I’m thrilled to announce that my Hitchcockian drama “Few Thy Voice” has been judged within the top 15% of scripts in the biennial new play contest sponsored by the American Association of Community Theatre (AACT)!

AACT is a wonderful organization that supports community theaters (the real lifeblood of the theatrical community) throughout the United States and has used its new play contest to elevate new works of theater since 2014.

“Few Thy Voice” concerns Illyria Swan, a former movie actress of delicate mental state, whose guilt at the abandonment of her now-deceased father leads her to take care of elderly, senile men abandoned by their families – but when the latest subject of her caretaking zeal reveals an apparent tale of murder, the actress finds her life in danger and her sanity in question.

I have had three other plays of mine been similarly recognized by AACT in previous years – “The Footsteps of God”, “Fifteen Men in a Smoke-Filled Room”, and “I and the Emperor”.

Many thanks to AACT for the nod!

I’m happy to present the cast for my play “Few Thy Voice” at the Vintage Theatre New Play Festival in August, 2019.

This photo was taken the night of the show after a great talkback, where the actors had even better insight into the script than I did!

Left to right: Colleen Lee, Kalonda Irlanda (director), Tracy Denver, Steve Kramer, Leroy Leonard, Ronan Viard, Patrick Brownson, and me

Congrats again to all involved!

Last night, I had the great pleasure of seeing my thriller “Few Thy Voice” presented by Vintage Theatre Company of Aurora, CO as part of their third annual New Play Festival!

I’m very glad I was able to make a quick trip to Denver to attend the staged reading of my play, which opened the new play festival. The play was directed by actor/director Kalond Irlanda, who brought an uncanny thoughtfulness to the task.

The cast was as follows:

• Steve Kramer……………………….Richard Crenshaw
• Tracy Denver….Eloise Olympia Pambeck-O’Malley
• Ronan Viard………………………….Fenno Masterson
• Patrick Brownson………………………August Jaysen
• Leroy Leonard………………………..Patrick O’Malley
• Colleen Lee………………………………….Illyria Swan

I must say I was very, very impressed by the quality of the actors and actresses in the reading. The talent pool stretched very wide, from the deliciously chatty and hammy scheming brought to the role of Richard Crenshaw by Steve Kramer to the shaky, fragile, yet explosive passion brought to the role of Illyria Swan by Colleen Lee. The staged reading format has its challenges and limitations – and the challenges and limitations are obvious – but the cast was so skilled and Kalond’s directing so deft that the play truly came alive for me. The play flowed comfortably from beginning to end, balanced by just the tight amount of exposition and infused with a surprisingly good, steady pace in dialogue (which is unusual for a staged reading format). I also fully enjoyed a post-show talkback with the audience and the actors, most of whom had better ideas about the play than I’ve ever had.

Above all, I have to record how impressed I am with Vintage Theatre itself. I was hosted during my trip by Lorraine Scott, who serves as Vice President of the Board of Directors. Lorraine was extremely welcoming and showed me around the theater and introduced me to quite a few lovely people. Vintage has two theater spaces and produces twelve shows a season, as well as hosting a splendid cabaret space for mid-week shows in their reception hall. I’m especially impressed to see that Vintage has a very dedicated subscriber base – and rightly so. They are truly an asset for the Denver theater community. I’ve seldom met a smaller size theater that appears to be so well-organized and professional.

Many thanks to Lorraine Scott and Artistic Director Bernie Cardell for hosting the new play festival and making this great experience possible!

In just a little over two weeks my play “Few Thy Voice” will be presented as part of a new play festival sponsored by Vintage Theatre. The festival focuses on new works of mystery/thriller theater.

I will be coming out to visit Aurora, Colorado for the staged reading and can’t wait to see the play being performed for the first time. The play is being directed by local actor/director Kalond Irlanda.

You can purchase tickets to the event – just $5 – using the link below!

I’m very, very pleased to say that my Hitchcockian thriller “Few Thy Voice” is being performed as part of a new play festival sponsored by Vintage Theatre Company of Aurora, Colorado!

Founded in 2002 over martinis (hence, the logo), Vintage Theatre Company “proudly presents classics and cutting edge theatre, classes, improv, and staged readings that challenge, entertain, and grow our audience and artistic family alike.” The company is now an established part of the theatrical scene in the city of Aurora, with three performance spaces – the Jeffrey Nickelson Auditorium (145 seats), the Bond Trimble Theatre (67 Seats), and the Berg-Young Cabaret Stage (60 seats). Vintage has also “received several Henry Award nominations, Post Ovation Awards, Flombies, and Marlowe Awards in the last decade.”

Over the past few years, Vintage Theatre Company has been producing annual new play festivals, typically asking for plays with certain themes. This year, they were looking for mystery/thriller plays and I thought that “Few Thy Voice” would be an excellent fit. I wrote the play some six years ago – and, while it received a little notice at the time, I generally put the play on my back burner while other plays garnered more attention. It’s particularly thrilling for me now to see the play get some recognition (and, after six years, some revision!).

“Few Thy Voice” will be performed on Thursday, August 22 at 7:30pm.

More details to come!

Tonight an excerpt of my play “Few Thy Voice” was read at The Shawnee Playhouse in Shawnee-On-Delaware, PA as a top finalist in the Shawnee Original Playwrights Series (SOPS).

I’m sorry to say that I was unable to attend the actual reading due to the long distance between me (Connecticut) and the playhouse (Pennsylvania) – but I was wishing them well from afar!!

I will keep my fingers crossed for the contest results – but I am very grateful to Shawnee Playhouse for hosting the reading and for sending me some feedback written by people on their ballots, such as:

• witty dialog
• good plot
• lots of humorous lines
• was interested to hear more
• liked the opening

Thanks, Shawnee Playhouse!

My new drama “Few Thy Voice” has been chosen as a finalist in the Shawnee Original Playwright Series (SOPS) sponsored by The Shawnee Playhouse!

The Shawnee Playhouse is a community theater in Pennsylvania whose mission is “to provide entertainment and educational benefit to residents and visitors of Shawnee on Delaware, Pennsylvania.” The group was founded in 1904 and is unique among community theaters in that it explicitly supports and cultivates original work from upcoming playwrights.

Excerpts from “Few Thy Voice” will be read by actors at the playhouse on March 7 at 7pm in front of a live audience! Audiences will vote on the plays presented (17 in total) and the top-rated plays will be produced by the playhouse.

I finished today a draft of my new play – “Few Thy Voice” – which is my first foray into the Hitchcockian realm of drama.

“Few Thy Voice” concerns a former movie actress, of delicate mental state, whose guilt at the abandonment of her now-deceased father leads her to take care of elderly, senile men abandoned by their families in rundown nursing homes. A guilt-ridden, well-meaning husband, coupled with a sleazy nursing home proprietor and a rather brutal, well-face-lifted social-climber, enable the actress’s caretaking needs to be met. The story quickly turns more than eerie, however, when the newest fatherly focus of the actress’s affection begins to reveal a story of murder in his family – but is his ranting the liberating cry of a male Cassandra or an invention on the part of his mentally delicate caretaker?

The play requires only six actors (4 men, 2 women) and takes place in only two locations – neither of which requires a tremendous emphasis on the set. The play also presents a diverse range of character roles, as well as racial and, in some cases, age flexibility in the casting.

You can check for a script sample from the early part of the play!

The title comes from this line in “Hamlet,” courtesy of Polonius: