violetta's
dream
a
stranger here myself
good
housekeeping
half-life
winter
tides
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Violetta's
Dream
| Black
comedy. Large cast (doubling and tripling possible).
Macombe feels trapped in
a postmodern paradise. Hoping to rediscover the conflicts
that engender 'high' culture, a map leads him into the labyrinth
of an American city, somewhen in the late 20th
century. There and then he becomes the catalyst for a revolution
of desire... a revolution he believes is the last thing
he would want. This revolution, though, is the secret desire
of nearly everyone he comes in contact with, including many
whose assigned rôle is the maintenance of order and
"civilization."
His integrity leads him to disaster,
but he is saved, ultimately and just barely, by his "guardian
angel." A final twist reveals the cause of the mishaps,
and those who were once pawns become kings and queens, after
a fashion.
Significant production effects (including
multimedia elements) are
desirable, but are not essential.
Double and triple casting are possible, and in many instances,
desirable. Minimum cast: 6. Flexible gender casting.
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A
Stranger Here Myself
| |
History
Play. 2w/2m. About
the time of the sack of Rome, a wealthy Roman widow named
Paula financed, and almost certainly assisted a Christian
priest, Jerome, in the translation of what would come to be
known as the Vulgate Bible. Their story is known in history
largely through the lens of Jerome's public "letters," several
of which recall Paula, her life, and the scandals that surrounded
Paula and Jerome at a time when Christianity, as a newly-minted
state religion, had become increasingly politicized and open
to corruption and venal machinations among its leadership.
This play attempts to "recover" some alternate visions of
that history, a history and myth influential in shaping the
patristic vision of Christianity and what would later become
Catholic dogma, much of which greatly influenced later Christian
attitudes towards women and the body as a site of conflict
within Christian-influenced societies.
The play takes place within the frame
of a contemporary university seminar devoted to the notion
of revisiting what is known and what historians have suspected
or surmised about St. Paula. Two faculty members and two
students represent the major characters, Paula, Jerome,
Eustochium Julia (Paula's daughter) and Bonosus, a friend
from Jerome's uncertain youth.
The personal histories and relationships
of the characters mirror some of what may be surmised about
the relationships of the ancient figures, and these personal
histories also affect the interpretations that each character
comes to in viewing the past and its meanings. more
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Good
Housekeeping
| Farce.
4w/4m. Brigitte, a
fashion maven and professional hostess, needs to replace her
maid, most urgently. When Norma arrives from the "agency"
to serve as a "substitute maid," the evening appears to have
been saved. But everyone has her secrets, and tonight those
secrets unravel at record speed. As Brigitte valiantly tries
to keep up appearances, she learns of a stunning array of
infidelities and disloyalties among her friends, lovers, and
closest associates, and the evening and those relationships
are strained to their limits.
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Half-life
|
Romantic drama.
6w/4m. Dean gets
caught up in a seductive cyber-fantasy world. She imagines
this cyber-life will provide her with the healing energies
and the information she needs to recover her self,
her past, and the traumas affecting her and her loved ones.
When a younger cousin needs her help, she retreats at first,
but eventually is brought back to the physical world, as
she discovers the limitations of her "virtual reality."
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Winter
Tides
Novella
(may convert to screenplay) - no character count.
An ad agency account manager grows
tired of his uninspired life. Mourning his recently dead
wife, Sam finds himself at a wild club that reawakens in
him desires he had long suppressed or kept far back in his
mind. He also meets Elena, who becomes his guide on an odyssey
of self-discovery and ultimately a return to solid ground.
Theirs is a round-about journey that takes them from a drag
club in Philly's South Street section, to a restaurant Provincetown
on Cape Cod. But the destinations are less important than
the discoveries each of them make along the way. (In progress,
over 100 pages written and edited to date.) more
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