Today I learned that my new farce “Philosophus” has achieved semi-finalist status in The Summer Playwrights Festival sponsored by The Road Theatre Company of North Hollywood, California.

The Road Theatre Company is devoted to

• supporting world, American, and West Coast premieres of theatrical works which introduce socially and/or politically relevant new voices and new thoughts to the American stage.
• introducing younger audiences to the world of theatre through our mainstage productions, workshops, and free weekly reading series
• promoting theatrical outreach programs to seniors and at risk groups
• furthering their resident company as a leader and champion of new works in Los Angeles and the nation.

From their website:

“The Road Theatre’s annual Summer Playwrights Festival (SPF7) is a fundraising event in late July that mounts 40 staged readings of new plays in 8 exciting days. The festival is growing larger every year with playwrights from around the country and around the world participating… Readings are held in both our Historic Lankershim Arts Center Theater and Gallery and in our new 77-seat theater in the NoHo Senior Arts Colony. Although we receive hundreds of submissions for our festival, new and established playwrights are encouraged to submit.”

…and, of the hundreds, “Philosophus” is among the finalist pack! Thanks so much to Road Theatre Company!

I received a nice little gift in the mail today – a note from Branch County Community Theatre (BCCT) – informing me that my new play “Philosophus” placed third in the Robert J. Pickering Award for Playwriting Excellence.

Branch County Community Theater is based in Coldwater, MI and is a vital artistic component to its community. The Robert J. Pickering Award specifically “was established to honor past member and playwright, Bob Pickering, and to provide a vehicle for playwrights to see their works produced.”

Out of 125 entries this year, “Philosophus” was third place – a great honor! I only completed the play about a month ago, so, when I sent it to BCCT, it was “fresh off the presses.” I have never completed a play and had it recognized so quickly – especially among such a large pool of applicants – by such a respected organization.

Many thanks to BCCT (and Robert Pickering) and best of luck to the first place winner!

“The secret of being boring is to say everything.”

~François-Marie Arouet (Voltaire)

Today, I finished my new farce, “Philosophus,” a project of great meaning to me and also an unexpected and very fulfilling gem. I say this because I wrote a version of this play many, many moons ago (about 17+ years) when I was still discovering my voice as a playwright and undergoing many challenges in the process. It was one of the first plays I ever wrote – and, dare I say, it probably wasn’t that good. The subject matter stayed with me, however, so I suddenly decided to take a stab at the storyline again after completing my recent play “Leave It To Ms. Minor.” Four weeks later, I have a completed draft of the play, of which I am very proud. I have to say I have never written a play with such ease as this one. There were hardly any bumps on the road and the entire process was very smooth. Let us hope that same ease suggests it is naturally worthy of the stage!!

Briefly, Philosophus” is a two-act, screwball comedy about the egregiously self-righteous philosopher Voltaire and the bizarre escapades surrounding his flight from the court of Frederick II, King of Prussia, from whom he stole a sensitive, personal manuscript of poems. Determined to embarrass the monarch in revenge for an unfortunate falling-out, Voltaire finds his journey to France rudely halted in the city of Frankfurt by the intriguingly Hitlerian Baron von Freytag, representative of the Prussian King. Before too long, the Baron’s over-eagerness to obey his master’s wishes and the enormity of Voltaire’s ego combine to create a purely comedic kind of chaos, which becomes all the more ludicrous by the addition of a money-hungry German shrew, two slightly dim-witted, look-a-like servants, and Voltaire’s buxom, sex-obsessed niece, who fancies herself an ingénue.

You can check out a longer synopsis and a sample of the work on the My Works page of my website!