Archive for category News
Cast photo from “On the Thirteeth Day of Christmas”
Posted by Dwayne Yancey in News, Photos, Productions, Uncategorized on December 19, 2013
Here’s a photo from “On the Thirteenth Day of Christmas,” which was produced this month at Santiam High School in Mill City, Oregon.
This was the first production of this script, and the sixth full-length script I’ve had produced.
MORE ON THE SHOW
* Director calls “On the Thirteenth Day of Christmas” a “true gem.”
* About “On the Thirteenth Day of Christmas.”
“On the Thirteenth Day of Christmas” called “a true gem”
Posted by Dwayne Yancey in News, Productions, Reviews, Uncategorized on December 17, 2013
One of my Christmas plays, “On the Thirteenth Day of Christmas,” was produced last week in Oregon at Santiam High School in Mill City.
This marks my sixth full-length script to be produced.
Director Bill Brown sends this account (and promises photos soon):
“It went very well. Many people commented on how funny the show was and all thoroughly enjoyed it . . . Thank you for the awesome opportunity to “test out” On the 13th Day of Christmas for you. It is a true gem.”
I have a synopsis — plus a list of my other full-length scripts that have been produced — here. As “On the Thirteenth Day of Christmas” is unpublished, it remains available royalty-free.
“Softball Is Life” to have staged reading January 4
Posted by Dwayne Yancey in News, Productions, Uncategorized on December 10, 2013
I’m thrilled to announce that my latest full-length script, “Softball Is Life,” will have a staged reading on Saturday, January 4, 2014 at Showtimers in Roanoke, Virginia.
Melora Kordos of Lynchburg will direct. The cast consists of Kelly Anglim, James Honaker, Stevie Holcomb, Patrick Kennerly, Jeff Price, Gary Reid, Emma Sala and Heather Sexton — an all-star cast of performers from the Roanoke Valley (with the exception of Jeff, who is an all-star performer from Lynchburg.)
This is a script I’m very excited about and was eager to see and hear how it works. I’m indebted to Showtimers for helping make this happen, and the talent cast and director for volunteering their time.
My goal was to write a sports play for women, although the result is somewhat different. Despite the title, this play isn’t really about sports; it’s about something else entirely. Relationships, I suppose you could say.
The quick synopsis goes like this: A former high school softball star sits in prison, estranged from her 14-year-old daughter, who shares her gift for pitching but doesn’t realize it. Instead, she is more concerned about protecting herself from the predatory boyfriend of the cousin she’s forced to live with.
Note: Some adult language and situations.
There is no sports action in the show (sports action always being hard to depict on stage, anyway.) The opening scene has the sounds of a softball game happening off-stage; after that, the play takes place entirely outside softball season. Some of it takes place in a women’s prison; some of it takes place around a Dumpster.
Cast of eight — three women, one teen-age girl, three men, and one non-gender role (the school custodian, which will be played here by Jeff Price.)
“57 Hours in the House of Culture” called “well-crafted” and “compelling”
Posted by Dwayne Yancey in News, Reviews, Uncategorized on November 19, 2013
Just got one of the nicest rejection letters ever, this from a theatre in . . . well, let’s just say somewhere in the United States.
This was in reference to my full-length script “57 Hours in the House of Culture,” about the Moscow theatre siege.
And I quote:
“I did want to let you know that out of the 200 submissions we considered, 57 Hours in the House of Culture made a very strong impression and stayed on our shortlist until close the very end. It is a well-crafted story told in a compelling manner with characters that are diverse and strong. However, due to the larger cast size along with technical elements we felt were essential to telling this story correctly, we had to pass on it this year. However, we look forward to considering it again next year, along with any other work you submit in the future.”
The show was originally produced in May 2012 at Studio Roanoke in Roanoke, Virginia. Here’s more on that production:
MORE ON “57 HOURS IN THE HOUSE OF CULTURE”:
* Video: “57 Hours in the House of Culture” at Studio Roanoke in May 2012
* Backstage graffiti from the show
* Photos from the show
* Audience reaction to the show
* Review: “It ain’t ‘Oklahoma!'”
* Congressman Goodlatte attends the show
* Review: “Most interactive show I’ve seen”
* Media interviews about the show
* The set takes shape
* Rehearsal photos
* Rehearsal begins
* The poster for the show
At least eight productions this fall, including one in India
Posted by Dwayne Yancey in News, Productions, Uncategorized on November 9, 2013
The flag of India. I’m about to have my first production there.
I have at least eight productions this fall, including my first in India!
I say “at least eight” because some of my publishers don’t report productions until after they’ve happened, so it’s likely that number is higher.
But here are the ones I do know about, which are happening in six different states and the forementioned Republic of India!
* The one-act “The Fruitcake,” a Christmas show, remains my most frequently-produced script. It’s published by Brooklyn Publishers these four productions will take me up to the 40th production mark:
— Patrick Henry Academy, Estill, South Carolina, Oct. 29
— McCool Schools, McCool Junction, Nebraska, Nov. 1
— New Underwood School District, New Underwood, South Dakota, Nov. 23
— Mitchell High School, Mitchell, Nebraska, Nov. 26.
* The one-act “Hit the Books” continues to climb up the charts. It’s published by Eldridge Plays and Musicals and these two productions will be the 13th and 14th of this script:
— Milestone Public School, Milestone, Montana, Nov. 23
— Catholic Central High School, Burlington, Wisconsin, Dec. 14
* The hour-long one-act “Macbeth Goes Hollywood” is my second most-production script. It’s also published by Eldridge Plays and Musicals and this production will be the 26th production — and my first in India.
— Pathways School Gurgaon, Gurgaon, India, Nov. 16. (This is on the outskirts of New Delhi.)
That won’t be my first production in Asia, though. Earlier this year, a group in Singapore produced another of my one-acts, “Mac and Beth.” It also was a Shakespeare spoof, perhaps underscoring how much Shakespeare is a universal language.
On another note, I’m struck again by how many productions I get in the Upper Midwest.
Finally, as previously noted, one of my full-length scripts is scheduled for production in December in Oregon — “On the 13th Day of Christmas” at Santiam High School in Mill City, Oregon. That will be the first production of that script, but will be the sixth full-length script I’ve had produced.
Note that all these one-acts have been published, so royalties are involved. But impoverished directors take note, I have many more scripts that are unpublished and I allow those to be produced royalty-free. Here’s why.
F0r more on these and all my other scripts, see the scripts category.
Video: “The Truth About Broccoli” at Liminal
Posted by Dwayne Yancey in News, Uncategorized, Video on October 28, 2013
Katerina Yancey and Jonah Woodstock performed a staged reading of my short piece “The Truth About Broccoli” at the monthly reading series at the Liminal alternative artspace in Roanoke.
The broccoli appeared as itself.
The theme, by the way, was “eat your words.”
“A Woman’s Word Versus the Machine” wins award at Subversive Theatre
Posted by Dwayne Yancey in News, Productions, Reviews, Uncategorized on October 18, 2013
I’ve just learned that my short piece “A Woman’s Word Versus the Machine” won the Plebian’s Choice Award at the Subversive Theatre in Buffalo, N.Y. this summer.
Audience members voted each night on their favorites and in the end, mine emerged as the winner for the “alpha” night. (The theatre had two different shows, which alternated.) Mine was described as “a very well written little gem.”
Here’s my synopsis of the piece:
A WOMAN’S WORD VERSUS A MACHINE
A dark, serious piece about rape. A woman alleges she was assaulted by her household robot. But the company claims it was not a fault of product design. Cast: Two — one male, one female. Running time: Five minutes.
• Staged reading at No Shame Theatre, Roanoke, Va., spring 2012.
(I had a previous post about other work I’ve had at Subversive here.)
This is the second time this year one of my works has been voted an audience favorite. In June, my 10-minute script “Follow The Money: A Modern-Day Fairy Tale” was voted the audience choice at the New Voice Theatre Festival in Charles Town, West Virginia.
Suffice it to say this dark piece about a woman raped by a robot is very different from a frothy little piece about the tooth fairy.
“Requiem for a Buzzard” is reprised in Ontario
Posted by Dwayne Yancey in News, Photos, Productions, Uncategorized on September 27, 2013
Photo by Paddy Gillard-Bentley
My short piece “Requiem for a Buzzard” was produced this summer in Kitchener, Ontario as part of the Asphalt Jungle series. It’s an annual festival of outdoor theatre, in which the audience is taken on a walk around downtown and encounters short pieces of theatre at various venues.
The group is now holding a 10th anniversary festival — a “best of” its first decade, and I was honored to have “Requiem for a Buzzard” included. Artistic Director Paddy Gillard-Bentley shares this photo of the audience as it assembles at the staging point for my piece.
MORE ON THE BUZZARD PIECE:
* Photos from the June production
* Poster for the June production
REQUIEM FOR A BUZZARD
What do buzzards do when one of their own becomes roadkill? They say a few words of remembrance, then they eat him. Cast: Three, non-gender, but perhaps best as two male, one female.
This is one of many short pieces I have which are available royalty-free.
UPDATED: Here are some more photos from Paddy of the actual performance:
In praise of Lynchburg’s theatre scene
Posted by Dwayne Yancey in News, Uncategorized on September 24, 2013
Lynchburg, Virginia is only about an hour from my home in the Roanoke, Valley. But sometimes it seems to be an entirely different world. It’s been 21 years since I’ve had reason to go to downtown Lynchburg. Last Friday, though, my wife and I went there to see some friends in “The Full Monty” at Renaissance Theatre.
I was completely blown away by what I saw there, which prompted this guest post on The Roanoke Times’ arts blog about what seemed a very lively theatre scene in Lynchburg.
As I point out in the post, not only was it a full house — but it was a young full house!
Read on for more . . .
“On the Thirteenth Day of Christmas” will be produced in Oregon
Posted by Dwayne Yancey in News, Productions, Uncategorized on September 23, 2013
I got the official word today that my full-length script “On the Thirteenth Day of Christmas” will be produced for the first time in Oregon in December.
It was intended as a community theatre script, but the venue for this premiere will be Santiam High School in Mill City, Oregon.
This will be the sixth full-length script I’ve had produced, the others being:
* “An Old Story for News Times,” also a Christmas show
* “Virginia’s Real,” sort of a modern version of King Lear, this time with a farmer trying to figure out what to do with his farm when he retires, and three daughters fighting over the outcome.
* “Red Moon Rising in the East,” about the Soviet space program. (Video and photos here.)
* “57 Hours in the House of Culture,” about the Moscow theatre siege of 2002. (Video and photos here.)
* “Sweets to the Sweet,” a gender-reversed version of Hamlet.
Two other full-length scripts have had staged readings:
* “Klaus,” about the origins of Santa Claus. (Video and photos here.)
* “The Ballad of Alejandro Lopez,” a play about baseball and immigration. (Photos and more here.)
Here’s the synopsis for “On the Thirteenth Day of Christmas”:
ON THE THIRTEENTH DAY OF CHRISTMAS
A wild, action-packed Christmas farce. A young woman suddenly finds herself receiving the gifts from the song “The Twelve Days of Christmas,” apparently from an unknown suitor. The play begins on the thirteenth day as she copes with the chaos outside her apartment, as neighbors demand she do something about the noisy birds and pipers and drummers. The woman hatches a plan to shoot the birds and organize the people into an impromptu Christmas parade. Chaos ensues. Cast: 13 — 7f, 3m, 3 non-gender.
I have a list of other royalty-free Christmas scripts here.
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