“The Other Side of Oz” to be produced in Montana in August
Posted by Dwayne Yancey in News, Productions, Uncategorized on June 4, 2014
The poster that Backyard Theatre is using for THE OTHER SIDE OF OZ.
A few years ago, Kevin Jones of the Kevin Jones Performing Arts Studio asked me to write some Oz-related scenes for a theatre camp he was having. Conveniently, the Oz books are in the public domain (the movie isn’t, so things in the books can be adapted; things in the movie cannot be. All that is explained quite well here by the New Media Rights people.)
I ended up writing about two dozen pieces with Oz themes, with titles such as THE MORALLY AMBIGUOUS WITCH OF THE NORTH, featuring a witch who got written out of the story completely, and DOG CASES, in which the sheriff complains about how emotional animal incidents can be, and DOROTHY ON THE COUCH, in which Dorothy seeks psychiatric help about her ordeal. Kevin used some in his camps, and reported they went well. Since then, a few scenes have been performed here and there, such as THE TIN WOMAN, seen in this video.
I took the whole bunch and packaged them together as THE OTHER SIDE OF OZ. It’s not a true full-length play, since there’s not a single narrative running through it, although the running time would add up to a full evening of entertainment.
This week, I got word that Backyard Theatre in Billings, Montana will perform all or most of the pieces August 1-3.
If you count this as a full-length script, this would be the seventh full-length I’ve had produced.
The others would be:
* ON THE THIRTEENTH DAY OF CHRISTMAS, a Christmas comedy produced by Santiam High School in Oregon in December 2013.
* SWEETS TO THE SWEET, a female version of Hamlet produced by Gorilla Tango Theatre in Skokie, Illinois in September 2013.
* 57 HOURS IN THE HOUSE OF CULTURE, a dark re-telling of the Moscow theatre siege, produced in Virginia in 2012.
* RED MOON RISING IN THE EAST, a one-man play about the father of the Soviet space program, produced in Virginia, Wisconsin and Minnesota in 2009 and 2010.
* VIRGINIA’S REAL, produced in suburban Atlanta in 2006.
* JOSE AND MARIA, AN OLD STORY FOR NEW TIMES, a Christmas play produced in Virgina in 2004.
This could have been my eighth full-length production; KLAUS was scheduled for production in Virginia in 2012 but the theatre closed before the season started. Instead, it had this staged reading instead.
You can find my entire list of full-length scripts here.
Four scripts in New York festival; two in British festival
Posted by Dwayne Yancey in News, Productions, Uncategorized on May 30, 2014
I got word today that not one, not two, not three but FOUR of my scripts have been accepted into the Gone in 60 Seconds #NextGen festival in New York in June. This is a festival of one-minute plays that will be performed by teens. It’s an outgrowth of the regular Gone in 60 Seconds Festival, where I’ve been a regular.
The “regular” festival is June 13-15 in New York and includes my play IT’S THE COW’S FAULT, discussed here.
The #NextGen portion is June 14-15.
Of the 26 scripts accepted into #NextGen festival, four are mine:
BOLIVIA!
A geopolitical lesson, delivered as a rant by a woman against a man who has committed some grievous sin. Cast: One female.
THE CALL OF THE OPEN ROAD
Two chickens discuss why they should cross the road. Both a long version and a one-minute version. Cast: Two, non-gender.
JIMMY’S PLAN FOR WORLD DOMINATION
Versions 1 and 2: A boy and his sister plot how to take over the world. Cast: Two — one male, one female. Running time: One minute.
Version 3: A classroom scene in which a teacher finds a student plotting how to take over the world. Cast: Two have speaking roles — one juvenile male, one female adult, then however many kids you need to fill out the scene. Running time: One minute.
THREE TREES TALKING
Three trees contemplate the question: If they were human, what kind of human would be they? Cast: Three, non-gender. Running time: One minute.
* This was previously produced in the 2013 British edition of the Gone in 60 Seconds Festival, along with two other scripts.
Speaking of the British edition, I also learned today I have two scripts there this year, as well.
They are:
THE CHICKEN CROSSES MADISON AVENUE
Guess which road the chicken crossed to get to the other side. Cast: One, non-gender. Running time: One minute.
COUNTING WOLVES
A person trying to get to sleep is counting sheep, when a wolf appears, dressed in sheep’s clothing. Cast: At least four – all non-gender.
That production will be June 5 in Halifax, U.K.
That brings the grand total of upcoming productions to:
Just concluded:
* May 17: THE RING, a one-act, at Haylofters, in Burlington, Wisconsin. (Voted second place in audience vote.)
* May 23: SOMETIMES ELEPHANTS DIE STANDING UP, a ten-minute play, Unproduced Moon Company, Scotland.
Coming up:
* May 30: THE RING, a five-minute script, at Newburgh Free Academy, Newburgh, N.Y. Details here.
* June 5: THE CHICKEN CROSSES MADISON AVENUE and COUNTING WOLVES, Gone in 60 Seconds Festival, Halifax, U.K.
* June 13-14: BOLIVIA!, THE CALL OF THE OPEN ROAD, JIMMY’S PLAN FOR WORLD DOMINATION, and THREE TREES TALKING, at Gone in 60 Seconds #NextGen Festival, New York, N.Y.
* June 13-15: IT’S THE COW’S FAULT, at Gone in 60 Seconds Festival, New York, N.Y.
So that’s eight in all going on right now — five in New York City, one outside New York City and two in Great Britain.
The Gone in 60 Seconds Festival folks have the entire line-up and more details here. And, as always, all of these scripts are available royalty-free. Here’s why.
“The Ring” finished second out of 260 entries in Wisconsin
Posted by Dwayne Yancey in News, Photos, Productions, Uncategorized on May 29, 2014
My second place certificate.
I’m a pack rat, so I always ask theatres that perform my work to send me posters, programs, photos, and what not if they can. When The Haylofters in Burlington, Wisconsin recently performed my one-act, THE RING, I didn’t have to ask. Since this was a competition, the theatre mailed me my certificate.
As previously noted, THE RING took second place in the audience vote. What I didn’t realize until I read the program was there had been 260 entries. Second place out of 260? I’ll take that!
Thanks, Wisconsin!
And I’d be remiss if I didn’t point out that THE RING, like all my unpublished work, is available royalty-free. I explain why here.
More photos below: Read the rest of this entry »
Playwright and . . . naturalist?
Posted by Dwayne Yancey in Personal, Uncategorized on May 22, 2014
The first eastern snapping turtle recorded in Botetourt County, Virginia. Who knew?
Almost every morning, I take a walk. To breath in the fresh country air. To exercise body as well and mind. This morning, as I was hoofing it back home, I looked up and . . . “holy crap!” (Actually, I said something a little more colorful). There was a giant turtle crossing the road. And doing so at a pretty good clip for a turtle.
Naturally, I did what anybody else nowadays. I took a picture with my photo, and posted it to Instagram, Twitter and Facebook, where a small fight soon broke out among some of my Facebook friends over just what species it was. Eventually, they all agreed, but that’s getting ahead of the story. Fellow Botetourt County filmmaker (and Girl Scout leader) Jane Garnett identified it as an eastern snapping turtle, and provided a link to the Virginia Herpetological Society’s turtle page as proof. There, I discovered an email address called “animal identification,” so I clicked it and sent ’em my pix of the turtle in question.
Lo! Before long, I received an email back verifying this was an eastern snapping turtle. Even better, I was told this was the first time an eastern snapping turtle had been documented in Botetourt County. Obviously the critters have been around a long time — it’s well within their range — and surely others have seen ’em. But no one had documented this with the society until now! I was promptly invited to file a scientific field note — instructions were provided! — and I was told:
“Once your field note is published in Catesbeiana, we will update our website/databases and you’ll be recorded in Virginia history as the first person to document an eastern snapping turtle in Botetourt Co.”
As if that wasn’t enough, the society president himself soon emailed me to chime in:
“This is a great opportunity to get recognition for your observation! But if you are not interested or unable to create the field note, let us know and one of us will help you as a co-author.”
Recognition? Who knew! So now can I add “naturalist” to my name?
For the record, and by golly, this is all for the record, here’s the field note I submitted: Read the rest of this entry »
“The Ring” takes second place in audience vote at Wisconsin festival
Posted by Dwayne Yancey in News, Productions, Reviews, Uncategorized on May 21, 2014
My one-act, THE RING, took second place in the audience vote at the annual one-act festival put on by The Haylofters in Burlington, Wisconsin.
Thanks, Wisconsites!
THE RING is one of several sports plays for women I have. (The full-length SOFTBALL IS LIFE is another, so is the one-act POWDER PUFF, about football, along with several baseball-themed pieces that run about five minutes or less.)
THE RING
Sixty years after a close call in a state championship girls basketball game, the star of the losing team still can’t reconcile herself to losing — so she breaks into the home of the star player on the winning team, hoping to steal her championship ring. A poignant story about regrets and sportsmanship. Cast: Two senior females.
A five-minute version of this script is being performed later this month at the Newburgh Free Academy in Newburgh, New York. Here’s some background on the origin of both scripts.
Last year, I had two scripts take first place in audience votes at festivals. FOLLOW THE MONEY: A MODERN FAIRY TALE took the prize at the New Voice Play Festival in Charles Town, West Virginia while A WOMAN’S WORD VERSUS A MACHINE won an audience vote at the Subversive Theatre in Buffalo, New York.
“The Longest Home Run Ever” at the Liminal
Posted by Dwayne Yancey in News, Photos, Uncategorized on May 21, 2014
A rare shot of the playwright performing his own work. Photo by Heather Yvonne Brush
I don’t usually perform my own work. For one thing, I don’t claim to be an actor. But mostly, I want to see how my work, well, works — and it’s hard to do that when you’re doing it.
However, this month’s theme at the monthly readings at the Liminal gallery in Roanoke was “Anything Goes,” so why not.
Heather Yvonne Brush took this photo of me performing THE LONGEST HOME RUN EVER, one of my many short pieces about baseball.
THE LONGEST HOME RUN EVER
Based on actual science, the explanation of the longest home run possible. Cast: One, non-gender. Running time: Five minutes.
More photos here.
Video: The short film “Unwanted” in the Bike Shorts Film Festival
Posted by Dwayne Yancey in News, Uncategorized, Video on May 19, 2014
Just about every year, Salem filmmaker Hank Ebert and I collaborate on a short film. The past two years, it’s been an entry in the local edition of the Bike Shorts Film Festival — short films about bicycles.
This year’s entry was “Unwanted.”
The cast includes Kelly Anglim, Charlie Boswell, Martha Boswell, Noah Jones, Nancy Lawrence, Gary Reid, Blair Peyton, Chad Snyder, Ana Uotinen, Lauren Uotinen and Katerina Yancey. Here’s the result.
We didn’t win the judges’ prize; that went to a wonderful documentary that a London-based filmmaker made about bicycles in Cuba. Hard to beat that! We didn’t win the audience vote in Roanoke, either. That went to a film that was 17 minutes long (even though the rules said 10 minutes). But I’m told we did come in second.
Here are some still photos from the filming, which was done in March.
If you’d like to check out our previous efforts, they’re here:
In the past, we’ve done:
* “My Kid Could Paint That” for a festival at the Grandin Theatre in 2009
* “Back to the Future” for a Sweded film festival in the 2012 Marginal Arts Festival.
* “The Secret Lives of Goldfish” for the 2013 Bike Shorts Festival (behind-the-scenes photos here.)
Scripts to be performed in New York and Scotland
Posted by Dwayne Yancey in News, Productions, Uncategorized on May 19, 2014
I have good news to report:
* My one-minute play IT’S THE COW’S FAULT is among those included in this year’s “Gone in 60 Seconds Festival” of one-minute plays, to be produced June 13-15 in New York City. I’ve been thrilled to be part of this festival in the past and it’s great to be back for another year. Here are photos and video from last year’s entry, FISHING FOR MEN.Out of that, the festival producers created this short film version for a different competition. Also, last year I had three scripts in the festival’s UK version. Here are rehearsal photos from THIS IS THE CAPTAIN SPEAKING.
* Meanwhile, my 10-minute play SOMETIMES ELEPHANTS DIE STANDING UP will have be performed May 23 in Scotland by the Produced Moon company. (I’m a little uncertain whether it’s a staged reading or a full production; pretty sure it’s a staged reading. And I’m not sure whether it’s in Edinburgh or Glasgow; the company produces in both cities.) This will be my first performance of any sort in Scotland.
Here are the synopses:
IT’S THE COW’S FAULT
Three chickens and a cow watch a chicken cross the road. Bad things happen. Cast: Four, non-gender. Running time: One minute.
SOMETIMES ELEPHANTS DIE STANDING UP
Two lowly circus workers try to figure out what to do with an elephant dies. An absurdist look at how the economy works. Cast: Two males. Running time: Ten minutes.
Photos from “Chef Pierre Does Not Do Simple” in Newburgh, N.Y.
Posted by Dwayne Yancey in Photos, Productions, Uncategorized on May 8, 2014
Cabot Parsons as Chef Pierre.
The Newburgh Free Academy in Newburgh, N.Y. has run an annual festival where solicits scripts worldwide, the students pick the ones they want and then produce them. Alas, the school board there has seen fit to cut the program. The final festival is coming up later in May and will include my script “The Ring.” In the meantime, director Terry Sandler, who is presumably packing everything up, came across these photos from the 2009 production of my script “Chef Pierre Does Not Do Simple.”
Here’s the synopsis:
CHEF PIERRE DOES NOT DO SIMPLE
A television producer explains to a TV chef that he need to simplify some of his language because many younger viewers do not understand them. He reacts badly and winds up creating a mess with broken eggs and flour. Cast: Four — One male, three non-gender. Running time: Ten minutes.
Terry writes:”The gentleman playing Chef, Cabot Parsons, made a huge mess; eggs went flying, milk spilled everywhere, and tons of flour. There are still remaining stains on the curtains and ceiling from that performance. But it was bloody hilarious.”
Thanks, Terry, for finding and sharing the photos. Here are some more: Read the rest of this entry »
“The Ring” to be produced in Wisconsin in May
Posted by Dwayne Yancey in News, Productions, Uncategorized on April 22, 2014
My one-act “The Ring” is one of three one-acts that will be produced May 17 by The Haylofters in Burlington, Wisconsin in the troupe’s annual one-act competition.
The other two are “My Date With The Pope” by Ron Frankel and “a Serious Person” by John Doble.
I’m always excited to have a script selected but especially thrilled by this one, which is one I’ve wanted to see produced for quite some time. Here’s the synopsis:
THE RING
Sixty years after a close call in a state championship girls basketball game, the star of the losing team still can’t reconcile herself to losing — so she breaks into the home of the star player on the winning team, hoping to steal her championship ring. A poignant story about regrets and sportsmanship. Cast: Two senior females.
I wrote this a few years ago after watching a state championship girls basketball game. One team (the winning team, as it turns out) featured a much-acclaimed star who was destined for college ball. She was guarded throughout the game by a player who was not so heralded and, if she went on to play in college, I never heard about it. For purposes of my script, I envisioned the star and the other play in their retirement. It’s a sad little script, with a smile at the end.
I also have a five-minute version of this script — the genesis of the one-act. That five-minute script is also being performed in May, at the Newburgh Free Academy in Newburgh, New York. Details on that here.
“The Ring” (in either version) is unpublished, so, like all my unpublished work, is available royalty free. Details on how and why here. Here’s a full list of my scripts.
“The Ring” is also part of what has become a small collection of sports plays for women and girls. None have sports action, though all use sports as a backdrop or a motif. I have the full-length script “Softball Is Life” — which had a staged reading in January 2014 — plus the one-act “Powderpuff” and several five-minute scripts, including “The Recruiter,” which is play of my full-length baseball play, “The Old Ballgame.”
