The musical play “Not Without Our Women,” by Andrew Black, Caroline Altman, and me, tells the story of a critical episode in the development of rights for women. In the mid 1800s, the radical notion that a woman might vote, hold public office, or own her own property as an unmarried individual was unthinkable. This new musical, based upon real people and events, explores what happened when the territory of Wyoming instituted woman suffrage, attracting independent women to the wild frontier.

Come to a free concert reading of “Not Without Our Women” March 12 or 13, 2012, at Thick House in Portrero Hill. It’s co-produced by 3 Girls Theatre Company, along with my writing partners Andrew Black and composer Caroline Altman.

Central Works’ premiere production of “Reduction in Force” was nominated for several awards in the 2011 Broadway World San Francisco Theatre Awards. The results have been tabulated and are in! Gary Graves: Best Director, Gregory Scharpen: Best Sound Design, and Jan Zvaifler: Best Featured Actress, and Best Play. John Patrick Moore and Kendra Lee Oberhauser were nominated for their performances, as well.

It is a People’s Choice-type awards, where fans nominate, and then vote online for their favorites.

I’m delighted, grateful, and gobsmacked! What a way to start 2012.

“Drama assumes an order. If only so that it might have — by disrupting that order — a way of surprising.”

~Vaclav Havel

And, to tell you the truth, it seemed to me to be pretty hard to write. Yes, many things can happen in a minute, but they are not necessarily theatrical. And I was somewhat surprised there was not some sort of theme to help us make a unified evening’s entertainment. I’m very much looking forward to the results.

80+Plays. 30+Actors. 5 Directors. 1 Minute.
Saturday, December 17th @ 8pm
Sunday, December 18th @2pm and 7pm

at Thick House, 1695 18th Street, San Francisco, 94107

If you’d like to read more, visit the One Minute Play Festival blog, where you can read my post, “Get Out The Knife.”

As you may know, I am an Associate Playwright with Three Girls Theatre Company in San Francisco.  Recently we launched a Kickstarter campaign to raise $6,100 for our month-long stint of readings, performances, and special events at Thick House next March.

The great news is, we’ve raised over $9,000. Thanks, backers!

What’s especially exciting is that  Three Girls Theatre has agreed to help underwrite a reading of “Not Without Our Women,” which will have undergone a 25% rewrite, on March 12 and 13, 2012, at Thick House in San Francisco. It’s an extraordinary opportunity for us to advance the project. So, if you can, donate here.

In this rewrite I worked to “activate” my protagonist, Rocky, whom I saw as too passive. Because he doesn’t have the actual skills to create the love vaccine himself, Rocky must depend on Grace to do it. She objects to the very idea, and insists a love activator is the way to go. This makes for comic conflict, but Rocky was not taking enough action. I think I have fixed that issue.

I also did some tweaking in the characters of April and Sam, and their own lovelorn states.

UPDATE: The reading was amazing: the play moves swiftly, the laughs are generous, the characters distinct and very funny. A few tweaks and this script is good to go!

I’m delighted that Theatre Out is producing this hilarious play. It features a few of my favorite characters, including Fern Mulligan, the escaped husband-murderer.

“. . . a wondrous ride. With its expert plot and engaging characters, this play is a winner.”  (Ute Von der Hayden, CityPulse, Lansing, MI, 2011).

William Saroyan wrote a great play on this theme, that purity of heart is the one success worth having. “In the time of your life–live!” That time is short and it doesn’t return again. It is slipping away while I write this and while you read it, the monosyllable of the clock is Loss, loss, loss, unless you devote your heart to its opposition.”  ~Tennessee Williams

I had the opportunity to visit Asheville, NC and enjoy a reading of “Not Without Our Women” with my collaborators Caroline Altman and Andrew Black. The reading was well received by a very engaged audience. While we had a ridiculously short rehearsal time – just four hours – the cast rose to the occasion, and several seasoned professionals knocked it out of the park. The play’s theme of the winding progress of human rights resonated with everyone, it seems.

The other readings included “A Tennesse Walk” by Rob Anderson and “Assisted Living” by Rich Rubin. Unfortunately, we missed the fourth reading (it coincided with our rehearsal): “The Vanishing Point” by Nedra Pezold.

Many thanks to all the SART volunteers, including our director Josh Miller, LoriLynn Mullett and Sharon Anderson, and SART Artistic Director Bill Gregg.