One of my short pieces included in festival of “subversive” works
Posted by Dwayne Yancey in News, Productions, Uncategorized on June 7, 2013
I guess I’m officially a subversive.
One of my short pieces has been accepted into this year’s “Subversive Shorts” show at the Subversive Theatre Collective in Buffalo, N.Y., a theatre whose motto is “Ten Years of Fightin’ the Man.”
My piece is “A Woman’s Word Versus A Machine,” a dark science-fiction piece in which I channel my inner feminist.
The festival is June 13-July 7, with different shows on alternating nights.
One of the other playwrights featured in the show is the acclaimed Rich Orloff, so I’m in quite good company.
This is the second time I’ve had my work included in the Subversive Shorts. In 2009, the theatre produced my ten-minute script “The Beautiful Ogre and Other Fairy Tales.”
Here are descriptions of both:
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.
THE BEAUTIFUL OGRE AND OTHER FAIRY TALES
A father reads his daughter a fairy tale as a bedtime story — which the characters begin to act out. The girl doesn’t like how the story is going — no strong female role models, for instance — so she changes it all around. This is the result. Cast: Five — three males, two females. Running time: Eight minutes.
• Produced by the Paw Paw Village Players, Paw Paw, Michigan, Feb. 15-16, 22-23, 2008.
• Produced by Youth Education on Stage Summer Shorts, Williston, North Dakota, June 24-26, 2008.
• Produced by Subversive Theatre, Buffalo, N.Y., various nights between May 2-17, 2009.
• Produced by Play’n’Well Players, Plainview, Michigan, last weekend of May 2009.
Rehearsal photo from one of my scripts in the U.K. “Gone in 60 Seconds” Festival
Posted by Dwayne Yancey in News, Photos, Productions, Uncategorized on May 31, 2013
Photo courtesy of Jan Ansell.
Here’s a photo from the rehearsal of my one-minute script “This Is The Captain Speaking,” one of three scripts of mine that will be produced in this year’s U.K. edition of the “Gone in 60 Seconds” Festival of one-minute plays.
You can find details on the scripts and the festival here.
Three scripts to be produced in the Gone in 60 Seconds Festival, UK edition
Posted by Dwayne Yancey in News, Productions on May 31, 2013
I will have three scripts produced next month in the U.K. edition of the “Gone in 60 Seconds” Festival of one-minute plays.
I already have one script slated for the U.S. version, which will be June 7-8 at Brooklyn College in New York. That script is “Fishing for Men.”
The U.K. version will be June 8 at the Viaduct Theatre, Dean Clough, Halifax, Great Britain.
Here are the three scripts that will be done:
THIS IS THE CAPTAIN SPEAKING
An airline pilot addresses his passengers, warning them of some danger ahead. Is he suicidal? Cast: One male.
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.
THE WHOLE WIDE WORLD
A man tries to compliment his girlfriend and promptly gets in in trouble, and his clarifications only make the matter worse. Cast: One male, one female. Running time: One minute.
“This is the Captain Speaking” and “The Whole Wide World” have previously been done as staged readings at No Shame Theatre in Roanoke, Virginia.
Video: “Lady Macbeth’s Lament” at Liminal alternative artspace
Posted by Dwayne Yancey in News, Productions, Uncategorized, Video on May 22, 2013
At the season finale for the reading series at the Liminal alternative artspace, I lucked out. Organizer Cara Modisett had multiple students interested in reading/performing, and I had multiple pieces available.
Here’s Chantel Wilson, a student at Community High School of Arts and Academics, performing a staged reading of my short piece, “Lady Macbeth’s Lament.”
This was on May 21, 2013 in Roanoke, Va.
Here’s my official description:
LADY MACBETH’S LAMENT
The ghost of Lady Macbeth laments that Shakespeare never gave her a name. Cast: One female. Running time: Three minutes.
I also explored the question of my Lady Macbeth doesn’t have a name in my one-act, “Macbeth, the Prequel.” You can find video of a production of that script here.
Video: “The Misunderstood Muse” at Liminal alternative artspace
Posted by Dwayne Yancey in News, Productions, Uncategorized, Video on May 22, 2013
Eric Sutton and Ashley Meador perform a staged reading of my short piece “The Misunderstood Muse” at the Liminal alternative artspace in Roanoke, Va., on May 21, 2013.
The Liminal is attached to Community High School of Arts and Academics, where Eric and Ashley are students. The space hosts regular readings, often tied in with the school’s curriculum. This was the season finale and was an “open” reading.”
Of note: Whenever I find myself lacking an idea, I try to write a “muse” piece. Let’s just say I have a lot of “muse” pieces now!
Here’s my official description:
THE MISUNDERSTOOD MUSE
A muse takes offense at her writer because he’s changed her idea. They fight, she leaves and gets her revenge. All in three pages. Cast: Two — one male, one female. Running time: Three to five minutes.
Audio of my scripts produced as radio plays by Seattle station
Posted by Dwayne Yancey in News, Productions, Radio plays on May 22, 2013
Falcon Radio Theatre
First, the good news: Falcon Radio Theatre at KSPU in Seattle has produced some more of my scripts as radio plays. Most recently, on May 21, the one-act “The Life List” and the shorter piece, “Zucchini Are Plotting to Take Over the World.”
They join a long list of other pieces of mine that the station has done this year.
Even better, the station has now made the audio available. You can find the archives page here.
Here’s a recap (all these are 5-minute or less pieces unless otherwise noted):
* April 2: “Cat and Dog”
* April 9: “Catch of the Day” (one-act) and “Big Time College Chemistry” and “The Monkey Rodeo.”
* April 16:“Damsel Not in Distress” and “The Viking Funeral of Harold Olalfson.”
* April 23: “The Last Day of School”
There might be some others there that I’ve missed; if so, I’ll update.
The bad news: Alas, Falcon Radio Theatre is going off the air. This is at a college station and the students involved are moving on. What a great ride while it lasted!
Video: “Red Moon Rising in the East” at Alley Stage
Posted by Dwayne Yancey in News, Productions, Video on May 20, 2013
Alley Stage in Mineral Point, Wisconsin produced my one-man show about the Soviet space program, “Red Moon Rising in the East,” in July 2009.
I’ve just now gotten the video, which is posted in five parts here.
Alley Stage produced the entire show; theatres in Norfolk, Va., and Duluth, Minnesota produced it as a long one-act.
You may not have time to watch the whole thing, but check out the awesome set!
MORE ON RED MOON RISING IN THE EAST:
* Still photos from the Alley Stage production, July 2009.
* Photos from the 40th Street Stage Production in Norfolk, Va., July 2009. More photos here and here.
* Poster for the 40th Street Stage Production in Roanoke, Va., August 2009.
* Review from the Duluth Playhouse production, November 2010.
* Photos from the Duluth Playhouse production, November 2010.
* Poster for the Duluth Playhouse production.
That same month, it was also produced at 40th Street Stage in Norfolk, Virginia. Photos from that here.
The other videos are below: Read the rest of this entry »
“Sweets to the Sweet” to be produced in Chicago in September
Posted by Dwayne Yancey in News, Productions, Uncategorized on May 16, 2013
The Gorilla Tango Theatre in Chicago will produce my full-length script “Sweets to the Sweet” in September at its Skokie theatre in the Windy City’s suburbs.
If the name of the show sounds familiar, it’s because it comes from Shakespeare. Specifically, Hamlet.
This is my re-telling of the tale — cast in the modern-day, and with the genders reversed.
Or, as my synopsis says:
SWEETS TO THE SWEET
This is the female version of Hamlet. It’s the basic Hamlet story, transported to a modern setting and with all the genders reversed. So Hamlet becomes Hamlette, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern become Rosie and Gilda, Claudius becomes Claudia, and so forth. Instead of being set in a castle in Denmark, this version is set in a suburban home — and opens at a slumber party instead of the nightwatch. And, of course, it’s told in modern language. Otherwise, everything’s here — the skull, the gravediggers, the poisoned swords, the climactic sword fight. And, because the genders are reversed, this script gives women a rare opportunity for a swordfight on stage. If you’ve ever wanted to stage Hamlet, but didn’t think the cast or audience would get the language, or that you didn’t have enough men, here’s the solution. Cast size can range anywhere from 13 to 20, depending on doubling. If 13 — 11 female, 2 male. Or the cast can be expanded up to 20 — 13 female, 6 male, 1 non-gender.
Gorilla Tango reduces that to this on its website:
Lies. Murder. Sword fights. After her mother’s untimely death and her father’s remarriage to the murderer, Hamlette is looking for vengeance in this modern retelling, gender reversed version of Shakespeare’s classic tale.
Show dates are Sept. 7-8 and 14-15.
This will be done with a teen cast, which is how I envisioned the show — as something for high schools or community theatres with youth ensembles.
This will be the fifth full-length script I’ve had produced.
The others are:
* “An Old Story for New Times,” by Attic Productions, Fincastle, Virginia, November 2004.
* “Virginia’s Real,” by Cobb County Playhouse, Acworth, Georgia, July 2006.
* “Red Moon Rising in the East,” by Alley Stage, Mineral Point, Wisconsin (July 2009); 40th Street Playhouse, Norfolk, Virginia (July 2009), The Venue, Norfolk, Virginia (February 2010), and Duluth Playhouse, Duluth, Minnesota (November 2010.) You can find coverage of the Duluth show here and the Norfolk show here.)
* “57 Hours in the House of Culture,” by Studio Roanoke, Roanoke, Virginia, May 2012. (You can find video and photos starting here.)
I’ve had a staged reading of another full-length script, “Klaus,” by the Hollins University Playwright’s Lab, in December 2012 in Roanoke, Virginia, and a reading of “The Ballad of Alejandro Lopez” scheduled in June in New York by the Barefoot Theatre Company. You can find video and photos from “Klaus” here.
“Follow The Money: A Modern Day Fairy Tale” to be produced in West Virginia in June
Posted by Dwayne Yancey in News, Productions, Uncategorized on May 16, 2013
A few weeks ago, I departed from my usual rule, which is to never pay to enter a contest.
However, I had a script which I thought was a sure winner for the New Voices Play Festival, an annual new works contest put on by the Old Opera House Theatre in Charles Town, West Virginia.
That script was “The Ring,” a sad little one-act about an elderly woman who breaks into the home of another elderly woman to steal her state championship ring, won many years back in a high school basketball game.
I was also motivated by the fact that a few years ago, I had a staged reading in the same festival of my one-act, “Larry’s New Guardian Angel.” Also, it’s the town where my maternal grandparents once lived, and now are buried.
The rules allowed for two submissions, so I also packed off “Follow the Money: A Modern Day Fairy Tale,” a cute little take on where the tooth fairy’s money comes from. That’s a script I’ve also been proud of, and entered elsewhere, but to no avail.
This week, I was informed that . . . low, “Follow the Money” had been accepted and will be one of four scripts produced June 21-23, with the audience voting on their favorites.
You can find details here.
Here’s my official synopsis:
FOLLOW THE MONEY: A MODERN FAIRY TALE
A precocious youth attempts to find the secret to the tooth fairy — by kidnapping her. Where do all those teeth come from? And the money? Cast: Six — two female, four male. Running time: Fifteen minutes.
“Fishing for Men” to be produced at Gone in 60 Seconds Festival in New York
Posted by Dwayne Yancey in News, Productions, Uncategorized on May 16, 2013
I got word this week that my short script “Fishing for Men” has been accepted into this year’s Gone in 60 Seconds Festival.
This is an annual festival of one-minute plays, some of which are produced in New York, others in Great Britain.
“Fishing for Men” will be in the New York version, June 7-8 at Brooklyn College — details here. This will come a little more than week before another one of my scripts hits New York — the staged reading of my full-length script, “The Ballad of Alejandro Lopez,” on June 17 by the Barefoot Theatre Company.
You can find videos of some my previous work in earlier editions of the festival under the “video” category.
Here’s my synopsis of the script — which previously had a staged reading at No Shame Theatre in Roanoke, Va., in spring 2012:
FISHING FOR MEN
A brooding man sits by the water, waiting on a victim to come along. Cast: Two males.
dwayneyancey 