For this Throwback Thursday, I will highlight my play “Shadows of Men” – one of those plays where I can’t help but wondering why it has never been produced, especially after seeing it read and seeing how much it resonated with audiences.

Among my repertoire of straight plays, “Shadows of Men” ranks “number three” – the third play I wrote, after “Fifteen Men in a Smoke-Filled Room” and “Harriman-Baines” – and one which I have always personally enjoyed, encompassing, as it does, the theme of the dignity of the human individual and how that dignity is often threatened by abstractions and ideology.

Way back in 2020 or so, I initially encountered the story of John Dos Passos in Civil War Spain in the book “Intellectuals” by the British historian Paul Johnson – where Joh Dos Passos, who came to Spain to participate in a propaganda film in favor of the leftist Spanish Republic, ended up becoming obsessed by the fact that his dear friend, José Robes, had gone missing – ultimately discovering that Robles was executed by Spanish Republican forces, who were heavily backed by Stalin and the Soviet Communist Party. (John Dos Passos ended up writing extensively about his experience, which turned him away from leftism, until he ended life as a traditional conservative.)

Over the years, I have had relatively little traction with “Shadows” – and indeed, the play has only been read twice… never actually produced… which I hope will soon change.

The first staged reading was part of the Baltimore Playwrights Festival in 2016, where the play was read at Fells Point Corner Theatre and directed by the great Barry Feinstein.

The second staged reading was by Arts Forth Worth in Texas, where the play was presented by the group Altered Shakespeare as part of Arts Forth Worth’s 2021 new play festival.

“Shadows” is one of those plays that I’m still striving to see produced, because I know that it works and that it carries an important (and eerily relevant) message for the modern ear.

You can catch the reading of the play at Arts Forth Worth below:

I am very pleased to present to the world a recorded reading of my historical drama “Shadows of Men” by the company Altered Shakespeare.

“Shadows of Men” was given a reading as part of a new play festival sponsored by Arts Fort Worth, alongside some 16 other plays.

I was unable to attend the reading myself due to other commitments – but now having viewed the reading on YouTube, I am very impressed by the quality of the acting and the great pacing of the story, especially in the context of a reading, where, for obvious reasons, it can be difficult to communicate the tenor and feel of a piece – and yet Altered Shakespeare did a wonderful job creating that very feel and breathing life so into the characters.

Many thank to the actors and actresses involved for their great performances!

• Eduardo Vildasol
• Shawn Gann
• David Ware
• Araceli Radillo
• Danny Lovelle
• Jalitza Delgado
• Alex Moffitt

I hope you enjoy!

The reading of my historical drama “Shadows of Men” will be available for viewing on July 14th at 1pm CT!

You can check out the play by visiting the YouTube channel of Arts Fort Worth, the producing theater group.

“Shadows of Men” was performed by Altered Shakespeare of Dallas, TX and features the talents of Eduardo Vildasol, Shawn Gann, David Ware, Araceli Radillo, Danny Lovelle, Jalitza Delgado, and Alex Moffitt.

It’s not often I have the pleasure of linking off to a recording of one of my plays for people out in cyberspace to watch and (hopefully) enjoy, but Arts Forth Worth has given me such an opportunity.

My historical drama “Shadows of Men” was a finalist in Arts Forth Worth’s new play festival and was given a staged reading by the Dallas-based group Altered Shakespeare back on March 29th.

Arts Forth Worth is uploading (or depending on when you read this, *has* uploaded) all 16 of the plays featured in their new play festival to their YouTube channel, where you can view the recordings at your leisure and enjoy the great writing talent of all playwrights involved.

You will be able to access a full recording of the reading of “Shadows of Men” around mid-July (will let you know when it’s posted!).

Meanwhile, here am I doing a quick spot for the piece that was used by Arts Fort Worth to encourage traffic to their YouTube channel.

Again, thank you to Arts Forth Worth (and Jason Levya) and Altered Shakespeare for their great rendering of my play!

The reading of my play “Shadows of Men” is coming up in Fort Worth on March 29th at 7:30pm!

The reading is being presented as part of the third annual Original Works Series sponsored by Arts Forth Worth.

Arts Fort Worth is very generously hosting a number of readings this year – 8 in total – which shows their great commitment to the theater scene and emerging playwrights.

Many thanks to Altered Shakespeare for putting on the reading!

You can get tickets to the reading here!

I am thrilled to announce that my historical drama “Shadows of Men” is being given a reading at Forts Worth Community Arts Center by the theatrical group Altered Shakespeare.

Forts Worth Community Arts (also known as Arts Forth Worth) is “a historic and dynamic arts complex (that) boasts seven indoor galleries, an outdoor gallery, artist and performance studios, and office suites nonprofit arts organization.” It is managed by Arts Fort Worth on behalf of the City of Fort Worth and hosts a number of artistic events throughout the year. The mission of Arts Fort Worth is “to provide a quality event, visual and performing arts venue for all of the community.”

Among the events hosted by Arts Forth Worth is their Original Works series for new plays. The series showcases a number of plays via readings over the course of a month and chooses one of the plays for a fully realized stage production in the subsequent season. The Original Works Series is now in its third year and provides a great opportunity for playwrights to have their voices heard, especially after the ravages of COVID on the theater world.

“Shadows of Men” will be presented by Altered Shakespeare, a new theater troupe in Dallas, Texas which engages in newer, more contemporary presentations of Shakespeare’s plays (although actually harnessing back to the way those plays were meant to be performed, in louder, rowdier, more raucous environments.)

Many thanks to Arts Fort Worth and Jason Levya, their Production Manager, for this great opportunity!

More to come!

I’m very happy to report that my historical drama “Shadows of Men” was a finalist in a new play competition sponsored by Campfire Theatre Festival!

Campfire Theatre Festival is a three-day festival of new American plays that aims to promote and develop promising new work and establish its home of Boise, Idaho as a source for quality theater.

In this troubling time, it’s great to receive some positive news and to know that organizations like Campfire are pushing forward to keep theater alive when so many productions around the country are being cancelled.

Many thanks to Campfire for the consideration – and here’s to a great festival!

I have learned that my historical drama “Shadows of Men” was a quarterfinalist in a prestigious, selective new play competition sponsored by Southwestern Theatre Productions of Austin, Texas.

“Shadows of Men” tells the story of novelist John Dos Passos and his obsessive search for a vanished friend during the chaos and tragedy surrounding the Spanish Civil War.

Many thanks to Southwest Theatre Productions for the nod!

Today, I receive my official award for being the full-length play winner of the inaugural Scribe Playwriting Competition.

My historical drama “Shadows of Men” won the Marsha A. Croyle Playwriting Award – announced August 13th, 2018.

Author David Kalish won this same award for his one-act play “The Opposite of Everything” – also congrats to him!!

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.

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!