Latest Project

Patricia MiltonBlog, New Plays, News & Stuff

I’m working on a comedy (hooray! finally) with the working title The Engine of Our Destruction. I became fascinated by the psychological condition scrupulosity, and the main character suffers from this fascinating variant of OCD. Scrupulosity is akin to OCD but for ethical and moral matters. People with scrupulosity fixate on moral actions and experience extreme stress and anxiety if …

Free plays to read!

Patricia MiltonBlog, New Plays

I’m creating this post to assemble a smattering of places to obtain and read free or low-cost stage plays for pleasure. One is a limited-time offer, so heads up! Central Works Theater: Their Script Club offers free world premiere playscripts and a podcast with the playwright (full disclosure – it’s my podcast). Playscripts: Their free reads rotate regularly. This company …

Time is running out!

Patricia MiltonAudio, Blog, New Plays, News & Stuff

Originally set to be on stage in New Consrvatory Theatre Center’s 2020-21 Season, I reworked The Law of Attraction to be a hilarious and snarky (“zingy” says the Bay Area Reporter) radio play. The cast is amazing and the audio engineering and design delightful. This comedy of bad manners takes on the self-help industry and the search for perfection. Tickets …

Here Comes “The Law of Attraction”

Patricia MiltonAudio, New Plays, News & Stuff

My latest audio play, adapted from a commissioned work that coronavirus kept from the live stage, is The Law of Attraction. It’s a comedy about the world of self-help, its gurus, and how close we can get to delusion when we think the Universe is there to serve our personal needs. It’s produced by The New Conservatory Theater Center, directed …

BYSTANDERS premieres

Patricia MiltonAudio, Blog, New Plays, News & Stuff

This play was scheduled to open in October, but … well, you know.So now it is an audio play with the amazing actors Maria Marquis and Kimberly Ridgeway. Available starting September 14 at centralworks.org. In the wake of a tragic and senseless act of gun violence, two women strive to connect despite their grief and guilt. Zayne is determined to …

Dramaturgical Resources for Bystanders

Patricia MiltonAudio, Blog, New Plays, Plays

One of the things I do when I write a play is assemble a Tumblr with all of my inspirations and research. It helps me keep everything in one place while I write. It’s also invaluable as a place to refer those people who ask, “What inspired you?” or don’t believe you when you write, for example, character who’s stalked …

Bystanders Audio Play

Patricia MiltonNew Plays, News & Stuff, Plays

I’m moving into an intense rehearsal and recording period in August. First up is “Bystanders” for Central Works. It was scheduled to premiere as a live play in October, but is uniquely suited to audio. There is a single moment that is viscerally visual, but the play has a lot of storytelling that lends itself to soundscape, and the climax …

On Talkbacks – part 2

Patricia MiltonNew Plays, Quote

Talkbacks are on my mind, and when they are, I invariably search, find and read Liz Duffy Adams’ “Talkback: A Play About Talkbacks.” There is no other play that more accurately captures the experience in such a hilarious way. In their short play, Adams imagines an audience giving feedback to William Shakespeare on “Hamlet.” Talkbacker 4 jumps in with, “Right …

The Law of Attraction

Patricia MiltonNew Plays, News & Stuff, Video

It was my pleasure to be interviewed by New Conservatory Theatre Center Artistic Director Ed Decker on Friday, May 23, on their Fridays at Five streaming program. The interview was followed by a short scene from my new comedy, “The Law of Attraction,” commissioned by NCTC a couple of years ago. The actors, Cary Ann Rosko as MJ and Chelsea …

Sneak Peek of “The Law of Attraction”

Patricia MiltonBlog, New Plays

In need of some comedy? Who isn’t? Join Ed Decker, Artistic Director of The New Conservatory Theater Center, director Nicole Meñez, and me for a Sneak Peek of “The Law of Attraction” on Facebook Live, Friday, May 22 at 5 pm! Actors Chelsea Bearce and Cary Ann Rosko will read the first two scenes of the play, and there will …