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.
Behind the scenes of “Martian Beach Babes”
Posted by Dwayne Yancey in News, No Shame Theatre, Photos, Uncategorized on October 9, 2012
Hannah Whitt and Julia Moran in “Martian Beach Babes”
No Shame Theatre, the open mic theatre venue in Roanoke where I try out a lot of new work, recently marked its 9th anniversary in the Star City. To celebrate that, we held a Best of the Best of No Shame Theatre to show off work from nearly a decade of late-night original performance.
No Shame co-founder Todd Ristau asked if I would re-stage “Martian Beach Babes,” a piece I debuted at No Shame in July 2004 and which went on to be produced at New Frontiers Charter School in San Antonio in 2006. It’s not my best piece, by far, but I’ll admit it is visually stunning — two young women in green paint. Technically, it’s a scene about climate change. Demi and Phoebe (Mars experts will recognize them as derivatives of the moons Deimos and Phobos) can’t understand why high tide on Mars isn’t as high as it used to be, and why the sun’s rays seem stronger.
I’ve got another “green” piece — “The Women of Deep Space Pay a Visit To Earth and Don’t Like What They See” (since published by Eldridge Plays and Musicals) — but it needs four women and I only had two.
Hannah Whitt and Julia Moran, two of our regulars (indeed, our outgoing hosts), agreed to green up for the occasion. Here are a few shots of the process back-stage (with even more here on my flickr site): Read the rest of this entry »
Two of my scenes to be reprised in The Best of No Shame
Posted by Dwayne Yancey in News, No Shame Theatre, Photos, Uncategorized on October 1, 2012
That’s me, before a recent No Shame, with Hannah Whitt and Julia Moran, our hosts, taking the order and handling the best office. As you can see, I’ve been to the frozen yogurt shop. Photo by Todd Ristau.
It’s time for the twice-a-year Best of No Shame Theatre, in which our local open mic theatre venue in Roanoke, Va. showcases some of its best work from the past six months.
This fall’s edition will be Friday, October 5. My entry is “Time for an Upgrade,” a monologue about how a teenage girl blackmails her mother into getting her a new cellphone. It will be performed by Hannah Whitt, who debuted the piece back in July.
This year, we also have a special twist. On Saturday, October 6, we’re doing a Best of The Best of No Shame, featuring pieces from the past nine years in Roanoke — a run-up to next year’s 10th anniversary.
My entry is “Martian Beach Babes,” which will be performed by Hannah Whitt and Julia Moran. It’s about Mars losing its water, a topic now back in the news with Curiosity’s discovery of an ancient streambed on the red planet.
That piece was first done at No Shame back in July 2004, when we weren’t even a year old, and then was produced in 2006 at New Frontiers Charter School in San Antonio, Texas. No Shame producer Todd Ristau asked me to reprise it because it is a visually stunning piece when done with the proper customing. Ideally, I’ll have photos from the performance to show off as proof.
That’s Darelene Fedele, a puppeteer and one of our regulars.
The poster for our 9th anniversary show.
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.
Video: “The Ghost Lamp” at Gone in 60 Seconds Festival, New York
Posted by Dwayne Yancey in Productions, Uncategorized, Video on September 22, 2012
I’ve just come across some old videos of some of my pieces. Here’s “The Ghost Lamp” at the Gone in 60 Seconds Festival of one-minute plays in New York in June 2009.
This is a piece I wrote as a tribute to live theatre in the wake of Mill Mountain Theatre closing in Roanoke, Va.
Fortunately, Mill Mountain has since re-opened, but another favorite theatre of mine, Studio Roanoke, has closed.
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