Play4Keeps – Ashland New Plays Festival https://ashlandnewplays.org Community-based new play development theatre Thu, 11 Apr 2024 21:10:25 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://ashlandnewplays.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/ANPF-favicon-64.jpg Play4Keeps – Ashland New Plays Festival https://ashlandnewplays.org 32 32 We've created this podcast series to let you in on the conversation between creators on the front lines of new works for the stage. Produced in beautiful Ashland, Oregon, as part of Ashland New Plays Festival, the ANPF Play4Keeps Podcast is your new ticket to the theatre. Listen to recordings of compelling new plays by award-winning playwrights performed by world-class actors as well as engaging conversations between theatre artists. You'll discover something new through the ANPF Play4Keeps Podcast. Start listening today! Ashland New Plays Festival true episodic Ashland New Plays Festival info@ashlandnewplays.org Ashland New Plays Festival Ashland New Plays Festival podcast A presentation of Ashland New Plays Festival Play4Keeps – Ashland New Plays Festival https://ashlandnewplays.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/ANPF-Presents-logo-APPLE.jpg https://ashlandnewplays.org/category/play4keeps/ TV-14 Ashland, Oregon Ashland, Oregon Bi-monthly Support New Plays Support New Plays 8ec25046-4035-5bec-836e-6a1497e171c5 Play4Keeps Podcast | Free full play: WATER MADE TO RISE by Barret O’Brien https://ashlandnewplays.org/play4keeps-podcast-free-full-play-water-made-to-rise-by-barret-obrien/ Sat, 16 Jan 2021 06:13:15 +0000 https://ashlandnewplays.org/?p=6244 https://ashlandnewplays.org/play4keeps-podcast-free-full-play-water-made-to-rise-by-barret-obrien/#respond https://ashlandnewplays.org/play4keeps-podcast-free-full-play-water-made-to-rise-by-barret-obrien/feed/ 0 View the play’s playbill page here: Water Made to Rise View the play’s playbill page here:

Water Made to Rise

]]> Play4Keeps Podcast | Free full play: THE GOOD BET by Bob Clyman https://ashlandnewplays.org/play4keeps-podcast-free-full-play-the-good-bet-by-bob-clyman/ Sat, 16 Jan 2021 06:06:22 +0000 https://ashlandnewplays.org/?p=6240 https://ashlandnewplays.org/play4keeps-podcast-free-full-play-the-good-bet-by-bob-clyman/#respond https://ashlandnewplays.org/play4keeps-podcast-free-full-play-the-good-bet-by-bob-clyman/feed/ 0 View the play’s playbill page here: The Good Bet View the play’s playbill page here:

The Good Bet

]]> Play4Keeps Podcast | Free full play: THE EXCEPTIONALS by Bob Clyman https://ashlandnewplays.org/play4keeps-podcast-free-full-play-the-exceptionals-by-bob-clyman/ Sat, 16 Jan 2021 06:02:18 +0000 https://ashlandnewplays.org/?p=6238 https://ashlandnewplays.org/play4keeps-podcast-free-full-play-the-exceptionals-by-bob-clyman/#respond https://ashlandnewplays.org/play4keeps-podcast-free-full-play-the-exceptionals-by-bob-clyman/feed/ 0 View the playbill page for the play here: The Exceptionals View the playbill page for the play here:

The Exceptionals

]]> Play4Keeps Podcast | Free full play: TAIL OF THE BELL by Gabriel Neustadt https://ashlandnewplays.org/play4keeps-podcast-free-full-play-tail-of-the-bell-by-gabriel-neustadt/ Sat, 16 Jan 2021 05:59:13 +0000 https://ashlandnewplays.org/?p=6236 https://ashlandnewplays.org/play4keeps-podcast-free-full-play-tail-of-the-bell-by-gabriel-neustadt/#respond https://ashlandnewplays.org/play4keeps-podcast-free-full-play-tail-of-the-bell-by-gabriel-neustadt/feed/ 0 View the play’s playbill page here: Tail of the Bell View the play’s playbill page here:

Tail of the Bell

]]> Play4Keeps Podcast | Free full play: SCIENCE NIGHT by Stephanie Neuerburg https://ashlandnewplays.org/play4keeps-podcast-free-full-play-science-night-by-stephanie-neuerburg/ Sat, 16 Jan 2021 05:56:25 +0000 https://ashlandnewplays.org/?p=6234 https://ashlandnewplays.org/play4keeps-podcast-free-full-play-science-night-by-stephanie-neuerburg/#respond https://ashlandnewplays.org/play4keeps-podcast-free-full-play-science-night-by-stephanie-neuerburg/feed/ 0 View the play’s playbill page here: Science Night View the play’s playbill page here:

Science Night

]]> Play4Keeps Podcast | Free full play: PANKHURST: FREEDOM OR DEATH by Jeannine Grizzard https://ashlandnewplays.org/play4keeps-podcast-free-full-play-pankhurst-freedom-or-death-by-jeannine-grizzard/ Sat, 16 Jan 2021 05:53:23 +0000 https://ashlandnewplays.org/?p=6232 https://ashlandnewplays.org/play4keeps-podcast-free-full-play-pankhurst-freedom-or-death-by-jeannine-grizzard/#respond https://ashlandnewplays.org/play4keeps-podcast-free-full-play-pankhurst-freedom-or-death-by-jeannine-grizzard/feed/ 0 View the play’s playbill page here: Pankhurst: Freedom or Death View the play’s playbill page here:

Pankhurst: Freedom or Death

]]> Play4Keeps Podcast | Free full play: IN WAYS BOTH FRIVOLOUS AND DEEP by Marin Gazzaniga https://ashlandnewplays.org/play4keeps-podcast-free-full-play-in-ways-both-frivolous-and-deep-by-marin-gazzaniga/ Sat, 16 Jan 2021 05:50:06 +0000 https://ashlandnewplays.org/?p=6230 https://ashlandnewplays.org/play4keeps-podcast-free-full-play-in-ways-both-frivolous-and-deep-by-marin-gazzaniga/#respond https://ashlandnewplays.org/play4keeps-podcast-free-full-play-in-ways-both-frivolous-and-deep-by-marin-gazzaniga/feed/ 0 View play’s playbill page here: In Ways Both Frivolous and Deep View play’s playbill page here:

In Ways Both Frivolous and Deep

]]> Play4Keeps Podcast | Free full play: FUGITIVE COLORS by Barbara V. Anderson https://ashlandnewplays.org/play4keeps-podcast-free-full-play-fugitive-colors-by-barbara-v-anderson/ Sat, 16 Jan 2021 05:45:46 +0000 https://ashlandnewplays.org/?p=6228 https://ashlandnewplays.org/play4keeps-podcast-free-full-play-fugitive-colors-by-barbara-v-anderson/#respond https://ashlandnewplays.org/play4keeps-podcast-free-full-play-fugitive-colors-by-barbara-v-anderson/feed/ 0 View the play’s playbill page here: Fugitive Colors View the play’s playbill page here:

Fugitive Colors

]]> Play4Keeps Podcast | Free full play: FOR NINA by Robert Emmet Lunney https://ashlandnewplays.org/play4keeps-podcast-free-full-play-for-nina-by-robert-emmet-lunney/ Sat, 16 Jan 2021 05:42:49 +0000 https://ashlandnewplays.org/?p=6226 https://ashlandnewplays.org/play4keeps-podcast-free-full-play-for-nina-by-robert-emmet-lunney/#respond https://ashlandnewplays.org/play4keeps-podcast-free-full-play-for-nina-by-robert-emmet-lunney/feed/ 0 View the play’s playbill page here: For Nina View the play’s playbill page here:

For Nina

]]> Play4Keeps Podcast | Free full play: FLOWERS IN THE DESERT by Donna Hoke https://ashlandnewplays.org/play4keeps-podcast-free-full-play-flowers-in-the-desert-by-donna-hoke/ Sat, 16 Jan 2021 05:39:22 +0000 https://ashlandnewplays.org/?p=6224 https://ashlandnewplays.org/play4keeps-podcast-free-full-play-flowers-in-the-desert-by-donna-hoke/#respond https://ashlandnewplays.org/play4keeps-podcast-free-full-play-flowers-in-the-desert-by-donna-hoke/feed/ 0 View the play’s playbill page here: Flowers in the Desert View the play’s playbill page here:

Flowers in the Desert

]]> Play4Keeps Podcast | Free full play: FERNANDO by Steven Haworth https://ashlandnewplays.org/play4keeps-podcast-free-full-play-fernando-by-steven-haworth/ Sat, 16 Jan 2021 05:35:53 +0000 https://ashlandnewplays.org/?p=6222 View the play’s playbill page here: Fernando Play4Keeps Podcast | Free full play: THE SECOND COMING OF KLAUS KINSKI by Andrew Perez https://ashlandnewplays.org/play4keeps-podcast-free-full-play-the-second-coming-of-klaus-kinski-by-andrew-perez/ Sat, 16 Jan 2021 05:35:29 +0000 https://ashlandnewplays.org/?p=6242 View the play’s playbill page here: https://ashlandnewplays.org/play/the-second-coming-of-klaus-kinski/ Play4Keeps Podcast | Free full play: ELEVATOR GIRL by Donna Hoke https://ashlandnewplays.org/play4keeps-podcast-free-full-play-elevator-girl-by-donna-hoke/ Sat, 16 Jan 2021 05:31:27 +0000 https://ashlandnewplays.org/?p=6220 View the play’s playbill page here: Elevator Girl Play4Keeps Podcast | Free full play: BUTTERFLIES AND MARGARINE by Oded Gross https://ashlandnewplays.org/play4keeps-podcast-free-full-play-butterflies-and-margarine-by-oded-gross/ Sat, 16 Jan 2021 05:27:25 +0000 https://ashlandnewplays.org/?p=6216 Go to the playbill page here: https://ashlandnewplays.org/play/butterflies-and-margarine/ Play4Keeps Podcast | Free full play: THE WORST MOTHER IN THE WORLD by Kari Bentley-Quinn https://ashlandnewplays.org/play4keeps-podcast-free-full-play-the-worst-mother-in-the-world-by-kari-bentley-quinn/ Mon, 14 Dec 2020 20:21:09 +0000 https://ashlandnewplays.org/?p=6194 In THE WORST MOTHER IN THE WORLD, new mom Nina has a healthy baby boy, a loving husband… and is struggling with terrifying nightmares and anxiety attacks. Her therapist, Bonnie,… Even Flowers Bloom in Hell, Sometimes https://ashlandnewplays.org/play/even-flowers-bloom-in-hell-sometimes/ Mon, 02 Dec 2019 20:20:49 +0000 https://play4keeps.org/?post_type=play&p=2568 Synopsis An examination of the inmates within a system trying to discover meaning in the face of isolation and doubt in one’s own worth over a 25-year bid. The play… Synopsis An examination of the inmates within a system trying to discover meaning in the face of isolation and doubt in one’s own worth over a 25-year bid. The play… An examination of the inmates within a system trying to discover meaning in the face of isolation and doubt in one’s own worth over a 25-year bid. The play explores familial ties, love, race, inmate-correctional officer relations, the passing of time, and the succeeding generation of individuals who deal with the challenges of trying to avoid a life of crime or resigning oneself to becoming a part of the system that swept up previous generations.
Playwright Perspective
Nineteen years passed before the nightmare ended. We got the call that release—and deportation— was imminent. We didn’t have a chance to see him and say goodbye, but to A______, that was for the best. He didn’t want to be seen like this. I don’t remember if it was directed to my mother or myself, but he sounded sad as he wondered aloud what the last nineteen years meant at the end of it all. He was the last one to be released.
As of this writing, I haven’t seen him face to face since before then.
…
There are better, more stable careers out there, but writing is what I decided for myself. Their reactions surprised me. S____ was proud. W______ thought it was better to be a writer than a cog in some corporate machine. A______ told me to read Márquez and Shakespeare to learn how to write. Both A______ and S____ would ask about the meaning of the stories they had me read. I remember talking about Kafka’s Metamorphosis. I don’t remember with whom. I remember crying from hearing they supported me. Don’t tell them I said that.
…
I don’t get nervous at readings. The anxiety disappears about an hour before. I find peace. There’s nothing more I can do. What will be, will be. But, the reading at the Lark during Playwrights’ Week was different. Not only because it was the Lark, but because a few rows down from me sat S____, the inspiration behind the Prisoner. The man who encouraged hope when there was no reason for it. It didn’t matter that the industry people or the people who would become my agents were there. All that mattered was S____; I was terrified it wasn’t good enough. I was paralyzed with fear at the idea that he wouldn’t like it. But after the reading, he pulled me into a hug and told me I did a great job and he was proud. I think he cried. I know he’d deny it.
He called a week later: he couldn’t stop thinking about the play. He said it was really good.
…
We were asked in class to name our heroes. I wanted to tell the truth. I said something banal like policemen. Nobody wants to hear that a child’s heroes are the three men he visited in prison.
…
When I said I wanted to be a playwright, S____ asked me if I’d write about the phone calls and time spent in visiting rooms. A______ asked if he’d be a character in one of my plays one day. W______ asked when I’d be on Broadway. They were happy to see me get an arts degree. After all, a degree in theatre was better than a warrant for my arrest.
…
I got asked why I wrote this play. I said it was a tribute, a love letter.
…
I hadn’t been told that W_____ had been deported until months after. He preferred to move on and not make a big deal about it. He was just gone.
…
A few months after the reading, S____ told me, as we walked along Times Square at 2:30 am, that he was sorry he wasn’t better family to me. A lump caught in my throat. I said, “You good, man.”
…
I want you and the world to know: You were more than good. You were the best family, S____. You and A______ and W______. The years of phone calls and visitations, the hug you gave me at the Lark, everything you’ve been to me. That’s worth more than a Pulitzer to me. You three are my heroes. It doesn’t make up for what was lost and the 19 years of nightmares for all of us, but the lessons you three shared with me became this play that people are listening to now.]]> Ashland New Plays Festival full false 5:35 Southbridge https://ashlandnewplays.org/play/southbridge/ Wed, 16 Oct 2019 05:37:39 +0000 https://play4keeps.org/?post_type=play&p=2465 A white widow has been assaulted and an angry mob is at the jailhouse door demanding the sheriff lynch the accused. The only way to untangle the truth is for… A white widow has been assaulted and an angry mob is at the jailhouse door demanding the sheriff lynch the accused. The only way to untangle the truth is for… Who



Christopher C. Davis (Stranger)
Chris Butler


Nadia Davis
Kimberly Monks


Edwin C. Berry
Cedric Lamar


Lucinda Luckey
Annie Paul


Sheriff Timothy Ward
James Ryen


Stage directions
TaiReikca L.A.



Where
The fall months of 1881  in the Township of Athens, Ohio.
]]> Ashland New Plays Festival full false 5:56 Flowers in the Desert https://ashlandnewplays.org/play/flowers-in-the-desert/ Fri, 30 Aug 2019 17:42:26 +0000 https://play4keeps.org/?post_type=play&p=2414 After 14 years of marriage, Britt and Joe called it quits, so Joe is surprised when three years later, Britt asks him to try again. Cheater Joe still loves his… After 14 years of marriage, Britt and Joe called it quits, so Joe is surprised when three years later, Britt asks him to try again. Cheater Joe still loves his… Playwright Perspective
Flowers in the Desert is one of my early plays, but one that’s gone through much revision to get to your hands. What hasn’t changed, though, are the essences of Britt, Joe and their relationship. And yet, through development, that’s where readers, actors, audiences most wanted adjustments—but nobody wanted to change the same thing! In a group of playwrights, nobody could understand why Britt would ever marry a guy like Joe. At a reading at Midwest theater, everybody fell in love with Joe and couldn’t understand why he’d marry such a bitch. I was fascinated to find that these characters were divisive, but realized it was a strength of the play.
Britt and Joe are two people who met, fell in love, made a go of it, and the go didn’t work. How many of us can relate to that? It’s in that resonance that this story lives. If you’ve ever asked yourself “what if?”—if you’ve ever feared as Britt does, if you’ve ever wished you could have an amicable relationship with the person you raise your children with, you will understand this story. You will understand the pivotal Scene 5, where we do see what they used to be like, where they’re able to reconnect, where the momentum builds and never stops, where they can’t keep their hands off each other, where Joe feels like they have finally done it, where the audience assumes they’re headed straight to bed and all will be well. Scene 5 is the top of the mountain, the most important scene in the play.
Neither Britt nor Joe needs to be perfect; nobody is. It’s not necessary to understand why they were ever together, but to understand where they are in this moment. To see the good and bad in both of them and appreciate how they are finally able to see each other, to achieve that previously elusive closure—free of the hurt and anger and loss and betrayal that accompanies divorce—that is good for both them and their children.
This is all to say let Britt be Britt and let Joe be Joe. They will have their champions and detractors that will have nothing to do with the actors or text. People will find themselves in this couple and in this play. And when they do, the show will be a success.
Who



Britt
Elizabeth Gudenrath


Joe
Aaron Galligan-Stierle


Stage directions
James Pagliasotti



Where
Various locations in New Jersey.
]]> Ashland New Plays Festival full false 6:09 Mrs. Harrison https://ashlandnewplays.org/play/mrs-harrison/ Thu, 25 Jul 2019 02:30:26 +0000 https://play4keeps.org/?post_type=play&p=2354 Mrs. Harrison is about two women and one story. At their 10-year college reunion, Aisha and Holly meet by chance. Is this the first time or has it just been… Mrs. Harrison is about two women and one story. At their 10-year college reunion, Aisha and Holly meet by chance. Is this the first time or has it just been… Playwright Perspective
The seedling of this play is an experience I had with a college classmate who is now a very successful playwright. Years ago, I messaged her on Twitter just as she was starting to receive national acclaim, and she didn’t get back to me. This is fine in retrospect, of course—it was just Twitter and I can’t imagine I said anything interesting. But it stuck in my mind, and when I had the idea for Mrs. Harrison, that moment became fresh again for me. The playwright from college and I have since reconnected via email and I don’t believe either of us went to the reunion.
Who



Aisha
Christiana Clark


Holly
Rachel Crowl


Stage directions
Grant Luecke



Where



A well-appointed faculty restroom at a prestigious university. Present day.



 
]]> Ashland New Plays Festival full true 5:13 Donna Orbits the Moon https://ashlandnewplays.org/play/donna-orbits-the-moon/ Thu, 13 Jun 2019 15:08:45 +0000 https://play4keeps.org/?post_type=play&p=2289 Something is not quite right with Donna: She’s a loving mother, a devoted wife, and a minor celebrity to all the bake sale planners in town, but something is making… Something is not quite right with Donna: She’s a loving mother, a devoted wife, and a minor celebrity to all the bake sale planners in town, but something is making… Playwright Perspective
So sometimes, you hear voices.  When you’re a playwright—and not all playwrights experience this, but I know many who do—there are times when you’re minding your own business, cleaning the house, driving to work, ordering sesame noodles from the local Chinese place, and the voices, well, they just start talking. Sometimes individually. Sometimes in pairs. Sometimes in groups. Sometimes they talk to one another. Sometimes they talk to you.
Donna began talking to me in my kitchen in the autumn of 2010, as I was mixing the batter for a tray of blondies. She was angry, and she wasn’t quite sure why, and once the blondies were in the oven, I realized that I had to help her figure it out. She was someone I had never met before, this Donna, but as I wrote, her voice became clearer and clearer, and her world took shape around it, and it was a world that was not mine, but was becoming increasingly clear that it was also mine. Her frustrations were my frustrations, her denial was my denial, and her anger… well, I had to claim that as well.
Donna Orbits the Moon was born at a time when our country was trying to decide what kind of a place it wanted to be. We had a progressive in the White House whose ambitions were stifled by a conservative legislative body and a gridlocked Supreme Court. We had the Tea Party. We were a nation at war—we had troops in Iraq and Afghanistan—and were failing our returning troops with interminable wait times at VA hospitals whose sole purpose was to provide them the care they required. It was a time of frustration—across all party lines—in which many of us were angry about so many things, although I think, at the time, we weren’t always certain as to why.
I think Donna’s voice helped me own up to it all. I think her journey helped me reckon with the things that frightened me most about our changing country. I think she allowed me to see the planet in a way I hadn’t ever seen it before: how small our lives are, and how big the universe is around us. But also how big our lives are, and how small the universe is around us.
Who



Donna
Liisa Ivary


Voice
Eric Poppick



Where



In and around a Minnesota suburb, 2010.



]]> Ashland New Plays Festival full false 5:54 The Second Coming of Klaus Kinski https://ashlandnewplays.org/play/the-second-coming-of-klaus-kinski/ Thu, 23 May 2019 04:43:02 +0000 https://play4keeps.org/?post_type=play&p=2187 Klaus Kinski is one of the most celebrated and controversial actors in the history of world cinema. The reckless abandon with which he approached both life and art left him… Klaus Kinski is one of the most celebrated and controversial actors in the history of world cinema. The reckless abandon with which he approached both life and art left him… Andrew Perez | Klaus Kinski is one of the most celebrated and controversial actors in the history of world cinema. The reckless abandon with which he approached both life and art left him tortured, demonized and worshiped. Before his famed collaborations with director Werner Herzog ("Aguirre", "The Wrath of God", "Nosferatu", "Fitzcarraldo"), Klaus Kinski was a tortured B-movie character actor who had become a touring sensation for his livewire theatrical performances. It was during this time that Kinski starred as Jesus Christ in a one-man show that had taken him a decade to write. Audiences were outraged at Kinski’s audacious portrayal of Jesus and heckled him mercilessly. After only two performances, Kinski canceled the tour. It’s now 2018, and actor-writer Andrew Perez (David Miscavige in "My Scientology Movie") does battle with Kinski’s demons in an effort to resurrect him and finish the job in one last command performance, THE SECOND COMING OF KLAUS KINSKI. People will tell you he is dead. Don’t believe them! Ashland New Plays Festival full false 5:50 Elevator Girl https://ashlandnewplays.org/play/elevator-girl/ Thu, 25 Apr 2019 16:43:14 +0000 https://play4keeps.org/?post_type=play&p=2100 Elevator Girl was never meant to be more than an urban legend, a sexual revenge fantasy created by Vanessa and her graphic illustrator boyfriend. But when the comic superhero unleashes… Elevator Girl was never meant to be more than an urban legend, a sexual revenge fantasy created by Vanessa and her graphic illustrator boyfriend. But when the comic superhero unleashes… Donna Hoke | Elevator Girl was never meant to be more than an urban legend, a sexual revenge fantasy created by Vanessa and her graphic illustrator boyfriend. But when the comic superhero unleashes her boyfriend’s darkest fantasies, as well as a flesh-and-blood copycat, Vanessa must stop EG in her tracks—with the truth. Ashland New Plays Festival full false 5:02 The Exceptionals https://ashlandnewplays.org/play/the-exceptionals/ Thu, 11 Apr 2019 16:38:35 +0000 https://play4keeps.org/?post_type=play&p=2002 For the past five years, a team of highly regarded scientists has been studying the development of “exceptional” children. To create these children, the team selected a small group of… For the past five years, a team of highly regarded scientists has been studying the development of “exceptional” children. To create these children, the team selected a small group of… Bob Clyman | Where do you draw the line between eugenics and the desire of every parent to give his or her child the best possible start? If the answer seems pretty simple, just ask Gwen, Allie and Tom, three parents whose children were conceived at a prestigious donor insemination program, specializing in donors with IQs over 180. It is now five years later, and the parents of these exceptional children are discovering that the answer is anything but simple. Ashland New Plays Festival full false 4:33 Pankhurst: Freedom or Death https://ashlandnewplays.org/play/pankhurst-freedom-or-death/ Wed, 27 Mar 2019 17:07:48 +0000 https://play4keeps.org/?post_type=play&p=1980 British suffragette Emmeline Pankhurst championed the fight for women’s right to vote as the most important of all causes, declaring: “We are on the greatest mission the world has ever… British suffragette Emmeline Pankhurst championed the fight for women’s right to vote as the most important of all causes, declaring: “We are on the greatest mission the world has ever… Playwright Perspective
For many years, I toured as Virginia Woolf in the 50-minute version of her “A Room of One’s Own” speech (adapted by Patrick Garland for Masterpiece Theatre and starring Eileen Atkins). Woolf’s seminal work of first-wave feminism was named by Random House Modern Library as fourth on their list of 100 Best Non-fiction Books of the 20th Century. In 2011, I discovered the Guardian newspaper’s short list of Greatest Speeches of the 20th Century. Several are by women, with “A Room of One’s Own” among them, along with Pankhurst’s “Freedom or Death.” I immediately read it online, and being bowled over, I thought, “wouldn’t it be great to present a one-hour cutting of this, like the Woolf speech?”
A year or two later, I performed my version for a Communications class at Rogue Community College–and learned that unlike the Woolf, Pankhurst’s speech was not a play. The audience had too many questions: Who is she? What did she do? What’s that force-feeding business? To make a play, she’d need to be working through a problem and offer a history of the suffrage campaign as a framework for excerpts from “Freedom or Death.” But who could my Emmeline tell this to? “Freedom or Death” was delivered by Pankhurst in November 1913 in Hartford Connecticut, hosted by Katharine Hepburn’s mother (also Katharine). Given the heightened militancy of suffragettes in England, Emmeline faced a difficult welcome in the States. As she prepares her speech from Paris the month before, she takes an imaginary audience of Americans through her argument and her heartbreak: 1913 and 1914 were the darkest times for women’s suffrage in Britain. The government was merciless, and with public approval diminishing, a change of perspective was urgently needed. Was there anything to be learned from the opposition? Pankhurst, as a true leader, could ask that question.
Who



Emmeline Pankhurst
Jeannine Grizzard


Judge
James Edmondson


Stage directions
James Pagliasotti



Where
October 1913, the sitting room of Emmeline’s flat in Paris.
]]> Ashland New Plays Festival full false 5:12 And Vaster https://ashlandnewplays.org/play/and-vaster/ Thu, 14 Mar 2019 19:10:16 +0000 https://play4keeps.org/?post_type=play&p=1951 In their fifteen years together, married actors Michael and Corinne have stood by their decision to focus on their respective careers and each other, and to not have children. When Michael is suddenly confronted… In their fifteen years together, married actors Michael and Corinne have stood by their decision to focus on their respective careers and each other, and to not have children. When Michael is suddenly confronted… Playwright Perspective
And Vaster started out as a different play entirely. A play that did not work, no matter what I tried to do to it. But I knew I had something special with the central characters, Michael and Corinne, and their relationship. Almost a whole year after giving up on making that first play work, I found this play in a poem. I discovered the work of Elizabeth Bishop by accident, and found myself reading her poem “One Art” over and over. I’m not drawn to poetry by nature, but it was clear that I had found it for a reason. Somewhere in the lines of that poem, I found And Vaster (its title borrowed from those same lines). I found the real story that Michael and Corinne had to tell, and by this point I knew the characters so well that the entire play poured out of me in less than two weeks, fully formed. I have never had an experience like that as a writer before or since. I probably never will again. It was something not unlike magic. And that’s about as much as I ever hope for when I write.
Who



Corinne
Terri McMahon


Michael
David Kelly


Robin
Tamra Mathias


Cabot
John Pribyl


Allison
Meghan Nealon


Stage directions
Rachel Kostrna



Where
New York City. Present.
]]> Ashland New Plays Festival full false 5:10 Dance of the Fluxons https://ashlandnewplays.org/play/dance-of-the-fluxons/ Thu, 28 Feb 2019 08:46:58 +0000 https://play4keeps.org/?post_type=play&p=1936 Is there one defining principle that underlies the behavior of all physical matter? Does it also underlie the behavior of emotional matter? Will Rainbow get to the pre-party? Should dinner… Is there one defining principle that underlies the behavior of all physical matter? Does it also underlie the behavior of emotional matter? Will Rainbow get to the pre-party? Should dinner… Playwright Perspective
A lifelong quest to understand the nature of things and the nature of being led me one day to an exquisitely simple understanding of all that is. I realized, of course, that it was improbable that the theory I’d formulated contained truth, and yet I could see nothing that proved it false; in fact, I observed evidence of its correctness in anything I looked at closely. Chaos seeks form, form seeks chaos; life is a divine tension between love and fear. But I am not a scientist, I am a creative artist. I created, as best I could, a piece of theater that propounds ideas and at the same time demonstrates how we flawed humans live out our lives subject to basic forces that we neither recognize nor understand, always wondering whether the evidence of our lives should cause us to despair or hope.
Who



David
Scott Kaiser


Millie
Elizabeth Gudenrath


Francine
Stefani Potter


Rainbow
Meghan Nealon


Kent
Cameron Davis


Stage directions
James Pagliasotti



Where
The open-floor-plan living/dining area of the Bloomington, Indiana, upper-middle-class home of David and Millie Braylock, in autumn.
]]> Ashland New Plays Festival full false 5:14 The Good Bet https://ashlandnewplays.org/play/the-good-bet/ Thu, 14 Feb 2019 07:19:45 +0000 https://play4keeps.org/?post_type=play&p=1901 Mark, a respected moral philosopher, is convinced that people are fundamentally good. Ben, who investigates intellectual property theft, is equally convinced that every seeming act of kindness is simply a… Mark, a respected moral philosopher, is convinced that people are fundamentally good. Ben, who investigates intellectual property theft, is equally convinced that every seeming act of kindness is simply a… Playwright Perspective
I’m a huge fan of unanswerable questions, particularly the chicken and egg kind. One of my favorites is whether altruism is fundamental to human nature. Some people see altruism as a pure, uncomplicated reaction to the distress of others, as instinctual and powerful as our more self-serving reactions. Other people maintain that altruism is simply a strategy, crafted over the course of human evolution, to hide one’s actual, self-serving agenda. I’ve often wondered why so many people appear to be absolutely convinced that their view of human nature, whether it’s the affirming, hopeful one or its darker, cynical alternative, is the only correct one, despite the lack of any clear evidence that favors either. I was particularly interested in those people who are so emotionally invested in one of these viewpoints that it becomes too psychologically costly for them to entertain any doubts.
As my interest began to take dramatic shape, I imagined two friends, a moral philosopher and an investigator of intellectual property theft, whose tense, unlikely friendship has survived since childhood. Not only would they hold entrenched, diametrically opposed beliefs regarding human nature, but each one’s beliefs would be central to his personal and professional identity, along with whatever success he had achieved. Then I wondered: what would happen if one friend’s desire to prove he was right became so intense that he convinced the other to put their opposing beliefs to a test? And what would happen if the test got out of control?
Who



Mark
John Stadelman


Sarah
Jackie Apodaca


Evan
Nolan Sanchez


Stage directions
Kaitlin J Henderson



 
]]> Ashland New Plays Festival full false 5:44 Fugitive Colors https://ashlandnewplays.org/play/fugitive-colors/ Thu, 31 Jan 2019 01:16:40 +0000 https://play4keeps.org/?post_type=play&p=1792 Every second Sunday of the month, four women meet at Marge’s Santa Cruz Mountain cabin for a hike and lunch. Today is different, very different. Marge has asked to paint… Every second Sunday of the month, four women meet at Marge’s Santa Cruz Mountain cabin for a hike and lunch. Today is different, very different. Marge has asked to paint… Barbara V. Anderson | Every second Sunday of the month, four women meet at Marge’s Santa Cruz Mountain cabin for a hike and lunch. Today is different, very different. Marge has asked to paint her friends’ portraits. Marge paints only using fugitive pigments, colors that fade in time. Katherine and Alicia are intent on talking Marge into moving to assisted living. Marge tells them she has made her own plans. Kimberly, a young friend of Katherine’s daughter, has joined the group. She is making her own difficult decisions. Kimberly works in Silicon Valley and if she didn’t know these three women she wouldn’t know anyone older than herself. The women have history with each other and have formed a family of sorts. As with all families, they love each other despite their differences and disagreements.  Ashland New Plays Festival full false 5:12 Fernando https://ashlandnewplays.org/play/fernando/ Mon, 21 Jan 2019 07:39:33 +0000 https://play4keeps.org/?post_type=play&p=1766 The play is a farce about tragic people. Zacharia Smythe, assistant professor of art, has come to Madrid to take a short sabbatical and study a painting by Fernando Rafael… The play is a farce about tragic people. Zacharia Smythe, assistant professor of art, has come to Madrid to take a short sabbatical and study a painting by Fernando Rafael… Zacharia Smythe, assistant professor of art, has come to Madrid to take a short sabbatical and study a painting by Fernando Rafael Vasquez de la Cruz. Zach considers the painting a masterpiece and the painter one of the greatest Spanish artists of the last 100 years. He is entirely alone in this. The artist has been missing for three years, and those who are familiar with his work believe he is dead. Nevertheless, nothing will deter Zach from betting any hope of a real career on championing his favorite to the art establishment by writing an article about this enormous painting.
This mission will require all his focus, a focus already beset by several difficulties. He has run out of professional chances. The memory of his wife’s suicide preys on him. His time in Madrid is limited. His sobriety is tenuous. Enter an astonishingly brilliant and beautiful Spanish woman full of secrets and rage. Teresa Flores first approaches Zach in the museum while he is studying the painting. She gradually reveals truths about herself, including a claim to have actually met Fernando, and the game is afoot. Through further revelations, sexual encounters, scholarly collaboration, a theft, a knife attack, and an encounter with a mysterious, gun-wielding Blind Man in a bar, Zach and Teresa finally meet the great Fernando, which leads to an act previously unimaginable.
Playwright Perspective
I heard a story about a woman who vandalized a Velásquez painting at the London National Gallery in 1914. She took a meat cleaver to his Toilet of Venus. The story was told to me by an art curator friend, and a tale started forming in my head.
I imagined a lover of art destroying a beloved painting crowded with hundreds of characters, only to realize he is obsessed by the painting because he has been looking at a long-lost lover who haunts him, her tiny doppelganger staring at him from within the painting without his realizing it! That didn’t work, not at all, waste of time, bad idea. But it did lead to imagining an encounter in a museum between an art scholar at the end of his rope and a strange woman who ridicules his efforts to champion a painter no one else thinks is worthy. This became the first scene of Fernando. And then personal feelings about the absurd nature of love, art, obsession, rejection, abuse of power, and even God, all found their way into the play.
Fernando is a love triangle with one very significant member missing, a psycho-sexual thriller farce, and a play about a love of art that connects to the eternal. But it all began with a story from a friend about a woman in the London National Gallery who really hated a painting.
Who



Zach
Rex Young


Teresa
Miriam Laube


Blind Man and Fernando
Douglas Rowe


Stage directions
Rachel Kostrna



Where
Madrid, the present.
]]> Ashland New Plays Festival full false 5:18 The Screenwriter Dies of His Own Free Will https://ashlandnewplays.org/play/the-screenwriter-dies-of-his-own-free-will/ Sat, 29 Dec 2018 00:25:31 +0000 https://play4keeps.org/?post_type=play&p=1676 Willy Shotz is a brilliant and successful Hollywood screenwriter. Producers kill for his stylish violence and ironic sci-fi. But late-stage cancer has graced him with a new vision of art… Willy Shotz is a brilliant and successful Hollywood screenwriter. Producers kill for his stylish violence and ironic sci-fi. But late-stage cancer has graced him with a new vision of art… Playwright Perspective
The Screenwriter Dies Of His Own Free Will is a two-character play about a dying screenwriter who has one last screenplay he must pitch to the man who is his oldest friend and toughest adversary in Hollywood. In its earliest incarnation, the play was a short story called The Pitch. A professor I had at Sarah Lawrence told me a story about a famous screenwriter who was teaching at Sundance while fighting cancer, a story about fighting on despite the indignities of the disease and its treatment. That was my starting point: a story narrated by the dying screenwriter.
When I turned the story into a play, I realized I had to do something with the narration, so I allowed the screenwriter to address the audience at length because, forgive me for saying this, the character’s interior life interests me as much as his outward actions. This is a problematic thing to say in the theater where the mantra is “Only action reveals character.” But I don’t like rules. I like interiority.
The next step was to allow his adversary, the producer Gabe, to speak to the audience, and that is where my taste for meta-fictional playfulness joined the party. Two competing, unreliable narrators. What could be more fun?
The play was very well received at the 2015 New York International Fringe Festival, where it won an Award For Outstanding Excellence in Playwriting. I decided to extend the play from 40 minutes to a full-length format and see where the play would take itself. As it happened, it took itself to the ultimate fate of the screenwriter and his screenplay and to some more meta-fictional fun for the playwright. It is very rewarding when a play develops a life of its own and leads the playwright God knows where. In this case I hope that God knows where is somewhere that will make people laugh at the undignified farce of death and dying, and the lengths to which we will go to leave something behind when we have passed through this place.
Who



Willy Shotz
Douglas Rowe


Gabe Weiner
Denis Arndt


Stage directions
Barret O’Brien



Where
The present, in Hollywood.
]]> Ashland New Plays Festival full true 5:08 For Nina https://ashlandnewplays.org/play/for-nina/ Sun, 23 Dec 2018 17:02:25 +0000 https://play4keeps.org/?post_type=play&p=1672 Nina Dalton is a major movie star performing in a new play by her older, Pulitzer Prize-winning husband, Brian Bartov. Their world is shaken by the return of Gar Jackson,… Nina Dalton is a major movie star performing in a new play by her older, Pulitzer Prize-winning husband, Brian Bartov. Their world is shaken by the return of Gar Jackson,… Playwright Perspective
For Nina, like most of my plays, grew out of a strange stew of ingredients. Foremost is my love of the plays of Anton Chekhov, particularly The Seagull. Just before I started writing For Nina, I had directed a workshop/reading of Chekhov’s play. The more I thought about the characters, the more I felt for the plight of Nina and Kostya, the young couple whose lives are so altered–mostly by their own folly–during the action of the play. Having been young and stupid myself once upon a time, I hated the thought of their youthful mistakes dictating their futures. So I determined to write a play where Nina, later in life, found success, fame, and something resembling happiness. I did not want the play to be bound by any fealty to Chekhov, so I changed the time and place to the Berkshires in contemporary Massachusetts and the high life of the rich and famous world of movie stars, Pulitzer Prize-winning novelists, Broadway, and more to the point: Art versus Commerce.
Some years before, I had acted in a starry production of Canadian playwright Timothy Findley’s play, The Stillborn Lover, at the Berkshire Theatre Festival in Stockbridge, Massachusetts. The production was directed by Martin Rabbett and starred Richard Chamberlain. Martin, Richard and I were friends, so we managed an arrangement with the theater and ended up sharing a beautiful estate on 200 acres in Stockbridge. We had many dinner, cocktail, and pool parties with much discussion about a life in the arts. Out of this–and so much else–For Nina was born.
Who



Brian Bartov
David Kelly


Nina Dalton
Robin Goodrin Nordli


Gar Jackson
U. Jonathan Toppo


Denise Jones
Meghan Nealon


Connie Ward
Elizabeth Gudenrath


Carl Sauers
Rodney Gardiner


Stage directions
Marie-Claire Erdynast



Where
Set in Stockbridge, MA, in the summer of 2004.
]]> Ashland New Plays Festival full false 5:01 In Ways Both Frivolous and Deep https://ashlandnewplays.org/play/in-ways-both-frivolous-and-deep/ Sat, 01 Dec 2018 10:19:54 +0000 https://play4keeps.org/?post_type=play&p=1503 When Millicent needs a time-out from her life, she ends up subletting Sparky’s grunge-infested apartment while he’s out on the road. She organizes his home and puts his life under… When Millicent needs a time-out from her life, she ends up subletting Sparky’s grunge-infested apartment while he’s out on the road. She organizes his home and puts his life under… “When we change our brand of cigarette, move to a new neighborhood, subscribe to a different newspaper, fall in and out of love, we are protesting in ways both frivolous and deep against the not-to-be-diluted dullness of day-to-day living.”
From Summer Crossing by Truman Capote
Who



Millicent
Erica Sullivan


Sparky
Michael Gabriel Goodfriend


Stage directions
Grant Luecke



Where




Fall 2010 in an East Village apartment.




]]> Ashland New Plays Festival full false 4:36 Water Made to Rise https://ashlandnewplays.org/play/water-made-to-rise/ Sat, 01 Dec 2018 10:16:54 +0000 https://play4keeps.scarabmedia.com/?post_type=play&p=819 Three men are caught in a crisis of torrential proportions, trapped in a taproom in a city that has been decimated by flooding. Who Guard Rodney Gardiner Captain Barret O’Brien… Three men are caught in a crisis of torrential proportions, trapped in a taproom in a city that has been decimated by flooding. Who Guard Rodney Gardiner Captain Barret O’Brien… Who



Guard
Rodney Gardiner


Captain
Barret O’Brien


Disco
Daisuke Tsuji


Stage directions
Annie Paul



 
]]> Ashland New Plays Festival full false 5:09 The Worst Mother in the World https://ashlandnewplays.org/play/the-worst-mother-in-the-world/ Sat, 01 Dec 2018 10:04:35 +0000 https://play4keeps.scarabmedia.com/?post_type=play&p=705 New mom Nina has a healthy baby boy, a loving husband… and is struggling with terrifying nightmares and anxiety attacks. Her therapist, Bonnie, is trying to help her discover how… New mom Nina has a healthy baby boy, a loving husband… and is struggling with terrifying nightmares and anxiety attacks. Her therapist, Bonnie, is trying to help her discover how… Playwright Perspective
I started The Worst Mother in the World when I was in grad school, although I didn’t realize it at the time.
We had been given a prompt in our last semester–a time I very much did not feel like writing–and I brought in a scene where a new mother confesses to her therapist that she doesn’t love her child. I had just been reading an article about a mother who wished she hadn’t become one, and it was stuck in my head. The summer after I graduated, Tina Howe took my classmates and me to the Whitney Museum, and it was there I saw “Diver” by Andreas Feninger, the photograph that served as a visual springboard for the dream sequences in the play. There was something about that image that haunted me and gave me the framework for Nina’s inner life as I wrote the piece.
This was the first full-length play I wrote after grad school, and it came fairly quickly. Motherhood and pregnancy are fascinating to me on a physical and psychological level. While I have no plans to have children of my own, I find that–like much of what I write about–I am drawn to things that scare me. Women so often face harsh consequences for behaving in ways counter to what is expected by society, and this play is meant to illustrate that. I was committed to having only female characters; I wanted to write a uniquely female perspective, something that is under-represented on our stages.
Who



Bonnie
Erica Sullivan


Nina
Tamra Mathias


Mary
Marie-Claire Erdynast


Stage directions
Eric Poppick



Where




America, in the present




]]> Ashland New Plays Festival full false 5:07 The Harder Courage https://ashlandnewplays.org/play/the-harder-courage/ Sat, 01 Dec 2018 09:16:37 +0000 https://play4keeps.scarabmedia.com/?post_type=play&p=569 Sheriff Ben Holmes arrests and ultimately hangs Robert Day for first-degree murder in this drama based on actual events of 1891-92. During eight months in jail, the talkative, emotional prisoner… Sheriff Ben Holmes arrests and ultimately hangs Robert Day for first-degree murder in this drama based on actual events of 1891-92. During eight months in jail, the talkative, emotional prisoner… Playwright Perspective
On Oct. 9, 1891, Robert Day shot and killed Thomas Clinton Beebe, a logger. A lynch mob came after him, but Sheriff Ben Holmes hid Day in the attic of a store. Day was tried and convicted of first-degree murder two months later. He tried to kill himself that night but Holmes saved his life. Day appealed the verdict, lost the appeal, and was hanged by Holmes before a large crowd on June 3, 1892. Reporters said he died with dignity.
These are the known facts. Everything else in the play is me sifting through the subtext, finding the essence that lies between the lines.
I first heard about Holmes and Day when I was a crime reporter at The Daily News. Deputy Darren Ullmann, who is writing a novel about Holmes, encouraged me to write a play. We’ve been sharing our research ever since. Because court records of the case have been lost, I gleaned most of my information from contemporary newspapers and I found some documents on genealogy sites.
I held a staged reading/workshop of a one-act version of the play in 2013 with actors Scott Clark (Holmes) and Michael Cheney (Day).
I presented my research in an English Department Colloquium at Portland State University in May, 2016.
Who







Ben Holmes
U. Jonathan Toppo


Robert Day
Michael Gabriel Goodfriend


Judge Bloomfield
Eric Poppick


Stage directions
Nancy Rodriguez



Where








The courthouse and the nearby area in Cowlitz County, Washington, from October 1891 through June 1892; epilogue 1895.
 




]]> Ashland New Plays Festival full true 4:35 Knockout Mouse https://ashlandnewplays.org/play/knockout-mouse/ Sat, 01 Dec 2018 09:15:32 +0000 https://play4keeps.scarabmedia.com/?post_type=play&p=1090 A lab assistant discovers that the prominent neurobiologist he works for has fudged data on a major scientific paper. As Peter contemplates his next move, he seeks the advice of… A lab assistant discovers that the prominent neurobiologist he works for has fudged data on a major scientific paper. As Peter contemplates his next move, he seeks the advice of… Who



Peter
Kyle Sanderson


Max
Cameron Davis


Greta
Vilma Silva


Stage directions
Sarah Glasgow



When



The present.



Where
Scene 1 — Peter’s apartment, Thursday evening.
Scene 2 — Mendillo’s office, Friday morning.
]]> Ashland New Plays Festival full true 5:09 Science Night https://ashlandnewplays.org/play/science-night/ Sat, 01 Dec 2018 09:14:14 +0000 https://play4keeps.scarabmedia.com/?post_type=play&p=557 While serving detention for something she may or may not have done, Lauren and her science teacher realize they might be more similar than they think. Playwright Perspective I wrote… While serving detention for something she may or may not have done, Lauren and her science teacher realize they might be more similar than they think. Playwright Perspective I wrote… Playwright Perspective
I wrote Science Night as a junior in college, where I was just beginning to learn a lot about myself as an individual, an artist, a feminist, you name it. Sexual assault has always been an epidemic I’ve been passionate about, and this short play is one of the first examples in my life of using my art to confront it head-on.
I think it’s also a great example of the never-ending work that comprises being a playwright and an ally. In revisiting Science Night with Play4Keeps, I realized I’ve learned so much and feel I could use that experience to improve the piece. Who knows…three years from now, this could be a totally different play!
Who



Lauren
Stephanie Neuerburg


Mr. Sanders
Armando McClain


Stage directions
Kyle Sanderson



Where
Science classroom.
]]> Ashland New Plays Festival full false 5:09 Naming True https://ashlandnewplays.org/play/naming-true/ Fri, 09 Nov 2018 22:19:01 +0000 https://play4keeps.scarabmedia.com/?post_type=play&p=1063 Amy, a transgender teenage girl, shows up unannounced in the Florida motel room of Nell, a dying woman who’s lived much of her life on the streets of Detroit and… Amy, a transgender teenage girl, shows up unannounced in the Florida motel room of Nell, a dying woman who’s lived much of her life on the streets of Detroit and…


Amy, a transgender teenage girl, shows up unannounced in the Florida motel room of Nell, a dying woman who’s lived much of her life on the streets of Detroit and now wishes to self-publish her childhood memoir. Over the next 24 hours what unfolds is an intimate tale of survival, redemption, and the deep human desire to share our stories.
A play involving a stolen laptop, an old manuscript and a peculiar cat, Naming True explores faith, identity, forgiveness, and the indelible fingerprints guilt and loss  leave on our lives.
Who



Amy
Rachel Crowl


Nell
Christiana Clark


Stage directions
Ira Brady Rubin



Where
Room number 10 at Hill’s Lodge Motel on the Ochlockonee River, panhandle of Florida. The action takes place over the course of 24 hours. October. The present.




]]> Ashland New Plays Festival full true 5:09 Tail of the Bell https://ashlandnewplays.org/play/tail-of-the-bell/ Sun, 04 Nov 2018 19:56:05 +0000 https://play4keeps.scarabmedia.com/?post_type=play&p=809 Eric is a recent college graduate working as an SAT tutor to pay the bills. Tonight he arrives at the Tarzana home of one of his wealthy students but finds… Eric is a recent college graduate working as an SAT tutor to pay the bills. Tonight he arrives at the Tarzana home of one of his wealthy students but finds…


Eric is a recent college graduate working as an SAT tutor to pay the bills. Tonight he arrives at the Tarzana home of one of his wealthy students but finds that her mother, Michelle, is waiting for him instead. Her daughter Jessica isn’t there yet, she explains, but she’ll be arriving soon. However as the conversation between them carries on, it becomes clear that Jessica is not coming at all, and that Michelle has brought Eric here for different reasons. His relationship with Jessica has become close, she explains, perhaps too close. And despite Eric’s denials and explanations, Michelle trots out more and more evidence suggesting that something abnormal has been going on between tutor and student.
Who



Michelle
Terri McMahon


Eric
Grant Luecke


Stage directions
Tamra Mathias



Where




A house within a gated community in Tarzana, California. The present.








]]> Ashland New Plays Festival full false 5:09 Front Room https://ashlandnewplays.org/play/front-room/ Mon, 29 Oct 2018 19:58:08 +0000 https://play4keeps.scarabmedia.com/?post_type=play&p=707 Sandra, a middle-aged woman who is a professor of theater at a small college, attempts to safeguard her irascible mother, who is a desperate hoarder. While Sandra begins preparations to… Sandra, a middle-aged woman who is a professor of theater at a small college, attempts to safeguard her irascible mother, who is a desperate hoarder. While Sandra begins preparations to…

Sandra, a middle-aged woman who is a professor of theater at a small college, attempts to safeguard her irascible mother, who is a desperate hoarder. While Sandra begins preparations to direct a production of The Glass Menagerie, a clever, non-traditional student who is a veteran of Iraq enters her life. Abby, Sandra’s mother, jealous and lonely, discovers surreptitious ways to obstruct her daughter’s opportunity for meaningful connection.



Playwright Perspective
This play began some years ago. I was inspired by a friend who became increasingly responsible for an aging mother who was unpredictable and not mentally well.
My work on Front Room intensified when I discovered the relevance of the archetypal novel Jane Eyre to the circumstances of my main character Sandra. The tone of Charlotte Brontë’s novel—an atmosphere of quiet desperation—struck me as fundamental to Sandra’s life: her growing isolation as she fights to somehow gather patience and kindness in the face of her mother’s overwhelming hoarding…the symbol of which is her exhausting, unsightly front room.
The play asks: what are the limitations of duty and fealty to a parent? What does the adult child owe her mother? And regarding the twisted notions of “happiness” that most of us cling to in our lives…do we have a right, or maybe an obligation, to pursue them? These are questions that vex me. For me, plays are an attempt to wrestle rigorously with difficult things: in this case, self-sacrifice side-by-side with loneliness. Front Room also makes space for the absurdly comic, where the odd trip over an unlikely object might bring forth sad laughter.
Who



Sandra
Vilma Silva


Abby
Brandy Carson


Tyler
James Ryen


Alicia, Waitress, Social Worker
Maddy Flemming


Stage directions
Grant Luecke



Where
The present, at a university city in the Midwest.
]]> Ashland New Plays Festival full false 5:09 Silueta https://ashlandnewplays.org/play/silueta/ Sun, 28 Oct 2018 23:49:29 +0000 https://play4keeps.scarabmedia.com/?post_type=play&p=683 Silueta is a two-person play inspired by the true story of Ana Mendieta, a Cuban-American performance artist and sculptor, whose life ended in a harrowing 34-story fall from the SoHo apartment… Silueta is a two-person play inspired by the true story of Ana Mendieta, a Cuban-American performance artist and sculptor, whose life ended in a harrowing 34-story fall from the SoHo apartment… Playwright Perspective
Silueta is a collaboration by actor/writers Diana Burbano and Tom Shelton and director/writer Chris Shelton. Diana, a Colombian-American, was initially drawn to Anaʼs story because as an actress she was not finding female, much less Latina, roles of interest and substance. The character of Ana Mendieta–a Cuban refugee, a provocative artist who worked in her own blood, a brilliant woman tragically engaged in a marital dance of death–inspired Dianaʼs imagination. Diana and Tom had always wanted a “two-hander,” something they could produce and perform themselves. The story of Ana and Carl fit the bill. Tom and Diana began writing the play and almost immediately brought in Chris as a director to help shape the scenes. It soon became apparent that the play was being created seamlessly, almost devised, really, by the three collaborators.
Who



Carl Andre
Anthony Heald


Ana Mendieta
Nancy Rodriguez


Stage Directions
Michael Gabriel Goodfriend



Where
The action takes place in an abstract space that can become variously Carl’s bedroom, a New York sidewalk, an art gallery in New York or Rome, and Cuba. Sound and lighting effects are suggested throughout the script. Props and sets are minimal. The words carry us through Carl’s haunted memories.
]]> Ashland New Plays Festival full true 5:09 Brilliant Works of Art https://ashlandnewplays.org/play/brilliant-works-of-art/ Sun, 28 Oct 2018 23:20:09 +0000 https://play4keeps.scarabmedia.com/?post_type=play&p=680 Law student Abby Gates has no qualms about becoming a sugar baby to get her tuition bills paid…until it means keeping a secret from the man she loves, an artist… Law student Abby Gates has no qualms about becoming a sugar baby to get her tuition bills paid…until it means keeping a secret from the man she loves, an artist… Playwright Perspective
Brilliant Works of Art began with the idea of tracing one sugar relationship from its inception to completion some 40 years later. But in the early stages of building what I wanted to be a formative relationship to both parties, the writing became so complex that I had to sock away the rest of the story for the second and third plays in the trilogy. That said, I love what BWOA became: a story about what we give up to get what we want; art vs. commerce; love vs. sex; willing compromise; and ultimately, a woman unapologetically occupying a place that traditionally belongs to men. That last part has made this a hot-button play, which is to say you’re probably not going to feel neutral when you finish listening to it. Nobody in any talkback ever has, and the spirited debates it has provoked have perhaps been the play’s greatest strength, even as artistic directors often feel they are also the play’s greatest liability (i.e. too risky). I am thrilled to be able to share it with you.
Who



Grant
Anthony Heald


Abby
Stefani Potter


James
Román Zaragoza


Stage directions
Brandy Carson



Where



Now. Scene 1: Japanese restaurant Scene 2: Abby’s apartment Scene 3: Hotel room Scene 4: Abby’s apartment Scene 5: Vacant hi-rise condo Scene 6: Art gallery Scene 7: Abby’s apartment Scene 8: Condo terrace Scene 9: Condo terrace Scene 10: Abby/James new apartment Scene 11: Abby/James new apartment



]]> Ashland New Plays Festival full false 5:09 Artichoke Hearts https://ashlandnewplays.org/play/artichoke-hearts/ Fri, 26 Oct 2018 08:29:04 +0000 https://play4keeps.scarabmedia.com/?post_type=play&p=465 Artichoke Hearts cuts into the strange, sadistic state of being in love. Written and performed by Sarah Mitchell in a series of embodied interviews, the show investigates why we bother… Artichoke Hearts cuts into the strange, sadistic state of being in love. Written and performed by Sarah Mitchell in a series of embodied interviews, the show investigates why we bother… Playwright Perspective
I’m not sure why, but strangers tell me secrets. They always have. Or maybe not secrets exactly, but things they wouldn’t normally talk about in the frozen food section of the grocery store with someone they’ve never met.
In the fall of 2013 I was a senior at Southern Oregon University and I was in need of a thesis to graduate.
I felt far away from myself and everyone around me. I was lonely, my heart was broken and I didn’t know what to do. It’s easy to get lost in yourself when your heart is broken. To overanalyze moments, memories and what could have been.
I started asking strangers about love, at first as a way to distract myself. But through my interviews I found the key to mending a broken heart is remembering you’re not alone.
Who



All
Sarah Mitchell



 
]]> Ashland New Plays Festival full false 5:09 Butterflies and Margarine https://ashlandnewplays.org/play/butterflies-and-margarine/ Fri, 26 Oct 2018 04:27:54 +0000 https://play4keeps.scarabmedia.com/?post_type=play&p=449 Hazel has fallen in love with John. She met John three months prior when she found him naked in a field, unable to remember anything, not who he is, how… Hazel has fallen in love with John. She met John three months prior when she found him naked in a field, unable to remember anything, not who he is, how… Unfortunately, when a mysterious Woman enters their lives, John’s memories start slowly returning, and what they learn changes their destinies forever.
Playwright Perspective
The plot of the play, or at least the seed of the plot of the play, came to me in a dream, which is incredible considering I rarely remember my dreams. Yet I woke up one morning with this mystery/science fiction-y idea in my head and I knew I had to do something with it.
I love mystery and science fiction stories – especially when they involve characters with amnesia – which this did. So when this story rose to the surface of my subconscious, I immediately started writing. The mystery that was starting to unfold with Butterflies and Margarine was very exciting for me. I couldn’t stop thinking about it. Thematically, I was equally intrigued. I often wrestle with questions like: What is my purpose? Why do we do the absurd things we do for the people we love? Where is the line that separates good and bad?
Now these very questions were finding their way into the work, and I was looking forward to getting some different perspectives on them. I was anxious to hear what my characters had to say on the matter.
Who



Hazel
Vilma Silva


Woman
Erica Sullivan


John
Barret O’Brien


Stage directions
Kyle Sanderson







Where




Set entirely in a diner, somewhere in America, present-day.








]]> Ashland New Plays Festival full false 5:09 What We Were https://ashlandnewplays.org/play/what-we-were/ Mon, 15 Oct 2018 06:21:23 +0000 https://play4keeps.scarabmedia.com/?post_type=play&p=364 Synopsis What We Were is set in East Texas and spans two decades. Sisters Nell, Tessa, and Carlin are now adults whose lives have been impacted by a childhood of abuse. After… Synopsis What We Were is set in East Texas and spans two decades. Sisters Nell, Tessa, and Carlin are now adults whose lives have been impacted by a childhood of abuse. After… What We Were is set in East Texas and spans two decades. Sisters Nell, Tessa, and Carlin are now adults whose lives have been impacted by a childhood of abuse. After disappearing 17 years ago, Tessa, the youngest sister, resurfaces. It seems she has spent her adult life on the run, moving from state to state and foster family to foster family, pretending to be a teenage girl. When she is found out, her sister Nell must decide how much of her past she is willing to face to save her sister. Weaving scenes from the past and present, this story is a meditation on responsibility, on what we do to cope, and on the very difficult work of healing.
Playwright Perspective



I was inspired by a story I read in Texas Monthly about a woman named Treva Thornberry, who for 17 years moved from state to state, pretending to be a teenager. I wanted to write about her, but eventually it became about all three sisters. I was very moved at certain moments while writing this play, by the pain and the plight of these three women. It’s as though I knew them and hoped so much for them. I hope audiences will feel the same way.



Who






Carlin
Liisa Ivary


Nell
Jackie Apodaca


Tessa
Kris Danford


Luke
Nolan Sanchez


Stage directions
Tamra Mathias






Where



Mostly Texas… East Texas… between 1979 and 2016
A bedroom
Another bedroom
A school
A porch
A holding room



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