girl today, her name is Katherine. I cannot wait to meet her. Congratulations to Kelly and Doug!