Archive for category Productions
‘Troubleshooting’ wins award in Australia
Posted by Dwayne Yancey in News, Photos, Productions, Uncategorized on August 27, 2019
Michelle Drinnan with the prize I won but couldn’t accept.
My short play TROUBLESHOOTING was named “best original script” in the annual Foster One Act Play Festival in Foster, Australia — but I couldn’t accept the prize because it’s reserved for an Australian writer. Still, the honor! As Gemco posted on their Facebook page: “We are so proud that Dwayne Yancey was awarded best original script for troubleshooting! We have chosen not to accept as this award is for an Australian writer, however we are chuffed nonetheless!”
“Chuffed,” by the way, is Australian slang for “pleased.” I’m chuffed, too!
Gemco Community Players Theatre performed TROUBLESHOOTING and several other scripts (that weren’t mine) at the festival Aug. 24 in Foster in the State of Victoria. Michelle Drinnan was nominated for Best Female Actor for her work in TROUBLESHOOTING. She also won Best Supporting Female Actor for her work on another show. Meanwhile the judges gave special prizes to Michael Young, who appeared in two of the other shows. That’s relevant because he appeared last year in my play THIS ROSE HAS THORNS, produced by the student theatre company at Deakin University in Melbourne.
Michael Young, John Smith and Michelle Drinnan with their various prizes.
The whole Gemco troupe.
Close-up of the prize envelope.
Another review for ‘The Debate At Bosworth Field’
Posted by Dwayne Yancey in News, Productions, Reviews on August 24, 2019
My 10-minute play THE DEBATE AT BOSWORTH FIELD just got a very nice review on the New Play Exchange:
“I had the pleasure of seeing this play performed three times at a recent festival in Manchester England where my play was also being produced. This hilarious, absurdist play had the English audience laughing non-stop. I love these kind of plays that take literary characters out of context. We see Richard the III with new eyes while enjoying the familiarity of his history. Mr. Yancey skillfully builds the comedy to the perfect final line.”
— Arianna Rose
‘Waiting on the 10:15’ in Lansing, Michigan
Posted by Dwayne Yancey in News, Photos, Productions, Uncategorized on August 20, 2019
Quinn Thomas Kelly and Ny’kieria Blocker. Not sure which one is Melissa and which one is Paige. All photos courtesy of Jeff Croff.
The undertaker arrives to supervise.
Eight times in the past 12 years, I’ve been a writer in the Overnight Sensations 24-hour play festival in Roanoke that Hollins University and Mill Mountain Theatre produce each summer. A few weeks ago, I saw where Ixion Ensemble in Lansing, Michigan was holding a 24-hour play festival and were looking for writers. I emailed to apply, citing my Overnight Sensations experience. They said thanks, but we’re already full. OK, no problem, moving on. Then last week they emailed me to say, oh, someone got sick and had to drop out, still available? I was. So over the weekend I took part in my first 24-hour play festival remotely.
About 10:30 Friday night I was emailed the prompts:
-Genre: Western
-Use at least one of these names: Chad, Melissa or Paige
-Words to use: Art, cheesemaking, urban and beat
Dialogue: “You can’t make me…” Or “It is if the cheese is talking”
Only real guidelines: ten minutes and you only have three actors.
By Saturday morning I had written and emailed in WAITING ON THE 10:15. I was under the impression all the teams were two women and one man, so I wrote it with two female gunfighters. Turns out my cast — randomly assigned — was two men and one woman so I’m guessing one of the guys played “Melissa.”
WAITING ON THE 10:15
Two female gunfighters appear to be ready to square off against one another in the streets of an old western town. They’re waiting on the undertaker to pronounce when it’s high noon – timed to the arrival of the 10:15 train, which is always late. We eventually learn, though, they were not gunfighters at all, but makers of cheese. Their batch of Swiss cheese hasn’t come out well, so they’re about to shoot holes in it. Cast: Three – two women, one man.
* Produced by Ixion Ensemble, Lansing, Michigan, Aug. 18, 2019, as part of a 24-hour play festival.
‘The Debate at Bosworth Field’ in Manchester, Great Britain
Posted by Dwayne Yancey in News, Photos, Productions, Uncategorized on August 20, 2019
Courtesy of Andy Pilkington
My 10-minute play THE DEBATE AT BOSWORTH FIELD was included in the Fight Like a Girl! festival in Manchester, Great Britain — a fund-raiser to fight cancer. Don’t have any photos from my piece but here’s the curtain call with all the casts. Pretty sure that’s producer Andy Pilkington in the yellow.
THE DEBATE AT BOSWORTH FIELD
Imagine if Richard III and Henry Tudor had met in a campaign-style debate instead. This time, Richard wins. Cast: 8 – 5 male, 2 female, 1 non-gender.
*Produced by Fight Like A Girl Festival, Manchester, Great Britain, Aug. 15-17, 2019.
Courtesy of Andy Pilkington
Photos from ‘The Beautiful Ogre and Other Fairy Tales’ in Ohio
Posted by Dwayne Yancey in News, Photos, Productions on August 7, 2019
My 10-minute play THE BEAUTIFUL OGRE AND OTHER FAIRY TALES was produced Aug. 2-3 in Akron, Ohio by KenMore Kreative. This marked the 14th production of that script. Here are photos, courtesy of Yulia Gray.
The knight but the damsel is not in distress.
The ogre is beautiful.
More photos below.
Read the rest of this entry »
‘Exchange of Gifts’ will tour Virginia in December 2019
Posted by Dwayne Yancey in News, Photos, Productions, Uncategorized on July 19, 2019
From left: Kiaya Hoagland as Tilly, Lyndsey Hanks as Svetlana, Olivia Hunter as Veronica. Photo by Hank Ebert.
I’ve put together a touring production of my Christmas play EXCHANGE OF TOUR that will play at nine different venues in western Virginia in December 2019. Kerry Plank, a veteran of Roanoke Valley theatre, will direct the show. The cast consists of Kaiya Hoagland, Lyndsey Hanks, Olivia Hunter.
Here are the show dates and times:
Friday, Dec. 6: Roanoke, Theatre 3, 7 p.m. SOLD OUT
Saturday, Dec. 7: Galax, Rex Theatre, 7 p.m. (Tix available here.)
Sunday, Dec. 8: Blacksburg, Beliveau Estate Winery, 3 p.m. (Tix available here).
Friday, Dec. 13: Critz, Reynolds Homestead, 7:30 p.m. (Call 276-694-7181 x 27 for reservations; no online sales).
Saturday, Dec. 14: Monterey, Highland Center, 7 p.m. (Tix available at the door only)
Sunday, Dec. 15: Clifton Forge, The Masonic Theatre, 2 p.m. (Tix available here)
Friday, Dec. 20: Bedford, Bower Center for the Arts, 6:30 p.m. (Tix available here.)
Saturday, Dec. 21: Axton, Mountain Valley Brewing, 2 p.m. (Call 276-833-2171.)
Sunday, Dec. 22: Lynchburg, Riverviews Artspace, 3 p.m. (Tix available here.)
For tickets, see each venue.
Here’s what the show is about:
EXCHANGE OF GIFTS
A sweet Christmas story with a message. Three foreign students studying at colleges in the United States find themselves snowbound at an airport for Christmas. One is from Australia, one is from Canada, one is from Russia. Adventure ensues — involving broken chairs, computer hacking, and a health scare. By the time it’s over, each one has learned something about themselves that changes the direction of their lives. Cast: Three women of college age.
* Staged reading by Attic Productions, Fincastle, Virginia, November 2017.
More photos below: Read the rest of this entry »
Video: ‘A Couch for Luxury and Damned Incest’
Posted by Dwayne Yancey in News, Productions, Uncategorized on July 12, 2019
Here’s video of my 10-minute play in Overnight Sensations 2019, a 24-hour play festival sponsored by Hollins University’s Playwright’s Lab and Mill Mountain Theatre. An earlier post detailed how the event works. Thanks to director Amile Wilson for the video (and the great direction!).
Cast:
Drifer: Gianni Palmarini
Bed: Bailee Adams
Chair: Nancy Lawrence
Couch: Kelly Anglim
Desk: Gene Marrano
Table: Walter Dodd
MY PREVIOUS OVERNIGHT SENSATIONS: Read the rest of this entry »
