Monologue Monday

Monologue Monday: for colored girls who have considered suicide / when the rainbow is enuf (Shange)

Hello everyone!

We were going to do a Halloween monologue today but in light of Ntozake Shange‘s passing on the 27th, we figured it’d be appropriate to do a monologue from her seminal work for colored girls who have considered suicide / when the rainbow is enuf. 

She had actually done a book signing on the 23rd. Crazy.

WhatsApp Image 2018-10-28 at 12.23.14 PM
Flyer from African-American Shakespeare Company this year. In author’s possession.

Here is a description of this play from the brave heroes over at Wikipedia:

“Structurally, for colored girls is a series of 20 poems, collectively called a “choreopoem.” Shange’s poetry expresses many struggles and obstacles that African-American women may face throughout their lives and is a representation of sisterhood and coming of age as an African-American woman. The poems are choreographed to music that weaves together interconnected stories. The choreopoem is performed by a cast of seven nameless women only identified by the colors they are assigned. They are the lady in red, lady in orange, lady in yellow, lady in green, lady in blue, lady in brown, and lady in purple. Subjects from rape, abandonment, abortion, and domestic violence are tackled.[2] By the end of the play them women come together in a circle, symbolizing the unity they have found sharing their stories.”

Western drama originated from poetry so it is quite proper that the play consist of poems.

The play was quite personal to her, as was the title. She had attempted suicide four times.        As for the title she said: “”I was driving the No. 1 Highway in northern California and I was overcome by the appearance of two parallel rainbows. I had a feeling of near death or near catastrophe. Then I drove through the rainbow and I went away. Then I put that together to form the title.”

She used the word “colored” so her grandmother would understand it.

If you want to see the entire show, here is a community college production:

This poem/monologue is entitled sorry – here’s a synopsis:

“In “sorry,” the ladies proclaim that they are tired of hearing apologies and excuses from men. They encourage these men to accept their flaws and be real instead of conjuring up apologies to placate their partners.”

In honor of the late playwright, let’s see what happens when poetry and drama come together.

Many of the actors are attributing the monologue to Tyler Perry’s movie based on the play.

One benefit of the monologue being in a movie is I found enough recordings to finally reach from A-Z! Z is the cutest, by the way.

Let’s see what these brave actors have to offer.

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

J

K

L

M

N

O (sister of N)

P

Q

R

S

T

U

V

W

X

Y

Z

Join us on Thursday when we’ll join a modern playwright doing her thing from Idaho!

For a complete list of monologues, please check here.

Female Playwrights, Playwrights of the Past, Unknown playwrights

A Halloween play: Edyth M. Wormwood

Ah yes. Time for that grand old holiday full of ghosts, goblins, witches and Halloween plays.

There exists a microscopic subgenre of Halloween-themed plays. Even more microscopic since we’re limiting ourselves to public domain work.

Halloween was celebrated a bit differently 100+ years ago. There seemed to be much more emphasis on the “trick” part as this headline attests:

Screen Shot 2018-10-19 at 9.40.00 AM
1915: Police Chief Grant sounds like a barrel of laughs. Via here.

Even Canadians could not restrain themselves:

Screen Shot 2018-10-24 at 9.25.23 AM
1902: Via here.

And this tragedy:

Screen Shot 2018-10-24 at 9.31.18 AM
1900: Via here.

Slightly less sociopathic activities included various methods on how to divine one’s true love, as this postcard attests:

victorian_halloween1
When humans obeyed their pumpkin king. Via here.

The reason this applies to Halloween plays is that “romance” on Halloween was a bigger deal then and the plays mention it.

Oh, Halloween postcards were totally a thing.

card00223_fr
The most disturbing thing you’ll see this Halloween (besides that drunk dude in the Trump mask). Via here.

The first plays I took a look at were by Elizabeth F. Guptill, who wrote a bunch of books for children, including many plays. She also wrote hymns and in 1915 published the The Big Book of Hallowe’en. Several plays are included. However the book should be called The Big Racist Book of Hallowe’en:

Screen Shot 2018-10-19 at 10.35.28 AM

Yeah, F that book right into the sun.

Fortunately there were Hallowe’en plays from the same era that weren’t drenched in the vile acid of racism.

Our play is The Haunted Gate by Edyth M. Wormwood, a one-act.

Screen Shot 2018-10-19 at 10.41.37 AM
Says it right on the cover.

Edyth M.’s maiden name was Guptill and she wrote plays for kids and came from the same state as the other Guptill. This makes me suspect she’s Elizabeth’s daughter/niece/kin. Perhaps racism skips a generation? Hopefully.

The plot (using the term loosely) has high schoolers Marion, Grace, Irene, Marie and Ruth huddled around making Halloween plans. They write all their ideas on pieces of paper and…

Screen Shot 2018-10-19 at 11.22.34 AM

Enter the “Booger Man’s Hole” at your peril, kids.

Unknown
A jardiniere, the real hero. Right here.

I do enjoy this example of the horror trope of dumb teenagers going where other people are smart enough to not go. Irene explains why:

Screen Shot 2018-10-19 at 11.33.01 AM

This play does not mess around! How many other high school plays start off with a double-murder and suicide? Tragical indeed!

Screen Shot 2018-10-19 at 11.37.39 AM.png

Yeah, Marie – only speak when spoken to, impudent child! Nice of the ghosts to re-enact a murder suicide once a year.

Screen Shot 2018-10-19 at 11.42.07 AM

Ruth and Marion lack critical thinking skills, probably because they’ve been running with unladylike and ungovernable young ladies.

Screen Shot 2018-10-19 at 11.53.01 AM

Angeline at the ripe old age of 35 (or 50) is the intelligent one here. But I do love Grace’s logic involving ghost pistols.

Ralph, Irene’s brother, had been kicked out earlier by the girls, but creeper extraordinaire, he’s been watching and delivers a maniacal monologue after they leave:

Screen Shot 2018-10-19 at 11.56.19 AM

Yes, Ralph, you weird bastard, “’twill be more fun than a barrel of monkeys.” And he’s making Halloween “spicier.” Ugh.

Ralph and his brother decide that they’ll re-enact the murder to scare the ladies, because these were before the days of internet trolls.

But didn’t the murder include a woman? Well, duh – they figured that one out:

Screen Shot 2018-10-19 at 12.03.39 PM

Poor Don Herrick is gonna get peer-pressured into cross-dressing just to scare some girls. Philip and Ralph could, ya know, find an actual girl. On second thought, probably not. I think we’re looking at the founders of the incel community.

While the proto-incels are planning to punish innocent women, the women are punishing themselves by trying to divine future husbands.

Screen Shot 2018-10-19 at 12.13.36 PM

s-l1600
They’re doing exactly this. From Ebay!

The women prepare to go to the Booger Man’s Hole:

Screen Shot 2018-10-19 at 12.25.42 PM

THIS PLAY DOES NOT MESS AROUND!!!

You bring that gun, Aunt Matilda! She’ll be killing a few incels anyways.

Meanwhile, the boys are at the Booger Man’s Hole and are learning the nuances of spooning.

Screen Shot 2018-10-19 at 12.35.53 PM

“I saw them spooning at the Booger Man’s Hole” should be a better example.

Screen Shot 2018-10-19 at 12.37.47 PM

Screen Shot 2018-10-19 at 12.38.16 PM.png

I know you’re amazed the play has four scenes, too.

“I know I can’t talk like a girl.”

Please, you haven’t even tried.

“When did you get in your practice, and who was your partner?” #guytalk

“Oh, dry up.”

The ladies arrive and find the “ghosts” making out/spooning/engaging in foreplay…and…and…

Screen Shot 2018-10-19 at 12.44.02 PM

Let’s dissect what’s going on here.

  1. Voyeurism. The women stop to watch two ghosts make out, one of whom is a boy dressed like a girl. This fascinates them.
  2. Ralph has brought his own pistol and pretend-shoots the “lovers.” Talk about spoonus interruptus.
  3. Aunt Matilda is totally not scared but totally runs away.
  4. Ruth grabs her aunt’s pistol.
  5. The “wounded” lovers groan.
  6. Ralph pretends to kill himself.

So gunslinger Ruth decides to approach the “dead” ghosts with her pistol and you can see what happens…

Screen Shot 2018-10-19 at 1.09.22 PM

The play ends in a mixed message. Marie (the smartest character) gets a blackmail gift of Huyler’s chocolate and then everyone decides to cover for the boys’ stupidity. Boys acting dumb and not being held accountable? My how things have changed. Hehe.

OD3_007
Huyler’s ad from 1910. No wonder Marie wanted Huyler’s. She’s really, really enjoying that hug with Santa. I like how the reindeer are all embarassed and pretending not to look. Via here.

You can read this jolly Halloween play in its entirety here.

Other works by Wormwood are here. She even has a couple books on Amazon.

Wishing everyone a happy and safe Halloween – even found a good song for you!

It is a creepy/campy cover of The Zombies’ Time of the Season. For those of you not familiar with the original, it’s right here:

 

And now the Batlord version. When I grow up, I wanna be like Batlord.

 

Join us on Monologue Monday where once again, we’ll have competing monologues!

For a list of all of our playwrights, please check here.

Monologue Monday

Monologue Monday:”Wishing” by D.M. Larson

Howdy and welcome back to Monologue Monday! This week’s monologue is entitled Wishing and it is an excerpt from a longer play entitled Ghosts of Detention. 

I’m just gonna copy and paste the Amazon summary right here:

“A full length play about young adults (teens / teenagers) who find themselves in trouble at their high school and end up in detention. The script takes place in the 1980s but the students from detention end up performing a 1920’s play within the play. There is a lot of comedy and excellent monologues throughout the script and even some songs. This play has a flexible cast of 11 to 26. This play includes excellent monologues for teen actors including “I Need Detention”, “The Girl Who Broke His Fingers”, “Wishing” and “Big Zero.””

This is the cover art:

51RwdAszvyL._SX384_BO1,204,203,200_
She is looking a little manic pixie dream girl-ish, via here.

The character is PENNY, who is the lead of the play-within-a-play.

If anyone is interested in performing this monologue, it is available straight from the author’s website.

I like this monologue because it’s not about a female relating to a man (a lot of our past monologues had that aspect) and it is a good role for a younger person.

Now I’m looking for stand-alone monologues (not from a play, but a monologue that exists by itself). Also, I’d love to complete a post that runs from A-Z. That’d be cool. If you know any, feel free to comment or message me.

A big hand to all these young actors doing their thing. Incredibly brave.

A

 

B

 

C

 

D

 

E

 

F

 

G

 

Great work on all these! Did any stand out? Feel free to comment!

Join us Thursday when Unknown Playwrights will feature Halloween plays!

For a complete list of monologues, check here.

Current Playwrights, Dude Playwrights, Unknown playwrights

Benjamin Gonzales

What happens when iconoclasm and introspection meet? They take the name of Benjamin Gonzales and write plays.

He is a former Associate Clinical Professor who taught Theatre at Washington State University. Benjamin is a theatre generalist with experience in Lighting Design, Set Design, Sound Design, Technical Direction, Production Management, Direction, as well as Playwriting.  

Trotter_Gonzales-Kennedy-Center-Awards-1188x792-1188x792
Benjamin Gonzales and his wife Mary Trotter getting awards for a college program they started but ironically no longer exists. More on this later.

Benjamin is also the current Chair for the Kennedy Center’s National Playwriting Program for Region VII.

The first play we’ll review is possibly the lightest downbeat comedy around.

The set up of Turnabout is a Fair Play is simple, but the payoff immense.  It is a one-act play. 

According to the almighty Wiktionary the definition of “turnabout is fair play” is as follows:

“It is allowable to retaliate against an enemy’s dirty tricks by using the same ones against them.”

The saying is attributed to “British/Irish 1755.”  

This definition, in a way, summarizes the plot.

David and Geoff are playwrights, writing the next subpar Rent and they need money for a production. They owe two months’ rent to their homophobic landlord Mr. Gorski, who assumes they are gay. They decide to act out the part and con some money out of him. What starts out as an (I think) intentionally pedestrian episode of Three’s Company takes a swivel-headed turn at the end, making it a very worthwhile play.

It contains moments familiar to anyone in the arts or anyone who has achieved a goal. Does this scene look familiar?
Screen Shot 2018-10-09 at 1.47.45 PM\
The scene contains pretty much all the foreshadowing needed in this one-act. Though that 15 months working on one play made me wonder a bit, because…..

Screen Shot 2018-10-09 at 1.50.30 PM

These guys are funny since they spent 15 months on a play and “a few months” is too far away. And they’re worried about money. It’s not like these guys were getting paid for this play during the 15 months they spent writing it. I know writers who act just like them. The call goes out to Mr. Gorski…

Screen Shot 2018-10-09 at 1.52.30 PM

Screen Shot 2018-10-09 at 1.54.07 PM.png

The situation set-ups and pay-offs are effective. There’s plenty of theatre jokes.

Screen Shot 2018-10-09 at 1.56.13 PM

I won’t give away the twist here but it’s foreshadowed in that first bit of dialogue. So here we have a play that takes some good-natured shots at artists and writers but also hits homophobia on the head. You can view the play in it’s entirety here:

The next play is A Bus Stop Home, not to be confused with Inge’s classic Bus Stop or the vague Hollywood remake. Or the worst public transportation system on God’s Green Earth.

This play features James, a man returning to his hometown under rather unwilling circumstances and Ellie, a Manic Pixie Dream Girl who totally isn’t. As expected, the play happens at a bus stop.

Personable Ellie chats up recalcitrant James. She claims to be writing a journal based on conversations with strangers. Getting him to open up is like pulling teeth.

Gonzales’ craftsmanship turns the play into a meta narrative and telegraphs that via the script. Sublime.

Screen Shot 2018-10-09 at 2.01.24 PM

This gives the narrative a concise point of view. Characterization has depth. This exchange shows us who James and Ellie (especially) really are.

Screen Shot 2018-10-09 at 2.04.10 PM.png

Our heroine throws a mean contraction. During the interrogation/discourse, Ellie thinks she knew James back in school. What follows is a traumatically funny-sad discourse on masturbation:

Screen Shot 2018-10-09 at 2.06.51 PM

Screen Shot 2018-10-09 at 2.11.04 PM

Screen Shot 2018-10-09 at 2.11.22 PM.pngScreen Shot 2018-10-09 at 2.11.45 PM.png

Kids, if you only have one takeaway from this blog post, it’s that “masturbation commissioner” is a great job title.

Of course, Ellie gets to the root of James’ dread: an LDS (Mormon) childhood.

Screen Shot 2018-10-09 at 2.23.55 PM.png

Of course such things never, ever happen in real life and these kids never, ever go on Reddit about it (which, BTW also references our previous topic).

One thing in literature that I feel is underestimated, is the characters’ view of themselves. Gonzales makes Ellie such an insightful, albeit slightly egocentric character.

Screen Shot 2018-10-09 at 2.26.47 PM

That’s the beauty of theatre. I’ve never heard anyone refer to themselves as tumbleweed before. Very poignant. And towards the end Ellie has some Manic Pixie Dream Girl knowledge to share with James:

Screen Shot 2018-10-09 at 2.29.12 PM

Screen Shot 2018-10-09 at 2.29.24 PM.png

Thud. That’s the sound of Ellie dropping knowledge on James. The play doesn’t end here. There’s about a fifth of a page left and that fifth of a page packs more punch than a fifth of vodka – it totally spins everything we’ve seen so far – and thoroughly proves Ellie is no Manic Pixie Dream Girl; She is much, much more.

This is one of the few plays I’d say has an O. Henry-esque ending that isn’t telegraphed with a baseball bat. Gonzales’ craftsmanship really shows through on this play, though both A Bus Stop Home and Turnabout is a Fair Play have twist endings in their own special way.

A Bus Stop Home has references to Idaho and Washington and represents a type of local color that was popular in Bret Harte (California) and Charles W. Chesnutt (the American South) stories as well as Eugene O’Neill (New England) and Tennessee Williams (the American South) plays. It would be nice to see more local color in American theatre.

The play contains a strong role for both characters, especially Ellie, something that American theatre sorely lacks.

The final play we’ll look at is a very meaningful one, entitled Las Memorias (2017). This play was born out of a program run by Mr. Gonzales and Mary Trotter.

“The program focuses on building skills that help students prepare for college, including writing, public speaking, working in teams and setting priorities.” according to this article.

As part of a summer-long process, students from underrepresented university programs (first generation, multicultural, low-income, etc.) share their stories. The process also encourages them to believe a university education is obtainable for them.

Here’s a link to a PBS video about this fascinating program, featuring Mr. Gonzales: 

https://www.pbs.org/video/nwptv-american-graduate-las-memorias/ 

Each summer Gonzales weaves a story based on the teens’ actual words. Plus a touch of magical realism.

Due to the seasonal nature of the program, every Las Memorias is different. Mr. Gonzales was kind enough to share the latest play with us.

Here is Yessica. She’s talking about an object (a framed photo of her as a baby) that is precious to her and the memories involved:

Screen Shot 2018-10-09 at 2.36.36 PM

These words are so descriptive – “A picture, that looked and felt rusty.”

And Claudia has a special rosary:
Screen Shot 2018-10-09 at 2.38.36 PM.png

Again, we have such descriptive language here. “It smells old. Like a bookstore.” And she uses the word “tome.” Awesome. The ending… “But…I have my faith…my armor.” So poetic, so true.

Screen Shot 2018-10-09 at 2.42.46 PM

Screen Shot 2018-10-09 at 2.43.09 PM.png

If Quetzalcoatl appeared to me in the form of my grandmother, that would be just about the most awesome thing that ever happened. Abuela does guide her…

Next, we have Mari talking about her headphones.
Screen Shot 2018-10-09 at 2.45.20 PM.png

“The strike of lightning, the sudden and persistent shock of being told to pack.”

“My headphones helped me survive the tempests of change.”

There are many, many teens profiled here and I’m just giving you a sampling. Here’s the final example –

Screen Shot 2018-10-09 at 2.47.23 PM

Screen Shot 2018-10-09 at 2.47.53 PM.png

This takes the idea of the security blanket beyond Linus and into humanity. Being the only one of anything can be taxing, at best (anyone remember Jodie Landon?). Again, here is a real person’s voice. 

The play wraps up with a nice chorus of everyone and how and why they did what they did.
Screen Shot 2018-10-09 at 2.49.42 PM

And thus ends Las Memorias (2017). Mr. Gonzales was kind enough to answer some questions:

  1. How did you start playwriting?

I was very young when I began writing. My first serious play I wrote, however, was never intended to be anything. “Seeing the Obvious” was more of a catharsis for me as I had been struggling to figure out what I was going to do now that I was in college.-The summer after I wrote it, I was working at a store/coffee hut at a state park, and during one of the down times read in the local paper about a playwriting competition. I decided I’d give it a go, and took 2nd place in the Port Townsend Arts Commission One Act Playwriting contest. Nearly simultaneously, my peers at my University wanted to produce it on their Stage as well. By the time I was 19, I had a play being produced on both sides of the state and I was $200 richer for it. With the encouragement that came with it, I thought I found what I was going to do. The second play was harder, and it took an awfully long time to create it. I almost didn’t go back to it. I kept my playwriting bug to my classroom where I was able to dramaturg and mentor young playwrights who I felt might have a better chance. I’ve taught some wonderful playwrights over the years, and I still have some who are still working hard in the craft. It wasn’t until 2012 when I volunteered to write a verbatim script for a group on campus, that I found my voice again.  I started a long time ago.

  1. What are your influences?

This could possibly be a very long response. As far as playwrights go, I have loved Tennessee Williams for as long as I can remember. The personal nature of his plays has always influenced the way I write. Marsha Norman is also amazing. ‘Night Mother and Getting Out are two amazing pieces of literature. I love the stories her characters share. I think Sarah Ruhl is brilliant. She makes me want to stretch what I think would be a “normal” play.

My students, however, have always been influential. As writers often working on their first play, they never seemed to be confined to the box of “proper” playwriting. Their stories, often raw, combine the vulnerabilities of their youth and the imagination of those who have their ideal dreams still intact. Sometimes when I would leave my class, hoping that my students would take the inspiration and enthusiasm of the class and write, I too would race home to spend time with my characters. This is my first year outside of academia (I’m now a stay-at-home dad of twin 3 year olds) and I miss the interactions with my students dearly.

I also draw influence from my own life. I’ve hit some bumps along the way that have made things challenging. For instance, I’m a two time cancer survivor. My latest play “Up Chimacum Creek” is a semi-autobiographical look at that journey I went on.

  1. What is your most memorable production and why?

All of the productions I’ve had are memorable. Hearing my own words on a stage in front of an audience makes me feel more vulnerable, more naked, than actually being naked. “Seeing the Obvious”, my first play, probably resonates with me still today. It was the first, and I don’t think anyone forgets their first. Laughing with the audience, cringing at those lines I should have edited… It was a roller-coaster of emotions. I remember on one of the nights, after a power outage that afternoon, the lead actor didn’t show. He was asleep, as his alarm didn’t go off to wake him up from his afternoon nap. I was about to go on in his place, as the director said, “You know the lines, right? You wrote ‘em”. I didn’t. But I was going to go on anyway. Fortunately, 10 before curtain he showed up and saved me from what was sure to be my most embarrassing moment on stage.

  1. What is your least memorable production and why? [you can leave out specifics or names]

Believe it or not, the least memorable might be the commissioned verbatim works. I write them so rapidly, and the stories aren’t necessarily my stories. That sounds horrible, because those plays clearly change lives. I love doing them, and their effect, but I’ve done so many, that sometimes those memories bleed into one another.

  1. What’s your funniest theatre story?

20 years in theatre, I’m not sure I can filter it down to a single memory, but I’ll at least try to tell you a funny one. I was responding (for the Kennedy Center’s American College Theatre Festival) to Much Ado About Nothing at North Idaho College, where a dear friend of mine teaches. In the lobby he asks if I can keep my phone on when the play starts. I of course oblige, knowing he’s probably got some pre-show stunt during the announcement. I felt a little uncomfortable, but knowing it would be turned off after, I was fine to play the foil. He walks up to me 5 minutes before curtain with a dummy phone and the advise to not let his actor grab my real phone. Knowing exactly what the stunt was, I relaxed. The pre-show announcement happened, and no phone. The plays starts. I turn to my wife who was with me, and asked her if I should turn it off. Clearly they didn’t get the timing right. She shrugged. Act 1 scene 1 passes. Still nothing. I looked at her, she shrugged. The next scene passes. Now, clearly they don’t need my phone anymore. Just as the next scene started, and I was fishing out my phone, my phone rings. I almost forgot to hand the guards… yes, the guards in the scene the dummy phone. They broke the dummy in half and made a big to-do. After they go about the scene. Everyone in the audience turned off their phone.

Carrying my phone turned on during a live performance made me so anxious, even though I knew it was a bit. It may have well been a bomb and I would have been that anxious.

  1. What are your writing habits like?

I am currently reshaping my writing habits around being a father. That is, around naps, and when my wife is home.I am currently getting a 2nd Master’s Degree (in Dramatic Writing) for the F (MFA). I’ve learned a lot about getting myself into the writing focus by working on the commissioned verbatim plays. I can no longer wait for a eureka moment. I’ve got to put myself into my writing environment as much as possible, and accept that I might stare at the blinking cursor of untitled document for as long as I have the time to write. I used to ask my students all the time how much time do they put themselves in their writing environment, how much time do they try to write, and often they say half an hour. That’s all fine and good if you’re properly inspired, but not if you’re trying to produce on a regular basis.

I will often dedicate an entire day to writing now, if I can get it. My wife know that if I make a vapor trail to my desk after a shower, that she’s got the girls that day, or we need to find childcare coverage. I don’t allow myself to pull away from writing if it’s coming out of me. I also know to not accidentally derail  a clear train of thought by drinking more than a couple whiskeys.

I have learned to take victory in the days I write not by quantity of lines created, but the quality anything of that moves the story forward. Sometimes that is research. Sometimes that is reading plays. And sometimes that is writing in another medium for a day.

  1. What advice do you have for new playwrights?

I have lots of advice for beginning writers, some of which might not necessarily be original to me, but things I picked up along the way.

  • Know the environment that you write best in. Put yourself there frequently, and don’t let yourself leave until you have accomplished your thought.
  • Read.
  • Don’t write just for money. You’ve got to love it.
  • Get to know your characters. If you know them well enough, they’ll surprise you.
  • Dare to fail gloriously. If you don’t, you’ll never get out a first draft.
  • Read.

That’s just a few. I know I’ve got a whole bunch more, but I’ll leave it here… for now.

  1. Who are some other writers you feel should get more attention?

I’ve had the wonderful opportunity to work with some talented young writers across the Pacific Northwest, whose words may never leave the region.

Again, I know there are more, but I’ve had the pleasure of seeing work from each of these artists, and they’re all very good.

  1. What are common themes in your work?

I’ve noticed recently, that I have a lot of death and religion in my plays. While I’m not a religious person myself, I had the fortune of going to a lot of different churches growing up. (I played basketball for a year in Junior High with a Mormon Church) My parents wanted me to choose my religious beliefs for myself. I decided pretty early church was not for me. I don’t know why I find myself talking about religion so much, as I feel very much like an outsider looking in.

As for death, I’ve almost died more than a few times. My cancer was pretty bad, and there were a few times with that alone that I almost shuffled off the mortal coil. My dad was an EMT and Firefighter as well, so I ended up seeing plenty of death when I was with him on aid calls.

  1. What is one thing you wished you knew now, that you didn’t know starting out?

I wish I knew that playwriting isn’t easy. My first play seemed to come out so quick, and I got so much acknowledgement for it, that I assumed plays would just flow out of me as easily as the first did. That is not how it works. It gave me an arrogant attitude, and when the next play didn’t come out for years, I thought I was bad at it. I didn’t learn to work hard at it until I started teaching, and by that time, I was so involved with my students I didn’t allow myself the time to write.

  1. Where did the idea for Turnabout is a Fair Play come from?

I wrote Turnabout is a Fair Play very quickly after A Bus Stop Home. I wanted to have fun and experience writing fast paced comedy. I also knew that I wanted to Ubu Roi my beginning, as well as show the ending. It started with the three characters, and I just started writing. So I suppose the play is the closest thing to freestyle writing that I’ve done. I let the characters lead me to the ending. I still think I need to tweak the bad musical section. I may get more nervous about this play than the others.

  1. Why did you choose an LDS/Mormon background for James’ character in A Bus Stop Home?

I truthfully do not recall the specific reason. I’ve always been curious about religion, even though I’ve held it at arm’s length. I guess I’m very critical of the hypocrisies of the church (and not just Mormons). In this case, James’ family chooses religious belief and disengage from their son until he admits the error of his ways. I’ve seen this happen to my LGBTQ students, and those actions, under religious justifications, is hypocritical. I find the theatre does a better job demonstrating what it is to be a good human being. The theatre is my type of congregation because it is open to all.

  1. What advice do you have for writers who want a strong twist ending?

Justify everything. A twist is only effective if you play by your own rules. The seeds for any twist should be scattered across the pages. A twist as a Deus Ex Machina is lazy.

  1. What is your writing process for the “Las Memorias” plays?  

It starts with the prompts that I send out to the schools. These are typically open ended questions that lead them to write stories about themselves. We’ll select as many as we have money to support, and I’ll read their stories over and over. We’ll bring them in for a theatre training weekend, where I’ll interview them a little bit. I’ll send them home with another prompt, which will leave me with about 3 weeks to write the script. Each one is different, and I’ll search for the connected tissues of the stories to find the themes. The 2017 Memorias script had a lot of items in their stories, so the script ended up having a museum theme to it. I also want them to have an opportunity for direct address for their stories, but to give them an interactive theatrical feel to it as well. That’s why the ‘17 script had a one act in 3 parts tying them all together. The one act took shape from the themes of their stories. We then bring the students in, and they have a week to rehearse before the performance.

  1. What’s a question you’d like to be asked? Go ahead and answer that question.

Good One! I suppose I’d ask myself if I will delve back into academia, as that is the question I have been asking myself.

I loved being a professor. Not for the title, but for the mentorship relationships that have formed. I am still in contact with many of my former students. I read their work still, I give them advise, and I attend their weddings. I will never be done mentoring, but it may not be in a university setting. The bureaucracy of universities today are combative and not so friendly to the arts. I found myself defending the existence of the theatre more than I should have. I wish I could write, and freelance design and direct on my own terms.

Thank you for sharing your knowledge. Now, to the eternal sadness of all things sacred, Gonzales lost his job last year when The Great Satan known as Washington State University decided to out-Satan all other Satans and cut the performing arts classes. Gonzales gave 15 years to Washington State University. Never mind that he and his wife just won an award from the Kennedy Center, you know, for being great teachers.

No more Las Memorias.

Benjamin is currently a student seeking a MFA in Dramatic Writing from the University of Idaho. He has survived cancer twice, I’m sure he’ll be taking care of this new turn.

His page at the New Play Exchange.

His life

Benjamin talking about kicking cancer’s ass.

A piece Gonzales wrote based on survivors of sexual violence.

Playbill for same project.

Here’s a list of all of our playwrights.

 

 

Monologue Monday

Monologue Monday: Mrs. Pringle in Fourteen (Gerstenberg)

Hello one and all!

Welcome back to Monday, where we find a slew of monologues off the Youtube and and run ’em here.

Since last week’s unknown playwright was Alice Gerstenberg, it is only fitting that this week’s monologue arises from her play.

The play is FOURTEEN and concerns the preparations of a fashionable dinner party.

maid3
Design used for a performance of the play by Play With Your Food.

This particular monologue concerns Mrs. Pringle who is having a meltdown because some guests have cancelled, etc. You can even read said monologue here:

MRS. PRINGLE: [Exhausted, harassed, angry, tempestuous.] I shall go mad! I’ll never entertain again–never–never–people ought to know whether they’re coming or not–but they accept and regret and regret and accept–they drive me wild. [DUNHAM goes out.]This is my last dinner party–my very last–a fiasco–an utter fiasco! A haphazard crowd–hurried together–when I had planned everything so beautifully–now how shall I seat them–how shall I seat them? If I put Mr. Tupper here and Mrs. Conley there then Mrs. Tupper has to sit next to her husband and if I want Mr. Morgan there–Oh! It’s impossible–I might as well put their names in a hat and draw them out at random–never again! I’m through! Through with society–with parties–with friends–I wipe my slate clean–they’ll miss my entertainments–they’ll wish they had been more considerate–after this, I’m going to live for myself! I’m going to be selfish and hard–and unsociable–and drink my liquor myself instead of offering it gratis to the whole town!–I’m throughThrough with men like Oliver Farnsworth!–I don’t care how rich they are! How influential they are–how important they are! They’re nothing without courtesy and consideration–business–off on train–nonsense–didn’t want to come–didn’t want to meet a sweet, pretty girl–didn’t want to marry her–well, he’s not good enough for you!–don’t you marry him! Don’t you dare marry him! I won’t let you marry him! Do you hear? If you tried to elope or anything like that, I’d break it off–yes, I would–Oliver Farnsworth will never get recognition from me!–He is beneath my notice! I hate Oliver Farnsworth!

And now without further ado, here are our monologists….

A

B

C

D

E

F

Which Mrs. Pringle went the maddest? Feel free to comment and join us on Thursday when we profile another unknown playwright!!!

Here’s a complete list of our monologues.

Thank you.