The White Snake was by far the most delicate and lovely plays I have ever seen. It has a majestic ease that completely took my breath away. The scenery, costumes, musicians, and lighting were phenomenal. Sadly, I found the script lacking ever so slightly… I really loved Mary Zimmerman’s The Arabian Nights and so the bar was really high for this play. And in the end, I felt the main character, the White Snake, was too passive. She met her goals within the first twenty minutes, all other conflict that continued was brought on by others and she took a completely reactionary role in the outcome of the play. Yes, she fought, but only when forced to do so by others.

That being said, I did enjoy myself very much. It help my attention the entire time, and I feel it is definitely worth seeing. The production side of things is worth seeing without even a play, it’s that good! And it is a very touching love story, after all things are said and done.

Have you seen it? What did you think?

Tomorrow night I’m seeing The White Snake at Berkeley Rep, and I am officially excited. I’ve heard amazing things about the play, AND I was lucky enough to catch Mary Zimmerman’s The Arabian Nights a few years back… It blew my mind. One of the finest nights of theatre for me. It’s also just been extended through December 30th! So you still have over a month to check it out. I will have my full report on Friday. Until then, stay dry and warm.

SF Theatre Pub is currently accepting proposals for their 2013 season. From their website:

“So- got an idea for a one night show that works in a bar-space like ours and you think fits in with the new mission statement (and the kind of crowd we tend to attract)? Let us know! We’ll be accepting project ideas for the following dates, all the way up till January 1st!

February 18, April 15, May 20, June 17, August 19, November 18

Additionally, we are looking for a larger project for October, to play October 15, 21, 22, 28 and 29. Halloween themed preferred, but not limited to. This production could potentially be fully staged, though once again, within the limitations of the bar (i.e. we don’t do much in way of standing scenery, full orchestras, or lots of light and sound).

Be sure to include as much info as you can- about you, anyone you want to bring in with you (actors, musicians, etc.), how you see this idea working in the bar and what your plan is to get thing thing on its feet with a budget of zero. Remember this is indie theater as trench warfare- innovative and passionate wins the day!

Send proposals to theaterpub@atmostheatre.com

Looking forward to hearing your ideas!”

Get all that? Things to know… Deadline is January 1st, 2013… And they’re looking for both original work as well as re-imagined classics. While I have not worked directly with SF Theatre Pub yet, I’ve been to several of their shows… Let me tell you, they’re always a blast. Not sure what I’ll propose yet, but I’m planning on submitting something. You should too! Get on it.

Back from vacation. It was up and down and all over the place. Glad to be home now. Also glad that I got an email from the folks at Love Creek Productions. They plan on including How Terry Gross Destroyed My Life in their January short play series. Will the fun ever stop? I hope not! The show will be in early January, and I’ll be announcing dates and the location as soon as I have them.

I’m ½ way there! Well, ½ way turned in. I just submitted my MFA application through SFSU, when I get back from my holiday travel, I’m visiting family in southern California, I will delivery my manuscript, the department application, and my letters of recommendation…. And then the waiting games begin! Make sure and keep your fingers crossed until I hear the news. It’s only a few months, don’t worry about it.

You should start, if you don’t already, submitting your work as many places as possible. Out of the 30 plays I submitted during this past binge in September, I’ve had 2 productions! Now, 2 out of 30 might not look like the best odds, but I am really happy by those numbers. Also, the more people who see and know about your work, the more people who know about you! I got an email on Saturday requesting work! Someone really enjoyed Ghost Story at Love Creek Production and wanted to know if I would consider submitting to their theatre. No company is too small. Submit everywhere it’s appropriate… You can just never tell where it will lead!

That’s all for now. Hope your weekend was as rad as mine!

La Petite Morgue is looking for horror monologues by women for women for Women in Horror Recognition Month (WiHM). Deadline is 12/1. Here’s a bit more about what they want from their website:

“We are particularly interested in monologues that are active (rather than passive story-telling narratives). And while women being terrorized can make for fascinating monologues, we are far more interested in women who stand up to their tormentors – or who are doing the terrorizing themselves. At this time, there is no firm length requirement, but we would prefer pieces that are no more than 3,000 words.”

So get on it.

They are also always on the lookout for horror and suspense plays (no comedies!). Go here for those details.

There has been a change to Unity Stage’s upcoming 2nd Annual Figgy Pudding Festival. The new dates are Thursday Dec. 6, Friday Dec. 7, Saturday Dec. 8 at 8pm, Sunday Dec. 9 at 5pm. Tickets are $20, you can buy them here. All performances are still at Cafe Marlene in Queens, New York. There are only 40 seats in the house, be sure and buy your tickets in advance!

My short play Oy Oy Oy, Merry Christmas! is one of the plays in the festival, and it’s one of my favorites. Other playwrights in the festival are: Jenny Lyn Bader, Mark Cornell, Chris Graybill, Joni Hilton, Jay Rehak, Susan A. Salidor, and Stephanie Weber.

I will unfortunately miss the show, so be sure and check it out for me! Email me and let me know what you think.

In New York? Free tomorrow or Sunday night? Have I got the show for you!

My short play Ghost Story joined Love Creek Production’s short play festival, Cranberry Sauce and Pumpkin Pie: Autumn One-Acts that opened tonight! You still have two more chances to catch the show. If you happen to see it, be sure and tell me what you think!

Show dates and times are: 11/16 at 8pm, 11/17 at 8pm, and 11/18 at 7pm.

At The Producer’s Club in New York City.

Tickets are $15, you can reserve your ticket by calling 212-769-7973.

If you’re like me, you’ve already submitted for the 2013 SF Olympians Festival… But you don’t have to wait to participate! This years festival kicks off on December 5th and they need you to come see all the wonderful plays they’ve put together this year. I’ll be at a bunch, hopefully not going broke from babysitting bills!!

All of the shows will be at the Exit Theatre in San Francisco.

Here are the dates, times, and shows:

December 5 @ 8 PM

HESTIA by James Kierstead, directed by Anthony Miller

Not all homemakers are created equal.

DIONYSUS or “Die oh! Nice, us!” by Lily Janiak, directed by Anthony Miller

The party god is re-imagined as a deeply unpleasant nerd in a feminist play that hates its own feminism and wants to die.

December 6 @ 8 PM

MNEMOSYNE AND THEMIS or “The Broken Frame” by Larissa Archer, directed by Neil Higgins

A matriarch’s death pits two sisters against each other in a battle of passion versus pragmatism, the past versus the future, and instinct versus intelligence.

MNEMOSYNE AND THEMIS or “Leaving Earth” by Susan Sobeloff, directed by Neil Higgins

Facing their waning Titan powers, two sisters Mnemosyne and Themis gather their respective daughters for a last family reunion.

ATHENA, a musical by Roberta D’Alois and Marilyn Harris Kriegel, with lyrics by Roberta D’Alois and Marilyn Harris Kriegel, and music by Roberta D’Alois, directed by Rebecca Longworth

Even goddesses buy elections. But will Twenty-five million get Marley Nathena what she wants?

December 7 @ 8 PM

PHOEBE AND THEIA or “How to Get to Tartarus” by Amy Clare Tasker, directed Annie Paladino

The Titan goddesses of light are plunged into darkness as they struggle to understand why they have been banished to Tartarus, the metaphysical gloom deep inside the earth. In this Beckettian landscape, Phoebe and Theia wrestle with their culpability in the defeat of the Titans.

APHRODITE, or “The Love Goddess” by Marissa Skudlarek, directed by Sara Staley

A gorgeous starlet, a sexy war hero, a cuckolded sap of a husband. The Aphrodite-Ares-Hephaestus love triangle as you’ve never seen it before — in 1940s Hollywood!

December 8 @ 2 PM

IAPETUS by Neil Higgins, directed by Amanda Ortmayer

A mysterious man appears at the doors of an asylum. Is he delusional or is he, as he claims, an immortal Titan who wants to teach the doctors a lesson?

HERMES or “The Computer That Wanted To Love” by Kirk Shimano, directed by Amanda Ortmayer

A computer seeks to find his place in a land without wi-fi hotspots.

December 8 @ 8 PM

PROMETHEUS or “Playing With Fire” by Jeremy Cole, directed by Jeremy Cole

Mythology repeats itself when a scientist working with genetically-altered clones takes pity on them and helps them against the Administration’s wishes.

HEPHAESTUS or “Heffy” by Colin Johnson, directed by Colin Johnson

A deformed, disgruntled man of power attempts to solve the problem of his philandering wife.

December 12 @ 8 PM

COEUS AND CRIOS or “12.12.12” by Evelyn Jean Pine, directed by Karen Offereins

Two rebellious Titans, twins who despise each other, are thrown by blood-thirsty Zeus into the depth of into Hades’ underworld. Coeus and Creos, one scientist, one poet, vow to use Hades’ power of invisibility to destroy the Olympians, god by god, experiment by experiment, line by line.

HADES by Robert and Benjamin Cooper, directed by Tracy Held Potter

The Underworld: a nice place to visit, but you wouldn’t want to die there.

December 13 @ 8 PM

TETHYS or “In The Deep” by Meghan Kathleen O’Connor , directed by Annie Paladino

When Tethys and Oceanus are replaced by a lustful, hot-headed Olympian, Tethys must come to terms with her new life. But are a loving husband and 3,000 daughters enough? And can she drown out the voices lost at sea, calling for her help?

DEMETER or “In the Silence of Tangerine Groves” by Patricia Milton, directed by Michaela Goldhaber

A high-powered perfume executive, stressed to the point of exhaustion, has a nervous breakdown in the middle of a product pitch. Yanked from the land of men, she journeys to the land of women —– where she struggles to come to her senses.

Decemeber 14 @ 8 PM

OCEANUS or “The Death of All Dolphins” by Evan Winchester, directed by Christy Crowley

Two Sea Desk employees struggle to write a press release explaining the freak airborn death of Sharky, the star bottlenose dolphin. But what if Sharky’s collision was only the first sign of some greater calamity gliding up from the deep?

POSEIDON or “Caenis and Poseidon”, by Bridgette Dutta Portman, directed by Katja Rivera

Set in classical Greece, Caenis and Poseidon is the story of a defiant young woman who transforms into a man — and the vengeful god determined not to let her get away with it.

Decemeber 15 @ 2 PM

ATLAS, or “Do a Good Turn Daily” by Charles Lewis III, directed by Charles Lewis III

A cranky old man, an obnoxious teenage boy, and a precocious nine-year-old girl. It’s a hot summer day in 1995. Who knows where they’ll go from here?

ARES AND ERIS, or “The Upper Hand” by Claire Rice, directed by Karen Offereins

An anarchist and a Tea Party leader walk into a bar, they both order car bombs.

December 15 @ 8 PM

HYPERION by Seanan Palmero & Clint Winder, directed by Stuart Bousel

Hyperion is reincarnated as the apex of a bootlegging empire during Prohibition. Shit happens, hilarity ensues and miscommunication among well meaning underlings jeopardizes the family business.

ARTEMIS AND APOLLO or “Twins” by Stuart Eugene Bousel, directed by Stuart Bousel

Artemis is a loner, Apollo is a golden-boy, both as dangerous as they are beautiful, but will we ever truly know why they come together to murder fourteen children?

December 19 @ 8 PM

RHEA by Maria Leigh, directed by Rebecca Longworth

On December 21, 2012 the Maya calendar ends and the apocalypse begins. At the end of the world, as buildings crumble and are washed away, there is only one thing to pray for: may I be the water and not the rock.

HERA by Barbara Jwanouskos, directed by Amy Clare Tasker

Hera is sick of Zeus impregnating mortals, so she impregnates one of her own…

December 20 @ 8 PM

CHRONUS by Christian Simonsen, directed by Stuart Bousel

Chronus is the Father of Zeus, and the Father of Time. Both will turn against him.

ZEUS by Megan Cohen, directed by Stuart Bousel

The ruler of the universe travels the Earth knocking up women and seeking existential redemption, using a mélange of texts from Sophocles, Aeschylus, and Top 40 pop songs, all lovingly re-imagined by the Bay Area’s most frequently produced female playwright.

Featuring the acting talents of:

Bruce Alvin, Christina Augello, Patrick Barresi, Annika Bergman, Mikka Bonel, Candace K. Brown, Megan Briggs, Kat Bushnell, Linda Ruth Cardozo, Bill Chessman, Andrew Chung, Tony Cirimele, Melissa Clayson, Tom Cokenias, Lisa Darter, Laura Domingo, Julie Douglas, Danielle Doyle, Lisa Drostova, Colleen Egan, Juliana Egley, Siobhan Doherty, Caitlin Evenson, Catz Forsman, Jean Forsman, Jeff Fisher, Cameron Galloway, Jan Gilbert, Dana Goldberg, Ben Grubb, Matt Gunnison, Don Hardwick, Eric Hannan, John Lennon Harrison, Allene Hebert, Dashiell Hillman, Joan Howard, Travis Howse, Colin Hussey, Michelle Jasso, Paul Jennings, Kate Jones, Tavis Kammet, Kat Kneisel, Dan Kurtz, Helen Laroche, Kim Larsen, Scott Leonard, Arielle Levine, Charles Lewis III, Juliana Lustenader, Luna Malbroux, Jan Marsh, Brian Martin, Marilet Martinez, Nolan Mecham, Theresa Miller, Tonya Narvaez, Eden Neuendorf, Allison Page, Annie Paladino, Sunil Patel, Carla Pauli, Anthony Pingera, Hannah Quigg, Scott Ragle, Dorothy Reading, Sara E. Renauer, Shane Rhodes, Jessica Risco, Annette Roman, Jessica Rudholm, Stacy Sanders Young, Kim Saunders, Sarah Savage, Ronen Sberlo, Louel Senores, Claire Slattery, Paul Stout, Nick Strubbe, Brian Thomen, Sam Tillis, Peter Townley, Alaric Toy, Nick Trengove, Aaron Tworek, Richard Wenzel, Shay Wisniewski