Win a Free Copy of "Collected Obsessions"

I have a special fondness for people who go through life battling or embracing their obsessions.  (I might be one of them myself...)   Earlier this year, Heuer and Brooklyn published an anthology, Collected Obsessions, of eight of my short plays, each of which focus on lovable lunatics whose fixations include numbers, the rapture, a co-worker, lovers, spiders, silence, an extinct bird, and the act of writing.  Whether their paths end in laughter or tears, the characters in these plays pursue their desires with singular focus and intensity.

This is a particularly good collection for advanced high school and college groups--it has a flexible cast size (4-20), with a bunch of challenging, fun roles. 

I'd love to get more students to take a look at these plays, so I'm giving away copies of the script to the first and second students who leave comments on this post and who e-mail me their contact info.  Be sure to tell us the name of your school and drama group and the title of either a recent or upcoming production.

The titles of the plays are:  Insomnia, Crowded Heart, The Sky is Falling, Quiet, Den of Iniquity, The Invisible Husband, Confirmed Sighting, and Measuring Matthew.  All have been produced professionally in Boston and/or New York, and there's even been a film made of Measuring Matthew (currently making the festival rounds).  The scripts get used individually by hundreds of students every year in competition and performance, but now there's a chance for all of them to be on the stage together, at once.  And that would be really cool.  If you're at a school that's done a production of Collected Obsessions, I hope you'll contact me and let me know.

first look at Moving (a life in boxes) cover

My novel, Moving (A life in boxes), is set to come out as an ebook in about three weeks, but I've got the cover now.  I'm super excited about it--it's just what I had in mind.  Much thanks go out to Keary Taylor of IndieCoverDesigns.com for all her hard work and patience, and to Katie Walt for her photography.  One of the best things (and also most challenging) about self-publishing is that the cover is really up to me.  In this case, I had a very specific image in my head, and thanks to Keary and Katie, I was able to get it.

Look What Came in the Mail

Yes, the Boston Theater Marathon XIII anthology is finally out, publishing the 50 ten-minute plays that were part of the Marathon in 2011, including my play, Escape to Wonderland.  As pretty much the whole world knows by now, I love the Boston Theater Marathon--I love its energy and vibrancy, and how it lets me see a big swath of Boston theatre all in a single day.

Since I like it so much, Kate actually asked me to write the foreword for this printed edition.  Yep, take a look.

I was honored to be asked (I've never written the foreword for a book before).  The anthology is published by Smith & Kraus, and you can buy a copy on Amazon, or order it from your local bookseller.

I'm a New Voices Fellow!

In some super good news, I recently found out that I've been selected to be a fellow in the New Voices @ New Rep program with the New Repertory Theatre in Watertown, MA.  From now until June, the other fellows (Peter Floyd, Deirdre Girard, and Alexa Mavromatis) and I will meet with the staff of New Rep and various actors, directors, and designers as we work on new plays.  The program will culminate in public readings of four full-length plays by the fellows in May of 2013.

For me, this is a chance to get to know some writers who are new to me, as well as continue a long-time collaboration with fellow Rhombus playwright, Alexa Mavromatis.  And this is a huge opportunity to get to know the folks at New Rep.

Theatrical Thanksgiving

'Tis the season that leads to looking back at the year and expressing thanks.  I am always grateful to my family, especially my wife, Tracy, who continue to support me in my creative endeavors year after year.

My playwright and actor pals at Rhombus continue to ease my playwriting life forward, as we enter our 10th year working together in Boston.  Working with them is part of what makes playwriting fun and worthwhile.

On a broader scale, I want to say how grateful I am for the recent upwelling of support for new plays and new play development in the Boston area.  This year, I've personally benefited from the incredible generosity of the Huntington Theatre Company for the Summer Play Lab workshop of my play, Flight (with a big shout out to Lisa, Charles, and Bevin, who have been supporting my work for years), and from the reading, workshop and upcoming production of Fire on Earth from the young and energetic Fresh Ink Theatre, and most recently to New Rep for including me in their New Voices program to develop my play, Distant Neighbors.  And my thanks go to Kate Snodgrass and Boston Playwrights Theatre for continuing to produce the Boston Theatre Marathon (this was my ninth year in it).  And to Dominic D'Andrea for the One-Minute Play Festival which is coming back to Boston for its second year in January. 

There are reading and development programs popping up all over the place in Boston these days.  Boston playwrights can express their gratitude to Argos Production, Boston Actors Theater, CentaStage, Central Square Theater, Company One, Interim Writers, Mill 6 (I love the T plays!), Playwrights' Commons, Vagabond Theatre Group.  I'm missing some, I know (my apologies, in advance).  And now we've got the Center for the Theater Commons and HowlRound and David Dower and Polly Carl setting up shop in Boston.  And the constant presence of StageSource, helping pull the whole scene together.  And the Small Theatre Alliance of Boston linking together the fringe theatres.

We're living in the midst of an overflowing theatrical cornucopia here in Boston these days.  Thanks to everyone in our community who works so hard to make it happen.

One-Minute Play Festival Coming Back to Boston

The One-Minute Play Festival is returning to Boston for its second year.  From January 5-7, this festival, curated by Dominic D'Andrea, will present 70 one-minute plays by 35 Boston writers at the Boston Playwrights Theatre.  I will have two short plays on the bill this year, A Little Fresh Air and Harvesting Fall Tomatoes (contemplating the approaching death of my father).

I was part of this festival last year, too, and it was really a fun evening.  This collection of ultra-short plays provides a quick snapshot into the collective unconscious of a good chunk of Boston's very talented playwriting scene.  This year's playwrights include Barbara Blumenthal-Ehrlich, Elisabeth Burdick, Bill Doncaster, Stephen Faria, Peter Floyd, Patrick Gabridge (that's me), Deirdre Girard, Kirsten Greenidge, Israel Horovitz, Colleen Hughes, Dan Hunter, Emily Lazzaro, Christopher Lockheardt, Alexa Mavromatis, Walt McGough, James McLindon, Jack Neary, Rick Park, Rosanna Alfaro Yamagiwa, Ken Urban, Mwalim *7, Natalia Naman, Thom Dunn, Grant MacDermott, Elenor Burgess, David Valdes Greenwood, Liz Duffy Adams, Tyler Monroe, Nina Louise Morrison, Lindsay Soson, Noah Tobin, Jaclyn Villano, Lila Rose Kaplan, Ginger Lazarus, Joyce Van Dyke, Michael Bradford, Obehi Janice, Steven Bogart.

The plays are divided into seven "clumps," each directed by a different director.

I hope you'll come check it out.