Opening Night for "The Craft"

Tonight is (or I should say was in Australia at this point) the opening night for my short play "The Craft" at the Woy Woy Little Theatre on Australia's Central Coast, as part of their season of one act plays. I just want wish everyone involved in all three of the plays every success for the length of the run and I hope "The Craft" gets plenty of laughs.

I also wanted to share this terrific graphic they've made for the show.

Break a leg, all!

I also heard word from the director of the recent New York reading of the play with Playhouse Creatures Theatre Company that it was a big hit with the audience, who "laughed their ***** off", according to reports. What more could I ask for?

"The Craft" in New York and Oz

Image courtesy of Apple's Eyes Studio / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

I'm very pleased to have my short play "The Craft" receive an upcoming staged reading in New York by the Playhouse Creatures Theatre Company as part of their Spring New Play Reading series. The reading will take place on Monday, April 22nd at the West Chelsea Arts Building, 508 W. 26th St, 12th floor.

This play is rapidly turning into one of my most popular one-acts, and I have a pretty good understanding of why that might be. Aside from the fact that it includes some fairly wicked humor/humour (and I say that in all modesty), I wrote it specifically as something that I thought actors would enjoy performing. As a former actor myself, I had plenty of insight into backstage/off stage/on stage drama, and of the many trials and tribulations that actors must often endure. Yes, there's plenty of sweat equity among those lines.

Above all, though, it's a strange sort of paean to theatre itself, so anyone who's been involved in this most treasured of art forms - whether on stage, back stage, or as an audience member - will undoubtedly recognize and smile knowingly at much of what transpires in this brief little play.

For the record, the play involves two actors performing a play in front of an audience. However, instead of the words of the play, what you hear coming from the actors are their innermost thoughts as they navigate the stage - thoughts about the play, thoughts about the audience, and most especially, thoughts about each other.

I'm also happy to say that "The Craft" has an upcoming production in Australia in May. Interestingly, this will be, I believe, the 3rd or 4th production of the play in Australia. For such a vast country, it appears that word of mouth travels fast there, since none of these productions are ones I've actively sought out. I even had a production of it in Tasmania, which is pretty amazing to me.

This upcoming Aussie production will be at the Woy Woy Little Theatre, on the Central Coast, NSW. This little theatre has been in existence since 1962, which is a pretty impressive feat in itself. I sincerely hope they great time performing the play.

"What's the Meta?" New Publishing Deal

You may remember a few months ago that I was happy to announce a new publication opportunity for my short play "What's the Meta?" in the upcoming tenth edition of the Bedford/St.Martin’s textbook The Bedford Introduction to Literature (which should be released any day now).

I can now report that the play will also be featured in two additional publications by Bedford/St.Martin’s: Literature to Go, 2/e (softcover and electronic formats), and The Compact Bedford Introduction to Literature, 10/e (softcover). The first book is scheduled to be released this summer, and the second at the beginning of 2014.

The play was first published by Smith & Kraus in the anthology 2009: The Best 10-Minute Plays for 2 or More Actors (Contemporary Playwrights Series).

I'm so pleased to see this play take on a life of its own. I wrote it as a little homage or love letter to art of making theatre, so it's very gratifying to see it receive such a warm reception from so many quarters.

Also, I'll be back soon with news on the upcoming release of my latest adaptation, "Cuthbert's Last Stand" (or "Suburban Redux," depending on which title I end up settling on). So stay tuned!

Great Review for Broken World Audiobook and a Book Cover Nom!

Well, here we are, almost two weeks into the New Year, and I'm finally making my first blog entry of 2013.

And I'm happy to report that the year's started with some very positive news. Firstly, the alarmingly talented narrator Wayne Farrell and I recently received a terrific review of the audiobook edition of my BrokenWorld short story collection. It was so good to see Wayne getting the kudos he deserves for his work, as he really is that good. And, of course, it was lovely to see that someone enjoyed and "got" those stories as much as the reviewer seemed to. All in all a very gratifying response to our efforts, and I'm very grateful to the Narrator Reviews blog site. 

I was also thrilled to find the cover for The End of theWorld has been nominated on a Pinterest page for Awesome Self-published Book Covers. The page was set up as an antidote to a very mean-spirited blog site that was ridiculing what it considered to be the worst self-published book covers out there (which I refuse to link to). Worse yet, the creator of the site is supposedly professional [sic] book cover designer, so the stunt was really a thinly-veiled attempt at generating business at the expense and hurt feelings of others. All in all, just very bad taste.

However, finding one of my own book covers on this lovely antithesis of the mean site was such a lovely compliment and completely made my day! Check out the Pinterest page to see all of the fantastic covers that I'm humbled to be in the company of.

(And in case you'd forgotten, The End of the World is also available as an audiobook :)

So far, 2013 is off to a good start. I hope it keeps going that way. As the bingo callers say, "Lucky for some, number 13!"

Merry Christmas!

Just a quick note to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas! I hope you have a lovely holiday break, no matter how you celebrate this most wonderful time of the year.

 

I'm also aware that this can be a very difficult time of the year for many people, so I wish comfort, strength and peace of mind to anyone in need of it.

O tidings of comfort and joy

"Broken World" Audio Edition Out Now!

Yes, that's right; the audio book edition of "BrokenWorld {Omnibus}" is now available for purchase at Audible.com, Amazon and iTunes. It is, of course, narrated by the confoundingly talented Wayne Farrell, who lent his vocal skills to the audio book version of "The End of the World" so brilliantly earlier this year.

So spread the word and grab a copy for yourself and all of your friends and family, your neighbors, vague acquaintances, complete strangers, and...well, just about anybody, really. In nationwide taste tests it's been proven to be the audio book most ears prefer listening to, so start hammering that "Buy now with 1-Click ®" button right away! And let's face it, what's better than a few well-chosen MP3s to pad out those Christmas stockings.

It's available for $6.95 on Audible.com, or you can pick it up on Amazon for the ridiculously generous discounted price of $6.08. And, of course, if you feel like trying a 30-day free trial membership of Audible, you can get a copy of "Broken World {Omnibus}" absolutely free!

But wait, there's more! (Actually, there isn't.)

Oh, and in case I haven't beaten you all over the head enough already with details on what this book is about, here's a refresher:

Broken World {Omnibus}: Three strange and darkly humorous dystopian tales of a world gone wrong...

"Cafe Grotesquerie"

In a broken world there exists a strange and sinister eating establishment unlike anything known or imagined - referred to in some quarters as Cafe Grotesquerie - where only the most discriminating and well-connected are privileged enough to enter its doors and devour its dark delicacies. Once inside, however, status still reigns supreme, and for one particular couple - Audrey and Aubrey - a hunger for power proves far more desirable than anything on the menu. But when confronted by a supercilious sommelier, the suspicious disappearance of their waiter, and civilization collapsing all around them, will they even be able to make it through dessert? Step inside and find out....

"Foreign Bodies"

Victoria and Max have just arrived at their hotel, La Guerre Sans Fin, ready to enjoy an exotic bargain-priced getaway in one of the less hospitable corners of the planet. Unfortunately for them, between what they perceive to be plagues of marauding insects and wildly erratic weather patterns, their holiday soon becomes a far more perilous enterprise than anticipated. When a group of local tribesmen appear on the scene, however, they at last begin to feel as though things are about to brighten up for them. And in this broken world of theirs, indeed they are....

"The Joneses"

Mr. and Mrs. Jones' zealous desire to be seen as doyens of the community lead them to undertake a misguided mission that rapidly spirals out of control. Their adoption of children from an impoverished part of the world was intended to bring them widespread admiration, but when their charges turn murderous everything starts to unravel. However, in spite of the grim realities that now confront them, they remain stalwart in their pursuit of a higher social standing. But is that really the smell of victory in the air...or did things just get a little too hot to handle?

Broken World Audio Edition

Yes, that's right! Broken World will soon become available in audiobook format. The three darkly humorous dystopian stories that make up Broken World will be narrated by the mind-bogglingly talented Wayne Farrell, who used his extraordinary talents to such great effect on the audio edition of The End of the World.

I've already heard a sample of what Wayne's been up to with this book, and I can tell you it's going to be a fantastic finished product.

So, with the holidays coming up, don't forget to put a few audiobooks of mine on your wish list, because nothing says "Christmas" more than dark, disturbing visions of a world in decay!

Ho, ho, ho!