Archive for category Productions
“The Fruitcake” hits its 35th production, with more on the way
Posted by Dwayne Yancey in News, Productions on December 8, 2012
The Christmas one-act “The Fruitcake” — published by Brooklyn Publishers — is pulling away as my most frequently produced work.
Two places have produced it this winter season, and one more is scheduled to.
The ones so far are:
* Cedar Rapids Public School, Cedar Rapids, Nebraska, Nov. 19, 2012.
* Rock’n’Bach (which appears to be a private arts school of some sort), Frisco, Texas, Nov. 30, 2012.
That Rock’n’Bach performance marked the 35th production.
And then the Fort Worth school district in Fort Worth, Texas is scheduled to produce it on Dec. 20 (not sure which school.)
Alas, for all those productions, I have yet to see a one, nor receive any photos from any of them.
My second most frequently-produced script is the one-act “Macbeth Goes Hollywood” — produced by Eldridge Plays and Musicals. That show has been produced 24 times, most recently in October at a school in Steger, Illinois.
In third place is “Hamlet on Spring Break” — published by Playscripts. That show has been produced 23 times, most recently in July 2012 by a school in Port Republic, New Jersey. (Here’s video from a May 2007 production in Winston-Salem, North Carolina and still photos from a 2004 production in St. Paul, Minnesota.
However, that ranking might change. In fourth place is another Christmas show, “Santa Claustrophobia,” through Big Dog Plays. It’s been produced 17 times. However, Playscripts notifies me immediately when a production is scheduled; Big Dog only lets me know when it’s time to send a royalty check. Last year, “Santa Claustrophobia” was produced three times, so it’s possible there are more productions out there this fall, which could cause Santa to bump Hamlet back to fourth.
In fifth place is “Code 40 Verona,” a murder mystery based on the police investigation into the deaths of Romeo and Juliet. It’s published through Eldridge, and was last produced in October 2011 at a school in McDonough, Georgia.
I have other published scripts that have been produced less frequently and, of course, I have many unpublished ones, which are available, royalty-free, through me. Inquire within!
Video: “57 Hours in the House of Culture” in Roanoke, Va.
Posted by Dwayne Yancey in Productions, Uncategorized, Video on December 6, 2012
Here’s the archival video from the premiere of “57 Hours in the House of Culture,” my full-length play about the Moscow theatre seige.
The play was produced at Studio Roanoke in Roanoke, Va., in May, and played to good reviews and good houses. We even had a visit from our local congressman, Bob Goodlatte, R-Roanoke County.
The video is so long it’s broken into several parts, although the show ran without an intermission.
And here’s part three:
And here’s part four:
MORE ON “57 HOURS IN THE HOUSE OF CULTURE”:
* 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
Video: “The Cherry Tree Near Loos” at Liminal gallery
Posted by Dwayne Yancey in News, Productions, Uncategorized, Video on December 1, 2012
Here’s another video I’m a little late in posting. The Liminal gallery in Roanoke, Va. hosts periodic readings, often in conjunction with an exhibit or classwork at Community High School, the private school with which it is associated.
On March 27, 2012, the theme was “place.” Community High School student Sahar Babi read my monologue “The Cherry Tree Near Loos.”
It’s a true story that I came across in reading once about World War I. A British soldier was killed in a tree in no man’s land, and the only way the British could retrieve his body was to bombard the tree.
I’m indebted to Cara Modisett, who organizes the readings, for finding someone to read the piece.
Video: “The Rules Are The Rules Are The Rules” in England
Posted by Dwayne Yancey in News, Productions, Uncategorized, Video on December 1, 2012
The Castle Players in Poole, England produced my one-act comedy “The Rules Are The Rules Are The Rules” in February 2011.
Previously, I just had still photos from the show available.
Now, there’s video!
(More accurately, I just figured out how to post a video of this length, although I see it came in two parts.)
Video: “Macbeth, The Prequel” in Roanoke, Virginia
Posted by Dwayne Yancey in News, Productions, Video on November 6, 2012
I have almost an entire catalog of Shakespeare riffs, mostly one-acts aimed at schools. In fact, the very first script I had published was “Hamlet on Spring Break,” through Playscripts.
One sub-genre of Shakespeare I’ve been exploring has been prequels. I have two of them so far — “Macbeth, the Prequel” and “Hamlet, the Prequel” with two more in the editing stage.
This past week, “Macbeth, the Prequel” was staged at a private event in Roanoke, through the auspices of the Grandin Ensemble and the Star City Creators Society.
Here’s the result.
This script tells how the future Lady Macbeth came to be cursed, with deadly ramifications down the line. Her mother died in childbirth bearing her and her father, who longed for a male heir, refused to name her or acknowledge her as his heir. As you’ll see, I use the most famous (and some of the not-so-famous) lines from the actual Scottish play, but re-arrange them and assign them to different characters as the Thane of Skye plots how he can put his family on the throne — only to conclude that “the girl” is the key.
The cast:
* The Thane of Skye: Gary Reid
* Witches: Brandon duMonde, Ashley Smith, Leisa
* Lady Macbeth: Kelly Anglim
* Servant: Darlene Fedele
* Thane of Cawdor: Owen Merrit
* Macbeth: Owen Merritt (double-cast)
Directed by Brandon duMonde.
In addition, Charles Reynolds created some very spooky music to go with it, which you can find here.
Video: “The Secret Lives of Goldfish” at Liminal gallery
Posted by Dwayne Yancey in Productions, Uncategorized, Video on October 30, 2012
I have a series of short pieces called “The Secret Lives of Goldfish” in which I take a humorous look at two goldfish, one of whom has delusions of grandeur, the other of whom is very much aware of its piscene limitations.
One of those pieces — “The Secret Lives of Goldfish, volume 4: Hot for the Deep Sea Driver” — was performed as a staged reading Oct. 25 at one of the regular readings hosted by the Liminal alternative artspace gallery in Roanoke.
Two students from Community High School — Celine Anderson and Frank Finch — were the goldfish in question.
(There’s a male version of this particular piece. That’s volume 3: “Hot for the Mermaid.” Same piece, just genders reversed.)
“The Kissing Consultant” wins praise in South Africa
Posted by Dwayne Yancey in News, Productions, Reviews, Uncategorized on October 13, 2012
As previously noted, my one-act “The Kissing Consultant” was produced last year by a school in South Africa — a fact I only recently became aware of. (Sometimes, play publishers take a while in reporting these things.)
I’ve since searched the ‘net and found this brief mention of the show (along with a photo) in The North Eastern Tribune, a South African newspaper.
My script, it seems, was Athlone Girls High School entry in the local one-act competition. The school doesn’t appear to have won, but s0me of the actors were commended individually. Additionally, the paper reported: “The judges commended the play for its character work.”
The script is published by Brooklyn Publishers.
Video: “Christmas Music” at Gone in 60 Seconds Festival, U.K.
Posted by Dwayne Yancey in Productions, Uncategorized, Video on September 22, 2012
Still more video discoveries! Here’s “Christmas Music (or, The Excecutioner’s Song, the Turkey Edition” which was produced at the Gone in 60 Seconds Festival of one-minute plays in Halifax, U.K. in June 2011.
These are turkeys who think they’ve escaped the Thanksgiving knife because they now hear Christmas music being played.
Video: “The Ghost Train” at Ghosts in 60 Seconds Festival, U.K.
Posted by Dwayne Yancey in Productions, Uncategorized, Video on September 22, 2012
Here’s a third video I’ve just become aware of. This is “The Ghost Train,” being performed at the Ghosts in 60 Seconds Festival in Halifax, U.K. in October 2010.
This is an offshoot of the annual Gone in 60 Seconds Festival, which is held each year in both Halifax, Great Britain and New York.
The script is a monologue by a man killed by a train, which hit him while he was waiting on a legendary “ghost train.”
I do notice this video runs a bit longer than one minute, though . . .
Video: “The Ghost Lamp” at Ghosts in 60 Seconds Festival, UK
Posted by Dwayne Yancey in Productions, Uncategorized, Video on September 22, 2012
More archival video unearthed! Here’s “The Ghost Lamp” being performed at the Ghosts in 60 Seconds Festival of one-minute plays in Halifax, U.K. in October 2010.
It was previously produced at the festival’s New York version in 2009, but then was reprised in Great Britain as a Halloween piece, of sorts.
You can find the New York video here.
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