Archive for category News
“Hamlet Goes Hollywood” to be published
Posted by Dwayne Yancey in News, Uncategorized on February 25, 2014
I got word this week that my hour-long one-act “Hamlet Goes Hollywood” will be published later this year by Big Dog Plays.
That’s the same publishing house that has published some of my other scripts, including “Santa Claustrophobia,” which has been produced 17 times. (Others from Big Dog include “Spiders” and “Red, Ripe and Round”; you can find my complete list of 0ne-acts, published and unpublished here, with this explanation of why I don’t charge royalties for unpublished work.)
Here’s the synopsis of “Hamlet Goes Hollywood,” coming soon to a play catalog near you (and, I hope, some high school stages):
HAMLET GOES HOLLYWOOD
Shakespeare himself is on the set of a Hollywood production of “Hamlet” when the director decides a few modest script changes are in order. Shakespeare objects, the director decides to experiment with setting the show in different genres — police show, science fiction, western, and so forth. The costumes keep changing, as do some of the characters. Ophelia clamors for a role with a sword, Laertes wants a bigger part, and Shakespeare himself eventually tries a rap version. Cast: 20 — 8 males, 4 female, 8 non-gender. Running time: One hour.
Video: “Choose Your Companions Carefully” at the Liminal
Posted by Dwayne Yancey in News, Uncategorized, Video on February 14, 2014
A few years ago, I read a book about Antarctica, which inspired several pieces — a one-act called “Lionized,” and three short pieces called “Countdown to 2041” (when the treaty governing the continent is set to expire), “Fairweather at the Pole” and “Choose Your Companions Carefully.”
Most of those pieces (“Countdown to 2041″ is the exception”) deal with the same uncomfortable topic — explorers forced to resort to cannibalism to stay alive.
On January 27, the Liminal gallery had one of its regular readings, with the theme “A Midwinter’s Night Dream.” I didn’t really have any odes to winter, but I did have “Choose Your Companions Carefully.” If Antarctic exploration isn’t winter, what is?
Mike Allen read the piece for me — putting on a full-fledged shivering act. Weeks later, I still have people who were there talking about it. As for the people who were there, you’ll notice an empty auditorium in the video. That’s because the audience was on the stage, and this video was shot from a side view.
Bon apetit.
Video: “Overheard” at the Liminal gallery
Posted by Dwayne Yancey in News, Video on February 11, 2014
Since last summer, I’ve been collecting snatches of conversations that I overhear. On the street. At coffee shops. At the Waffle House.
Last week, I had a chance to make use of some of those. The theme at the regular reading at the Liminal alternative artspace in Roanoke was “found texts.” The idea was for readers to take things not meant as art and turn them into art. Some used old letters. I used 24 lines I had overheard in downtown Roanoke.
Borrowing a technique from the world of comedy improv, I cut them into 24 pieces of paper, put them in a box and then had two people — Ashley Meador and Katerina Yancey — pull out lines and create a dialogue with them.
Here’s the result.
Director praises “The One-Word Macbeth” as “one of the funniest things I have read”
Posted by Dwayne Yancey in News, Reviews on February 10, 2014
I have a series of scripts in which I have taken classic works — usually by Shakespeare — and rendered them into scripts in which each character speaks a line of just one word.
The opening of “The One Word Macbeth” reads like this:
WITCH ONE: Thunder!
WITCH TWO: Lightning!
WITCH THREE: Rain!
WITCH ONE: Meeting!
WITCH TWO: Who?
WITCH THREE: Us!
WITCH TWO: Time?
WITCH ONE: Sunset!
WITCH TWO: Battle?
WITCH THREE: Finished!
WITCH TWO: Location?
WITCH ONE: Heath!
WITCH TWO: Subject?
WITCH THREE: Macbeth!
WITCH TWO: Ah!
WITCH ONE: Fair!
WITCH TWO: Foul!
WITCH THREE: Foul!
WITCH ONE: Fair!
A prospective director recently read this script (and a few others) and sent this praise:
“I’m pretty sure that One Word Macbeth is one of the funniest things I have read. So much so that I immediately handed it over to my stage manager with the instruction “You need to read this.” Then I just sat and watched her read it and laugh. (She agrees it’s hilarious!) I would LOVE to see the other ones. I just picture how it would play out on stage and it makes me happy. Also, I loved Hamlet Goes to Hollywood. So great!”
I’m hoping to get a production (or two) out of this.
Photos from “Sweets to the Sweet” in suburban Chicago
Posted by Dwayne Yancey in News, Photos, Productions on February 4, 2014
Hamlette (left) and Laurita (right) in their sword fight at the climax of “Sweets to the Sweet.”
In September, Gorilla Tango Theatre in Skokie, Illinois (an offshoot of the one in Chicago proper) staged my full-length script “Sweets to the Sweet.” At last, here are some photos from the show.
“Sweets to the Sweet” is my re-write of Shakespeare’s Hamlet. I’ve switched the genders — so Hamlet becomes Hamlette, Laertes becomes Laurita, Ophelia becomes Phil, Claudius becomes Claudia and so forth — and set the show in a modern-day slumber party. The language is modern, but includes all the famous Shakespeare lines. To me, it’s a way to help introduce audiences to the real thing. Plus, it creates a lot of female roles in what otherwise is a male-heavy show — and allows for some girls to try out stage combat.
Director Jessica Sawyer has shared these photos. So here goes: Read the rest of this entry »
“Hurleyburg Twirling Society” is finalist in Michigan festival
Posted by Dwayne Yancey in News, Uncategorized on February 4, 2014
My full-length script “The Hurleyburg Twirling Society” was one of 10 finalists out of 107 entries in a festival sponsored by the Branch County Community Theatre in Coldwater, Michigan.
Alas, it didn’t finish in the top three to qualify for production, but this marks the first official recognition of a script I’ve always thought would be fun to produce.
Here’s the formal description:
THE HURLEYBURG TWIRLING SOCIETY
A twirler from back East finds herself stranded in Texas, in trouble with the law for accidentally setting fire to a motel room with her fire baton. To make amends, the judge orders her to teach baton twirling to the girls in the town. However, there are only three — all daughters of a local survivalist, who would rather spend time in weapons training than in baton classes. Meanwhile, the state of Texas drops the town from the highway map. To get back on the map, the town busybody thinks it would be a fine idea for this new baton corps to march in the Cotton Bowl parade. Comedy ensues, involving batons, armadillos, chickens falling from the sky, and many other things Texan. Cast: Eight — five female, three male. The females consist of one senior, one late teens or early 20s who can twirl a baton, and three teens.
Congratulations to Thomas J. Misuraca, Richard Manley and Jeff Stolzer, who finished in the top three.
Video: “A Nice, Relaxing Cup of Tea” in Ontario walking tour festival
Posted by Dwayne Yancey in News, Productions, Uncategorized, Video on January 15, 2014
There’s a fascinating theatre festival each year in Kitchener, Ontario that I’d love to see — it’s a walking tour festival where audience members are led around downtown to various venues, and theatre occasionally breaks out.
While I haven’t been there, some of my work has been. In 2013, the Asphalt Jungle Shorts program included my piece “Requiem for a Buzzard” — you can find photos here from the June production and here from the September reprise.
Now the Asphalt Jungle Shorts folks have unearthed this video from the 2009 production of my short piece, “A Nice, Relaxing Cup of Tea.” Here, Nicholas Cumming and Emma Dines perform the piece at The Kava Bean, directed by Robin Bennett.
Photos from staged reading of “Softball Is Life”
Posted by Dwayne Yancey in News, Photos, Productions, Uncategorized on January 7, 2014
Larsen (played by Emma Sala) gets ready to throw a softball through a hornet’s nest, under the glaring eye of Mr. Barnett (Patrick Kennerly), the hard-hearted science teacher and softball coach and the hopeful eye of Kristin Turner (Kelly Anglim), the soft-hearted principal who hopes the feat will show the coach the troublesome student has a gift.
My latest full-length script, “Softball Is Life,” had a very successful staged reading on January 4, 2014 at Showtimers community theatre in Roanoke, Virginia. Strong performances, strong turn-out, plus I came away with a list of small tweaks to make to the script.
My goal with “Softball Is Life” was to write a sports play for women. This isn’t really a sports play, though. Except for the opening scene, the entire play takes place outside softball season. It’s really about family relationships. A former high school softball star sits in prison, estranged from her 14-year-old daughter who shares her mother’s talent for pitching but doesn’t realize it. Instead, the girl lives in fear of the creepy boyfriend of the cousin she’s living with. The script is set mostly in 1994-95, with a few flashbacks to 1979.
Melora Kordos, former artistic director of Studio Roanoke who is now active in Lynchburg theatre, came to town to direct the reading.
* Stage directions: Vickie Haynie
* Kristin Turner, the school principal: Kelly Anglim
* Mr. Wellington, the school principal in 1979: Gary Reid
* Mr. Barnett, the science teacher/softball coach: Patrick Kennerly
* Linda Alderson, the former high school softball star now in prison: Heather Sexton
* Larsen Alderson, her 14-year-old daughter: Emma Sala
* Prison guard: Stevie Holcomb
* Squirrel, the creepy boyfriend of the cousin that Larsen is living with: James Honaker
I have video of the reading here with a complete photo gallery here.
Here are some key shots below: Read the rest of this entry »
Video: Staged reading of “Softball Is Life”
Posted by Dwayne Yancey in News, Productions, Uncategorized, Video on January 7, 2014
A staged reading of my script “Softball Is Life” was held January 4, 2014 at Showtimers in Roanoke, Virginia. Here’s the video (reading was quite good, my video, not so much.)
Act 1 is above, Act 2 is below. Alas, the video cuts off in the final scene, so you miss the final minute or so.
From left to right:
* Vickie Haynie (stage directions), Heather Sexton (Linda, the former school softball star who is now in prison), Stevie Holcomb (prison guard), Patrick Kennerly (Mr. Barnett, the science teacher/softball coach), Kelly Anglim (high school principal), Emma Sala (Larsen, Linda’s daughter and an undiscovered phenom), Jeff Price (custodian), Gary Reid (Mr. Wellington, the former principal), and James Honaker (Squirrel, the creepy boyfriend of the cousin that Larsen is living with.)
Directed by Melora Kordos.
dwayneyancey 