Actors and director did a great job! Got feedback that should be extremely helpful! I'm looking forward to digging into the rewrites. Inch Worm Play Readings

ECHO SYNOPSIS

Echo, a drama set in Chicago, 1991, examines the complex dynamics that occur in families out of balance. It centers on the relationship between a mother (Liz) and her healthy daughter (Erica).  Mom is obsessed with communicating with her autistic daughter (Abby), who speaks through echolalia.  The family hires a graduate student to train Abby in Facilitated Communication (FC), a new therapy that requires a facilitator to guide her hand to spell out words on a keyboard and in a sense “speak.”  What occurs over the next few weeks is incredible: for the first time in their lives Abby is communicating! Or is she?  Through realistic scenes and use of projections to give us glimpses into Abby's perceptions of the world, Echo looks at a family at their inevitable boiling point, a family about to be ripped apart due to the ongoing, increasing pressures of hope.

RIPPED- The Living Newspaper Project

American Blues Theater presents the 5th edition of RIPPED. Join us for cocktails and stories inspired by current events. Suggested donation of $5.

Date: Tuesday, April 12 at 7pm

Location: Mullen's (3527 N. Clark St)

http://www.mullensbarandgrill.com/wrigleyville/index.php

The Line-Up includes:

POWDER POWER

By Steven Simoncic, directed by Vaun Monroe

An aging activist and a young ex con battle each other as they attempt to call attention to their forgotten corner of Detroit.

 

PERSONAL AGENDA

By Barbara Lhota, directed by Marti Lyons

Gotcha journalism is in vogue, publically funded non-profits are under attack, news organizations are all over the news--and everyone has an opinion.

SONNY

By M.E.H. Lewis, directed by Heather Meyers

A lawyer discusses one of his more memorable cases

 

CLEAN UP

By Howard Timms, directed by Michael Weber                           

In this black comedy, a cleaner saves a mortgage banker to avoid cleaning up a mess. 

THE CHAIR

By Stephanie Alison Walker, directed by Richard Shavzin

A woman tries to sell a family heirloom on Craigslist- but it turns out to be no ordinary chair.

GREEN CURTAIN

By Timothy Brien, directed by Heather Meyers

A true account of a veteran's experience with the VA.

 

THE WISH

By Luke Heiden, directed by Richard Shavzin

A representative from the Make-A-Wish Foundation gets more than he planned for when the girl he visits in the hospital turns out to have a very dark and specific request.

 

BLACK COFFEE

By Steven Simoncic, directed by Michael Weber

A deconstructed scene between a black barista and a white customer blurring the lines between what is said and unsaid.

 

RIPPED: The Living Newspaper Project Overview

 based on the 1930’s WPA era program that brought Orson Welles, Arthur Miller and Clifford Odets into public attention. We incorporate scripts from the original 1930s LIVING NEWSPAPER juxtaposed with new material ripped from today’s headlines. Like the original productions, the artists incorporate vaudeville, traditional scenes, music, dance, visual arts, and with the addition of electronic media as well. This reading series cultivates the new material and allows audiences to discuss topical issues together. A fully-mounted production is planned based on the materials currently being developed.

For More Information

www.americanbluestheater.com

www.facebook.com/americanbluestheater

My new one-act Personal Agenda is part of an evening of plays that are ripped from the headlines...


Here are the details - Tuesday, April 12th at 7PM
Mullen's
3527 Clark Street
Details at ABT

My monologue "Cutting Remarks" is scheduled to be published in Audition Monologues for Young Women edited by Gerald Lee Ratliff, Meriwether Publishing, Ltd  in fall/winter 2011.

I am planning on starting a children's book called "A Dog Without a Name" this summer. It will be based on the life experiences of my dog, Lucy. She's very into me telling her story. 

Note to self: I am a better person when I emulate my dog.

I want to start to emphasize some of the many positive things that happen in my life. Unfortunately, as many people do, I tend to de-emphasize the positive and focus on the negatives. Really dumb! So if this blog is boring or braggy, I apologize in advance.

Good news this week: I won theBoston PlaySlam - Diverse Voices festival with my play "That's All Folks"! I hear I had a stellar cast. I'm pretty excited about it. This play has been produced for the festival several times and has come close but not won the competition. I really, really wish I could have seen this production. I've never seen this play on its feet or even read for that matter.

This weekend I'm working hard on my rewrite for "Echo" for Inch Worm Play Reading Series--April 25th. I'm so excited to be working with an extremely talented cast -- (Lisa Herceg, Kate Black, Alexandra Shepherd, and Vincent Mahler). I also have a fabulous director Leigh Barrett!  This play was also a semi-finalist for the Fireside Amercian Theater Festival and I hope and pray I do it justice with my rewriting.

I'm working with WTA on a new plays called "Shifted." I'm very excited because it's so rare for me to write in a room with others. There is something so inspirational about being in a room with other creative people. I also think this is the exact right venue to starting something new for me. This is going to be so much fun because Dan Foss, a fabulous director, is going to direct the short piece from it that we do in June.

This Sunday begins auditions for "The Double". I know were going to see some great people! The biggest thing I need to remember is to just have so much fun! I'm too old and too "fragile" sometimes. This whole life is about having fun...not being serious or being seriously respected. Remember that!

Finally, I got a raise.

Note to self. Remember that being petty is stupid and never as much fun as you thought it would be. So stop it!