Drama/ 5 Characters, 3 men, 2 women/ Full Length, Two Acts
Synopsis:
(From Theatremania.com): “Even death fails to reconcile a young man to his father’s sexuality in David Lohrey’s Jigsaw Confession. One of the four plays in Lohreys “Sex Talk(s)” series, this piece centers around a couple faced with the task of settling the husband’s father’s estate. They hope to find a manuscript in which the son believes his father has explained his determination many years earlier to leave the family to live with another man.”
Jigsaw Confession takes place in the attic of a university chancellor who has just died. Dennis, the Chancellor’s son, and Lisa, Dennis’ fiancée, have come in search of certain personal possessions the son wishes to keep for himself before the estate is passed into the hands of the university, which owns the property. Among other things, Dennis is looking for a long-lost manuscript, a once-promised novel that his father is said to have written. While searching for the novel, Lisa finds a cachet of personal letters, which she proceeds to read.
Meanwhile, the late-Chancellor’s male lover, Chris, shows up. Dennis and Chris now set about trying to make sense of the Chancellor’s life. The play moves across several years as the two men reminisce, but finally the conflict takes place as they grapple with their memories of this once-powerful man. When the manuscript is finally found, it shows that Dennis’ assumptions clash with the reality of who his father actually was. The play ends with the question of forgiveness left unresolved.
Amateur and professional rights:
David Lohrey
411 Walnut Street #7829
Green Cove Springs, Florida
USA 32043
E-mail: lohr_burgh@hotmail.com
About the Playwright: David Lohrey completed his undergraduate degree at UC, Berkeley. Later, he studied creative writing at San Francisco State University, UCLA, and California State University, Los Angeles where he completed his MA. David now teaches at the college level in New Jersey, and is Literary Manager at Theatre-Studio, Inc. in New York City.David’s plays have received productions and staged readings across the country, including Group Rep and FirstStage in Los Angeles, The Long Beach Playhouse, the Dayton Playhouse, the Turnip Company, ArtGroup, and TRU’s 2nd Annual NYC Play Festival.His work has received awards in competitions such as New Century Writers’ Competition, Riverside Stage Company’s Founder’s Award Competition, Harvest Festival of New Plays at the Sonoma County Rep, the 1998 Writers’ Digest Writing Competition, the 1999 Writer’s DigestWriting Competition, and the Generic Theater Company’s Dog Days Festival. For three years, David has been a voting member for TheatreLA’s annual Ovation Awards. He has been a member of the Dramatists Guild since 1982, and recently joined the Play Selection Committee at the Long Beach Playhouse.
Betterland was first produced by the Long Beach Playhouse, Long Beach, California in 1999.