Monthly Archives: August 2018

Tomorrow night… the opening!

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“Fifteen Men in a Smoke-Filled Room” opens tomorrow at Elite Theatre Company… check it out!

Elite Theatre Company
2731 Victoria Avenue
Oxnard, CA 93021
Box Office (805) 483-5118

“This is a world premiere play, touching and poignant, written by playwright-lyricist Colin Speer Crowley. The play takes place in Chicago – June, 1920 – when the Republican National Convention is in full swing. Warren G. Harding, senator from Ohio, is overwhelmed by the prospect of becoming the nominee of the Republican Party for president. Hounded by an ambitious campaign manager, a paralyzing superstitious wife, a star struck young mistress, and the frightening pull of inevitability, Harding seems destined to be president – or is he? At its core, Fifteen Men in a Smoke-Filled Room is a thematic play, exploring the extent to which fate controls our lives. Is there a higher power out there that determines our destinies, or are those life events we deem “fateful” merely the aggregate result of the deficiencies and idiosyncrasies of flawed human beings? Produced by special arrangement with the author, the play runs at the Elite Theatre Company from August 31 through September 30, 2018.”

See this announcement in the local VC Star!

Meet the cast of “Philosophus!”

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Chris J. Handley

Starring Chris J. Handley as “Voltaire”

Clockwise from left: James Cichocki, Emily Yancey, Christopher Standart, and Andrew Zuccari

Photos from “Fifteen Men”

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In just a few days, my drama “Fifteen Men in a Smoke-Filled Room” opens at Elite Theatre Company in Oxnard, CA!

Below are some photos from the last remaining dress rehearsals of the show, which runs August 31-September 30.

Featured above: Scott Blanchard as Warren G. Harding, Jill Dolan as Florence Kling Harding, Bill Walthall as Harry M. Daugherty, and Sean Mason as George Harvey

“Fifteen Men” coming soon!

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In just a little over a week, I’ll be in Oxnard, Caliofrnia attending the opening night of my tragedy “Fifteen Men in a Smoke-Filled Room” at Elite Theatre Company.

The play is being directed by the wonderful Angela DeCicco, a veteran actress and director, and produced by L. J. Stevens, the Artistic Director of Elite Theatre Company.

Fifteen Men at Elite Theatre Company

The cast is as follows:

  • Scott Blanchard as Warren G. Harding
  • Jill Dolan as Florence Kling Harding
  • Bill Walthall as Harry M. Daugherty
  • Reign Lewis as Nan Britton
  • Sean Mason as George Harvey
  • Eric McGowan as Waiter
  • Allan D. Noel as Radio Announcer

Very much looking forward to this world premiere!

 

“Philosophus” cast announced

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The cast has been announced for my world premiere comedy “Philosophus,” which is running at Alleyway Theatre of Buffalo, New York from September 13-October 6 under the direction of Artistic Director Neal Radice.

“Philosophus” is Alleyway Theatre’s opening show of their 2018-2019 season and opens the same night as the 37th Curtain Up! Buffalo annual celebration, which officially commences f Buffalo’s professional theatre season.

Curtain Up

The cast for “Philosophus” is as follows:

Very much looking forward to this show!

Thanks to AACT

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I wanted to drop a quick line to thank the American Association of Community Theatres (otherwise known as “AACT”) for advancing my script “The Footsteps of God” to their semifinalist round for their 2018 new works competition.

“Footsteps” did not advance beyond the second reading, but it is a great honor for the play to have advanced as far as it did, especially since it is a very new work with minimal development.

My tragedy “Fifteen Men in a Smoke-Filled Room” – which is being given a world premiere by Elite Theatre Company of Oxnard, CA later this month – was among the top 20 scripts in AACT’s 2013 contest.

Best of wishes to AACT for this year’s new play festival!

“Shadows” in PA!

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Today, with great joy, I have learned that my historical drama “Shadows of Men” is the full-length winner of the first Marsha Ann Croyle Award for Outstanding Achievement in Playwriting.

The award is a result of the Scribe Playwriting Competition sponsored by One Fish Media and Matthew Croyle, playwright, screenwriter, director, graphic designer, disc jockey, and award-nominated actor.

Oil Valley Film Festival

Scribe Playwriting Award Announcement

As explained by Matt Croyle, who named the award after his mother, a dedicated fan of theater: “There are not very many opportunities for playwrights in the Oil Region… A lot of similar opportunities are geared mainly toward youth theater. And while those opportunities are fantastic, I wanted to give the region another option – especially when it comes to writing for live theater.”

As mentioned above, “Shadows” will be read during the Oil Valley Film Festival. The festival, which is in its third year, takes place from September 7-9 (my play will be read on September 9th). The festival is designed to bring new film from around the world to the often-neglected Oil Valley region of Western Pennsylvania. You can read more about it here in this helpful Wikipedia article.

Many thanks to Matt for this great opportunity!

Life comes full circle…

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As I have mentioned, my historical farce “Philosophus” is being a world premiere at the wonderful Alleyway Theatre of Buffalo, New York, and tickets are now on-sale.

For 6-and-a-half years (2009-2015), I worked at TicketNetwork, one of the largest online marketplaces for resold tickets, ending my time there as AVP of Consumer Transactions.

How interesting, when I ventured out into cyberspace and did a Google search “Philosophus tickets,” I found that tickets for my show at Alleyway are being listed for sale on the TicketNetwork exchange:

TicketNetwork

Yes, indeed… ticket brokers are “scalping” my tickets!

First, this is a great compliment for Alleyway (tickets are only scalped at established, respected venues).

Second, this is a fulfilling moment for me… that an industry for which I worked is now selling tickets to one of my shows!

Truly, life does come full circle!

(PS: Buy tickets from Alleyway directly – here!)