Spring 2005 Plays
THE ATOMIC AGE by James K. Brown
Directed by Carl Thelin
An examination, through four independent vignettes, of how citizens interact with their media. And it's in play form.
James
K. Brown, after many years of keeping it real, has recently been
spending his time just chillin'. Not cold chillin', mind you, just
chillin'. Perhaps next year he'll be gettin' busy though at times his
mind turns toward kickin' it live. That'd be dope.
February 22
REARRANGE/RECONNECT/REINVENT by Kenyon Brown
Directed by Rebecca Noon
A therapist discovers confronting changes in her own life is a lot more challenging than helping the couples she counsels.
Kenyon
Brown is a San Francisco-based playwright and freelance editor. His
full-length play, The Future Built In, was produced by the Cambridge
Playwrights Workshop. He has had staged readings of many 10-minute and
one-act plays. Several of his poems and short stories have appeared in
Chanticleer and Rising Star. He is also the author of eight books about
information technology. His professional theatre experience includes
working at Circle Repertory Company in New York, one of the country's
leading theatre companies dedicated to producing new works by leading
and emerging playwrights. He was awarded the Hopwood Award for Drama
from the University of Michigan. He also holds a B.S. Education and M.A
Education from the University of Michigan. He is a member of PlayGround
Writers Pool for the 2004-05 season. He also serves on the Board of the
Playwrights' Center of San Francisco.
March 15
ANOTHER MAN'S SLINGBACKS: A FAIRY TALE by Andrew Black
Directed by Rebecca Noon
A
gay teenager's vengeful wish turns Lincoln High's homophobic
quarterback gay overnight; he must then learn about life on the other
side of the pom-poms.
Andrew Black belongs to the Playwrights Center of San
Francisco and the Dramatists Guild. His play Porn Yesterday (co-written
with Pat Milton) was a finalist in PCSF's 2002 Dramarama contest, and
was produced by the Fritz Theatre Company (San Diego) in its festival
of new plays in 2003. He and Pat have co-authored a screwball comedy,
Strange Bedfellows. He is one of 36 playwrights in the playwright's
pool for Playground, a Bay Area theatre company specializing in
ten-minute plays.
March 29
TAKING STOCK by Aaron Schmookler
Directed by Carl Thelin
The
familiar story of a young man grappling with his own inertia and an
inherited melancholy. What happens at the confluence of identity,
futility, ambition, and fate?
Aaron Schmookler is a
director, actor and playwright who in 1999 graduated Magna Cum Laude
from Oberlin College with a BA in Theater. Recently, his work has been
seen in The Marsh Theater, The Exit Theater, Don Jose's Salon, Dance
Mission and a few very small silver screens. He is currently nursing
the fledgling theater company, Gold From Straw - Putting on stage what
you didn't know you wanted to see. Taking Stock is the first
full-length play Aaron is proud to have bare his name - others he
disowned and aborted before they'd completed gestation.
April 12
THE ONLY VIRGIN IN JUBILEE COUNTY by Patricia Milton
Directed by Anna Budd
When
the Blessed Virgin Mary makes an unannounced appearance in a Texas
bridal shop, five women must examine their beliefs about marriage, men,
miracles . . . and x-treme bridal gowns.
Patricia Milton
is co-author of Porn Yesterday and Strange Bedfellows, with Andrew
Black. Porn Yesterday was a finalist in the Playwrights Center of San
Francisco's 2002 Dramarama Festival, and was produced in June 2003 at
the Fritz Blitz Festival in San Diego. Patricia's ten-minute plays have
been featured in PlayGround and in the Sheherazade and Short Leaps
Festivals. Her Power Plays was second place winner of the Spring 2004
Marin Fringe.
April 26
JANIS PIECES by Bob Lane
Directed by Brian Katz
While
confronting a painful loss, Jessie lands in jail, defended by Mae and
Quentin, who are dealing with losses of their own -- all echoed in
Janis Joplin's music.
After seminary and careers as a
lawyer and college professor, Bob got involved in theatre as both
director and actor. When he moved to the Bay Area in 1997 he also
taught acting in high schools and theatre companies. Since beginning
his playwriting career two years ago, he has written Janis Pieces, The
Lord's Song (about an Archbishop of Canterbury who paid dearly for
defying Queen Elizabeth I), and Another Country (a one-act about the
unexpected fallout from the Vietnam War). He lives in the East Bay with
his wife, Sue, and their cat, Jasper.
May 10
HIGH SPIRITS by Carol Sheldon
Directed by Anna Budd
A
romp around the planet, HIGH SPIRITS is a comedy about reincarnation in
which several souls keep coming back to Earth to "get it right."
CAROL
SHELDON'S plays have won awards and have been seen in community and
professional productions across the country. Most recently, three of
her scripts came to life in staged readings by Ross Valley Players.
Lemonade or Dinner toured the retirement homes in Marin in a
fully-staged production. Carol teaches writing classes in her home and
for the Marin Writers' Center. She has written three books of poetry
and recently finished her first novel. Carol enjoys acting and
directing, as well.
May 24
HERE TO STAY by Chris Drury
Directed by Brian Katz
When
a young boy meets an older man in a park an unusual friendship develops
that challenges both of their assumptions about life, love and the
search for community.
Chris Drury is a new playwright
living and working in San Francisco. A native of Providence, Rhode
Island, Chris is studying acting at the Jean Shelton Actors Lab and
Studio A.C.T., and has participated in playwrighting workshops at the
Playwrights Foundation in San Francisco and at Perishable Theatre in
Providence. Before moving to San Francisco in 2004, Chris was the
Assistant Director for the National High School Civic Engagement
Initiative, Project 540. He is the Producer of the documentary film
'Students Turn for a Change' currently being distributed by American
Public Television.
June 14
TRANSPARENT STING by Cassandra Lewis
Directed by Anna Budd
A
dark comedy in three acts about a dysfunctional family brought together
under the guise of suicide prevention. It explores the art of failure,
odd drug inventions and the meaning of life.
Cassandra
Lewis moved to San Francisco nearly two years ago from New York, where
she studied Forensic Psychology at the John Jay College of Criminal
Justice. She is currently completing her MA in Writing at New College
of California. Her eclectic adventures as an activist, actor,
caseworker, and media researcher have greatly contributed to her
appreciation for the absurd.
See a history of previous readings and synopsis
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