Comedy/ 9 Characters, 5 Men, 4 Women (with doubling)/ Full Length, Two Acts
Synopsis: (from the Detroit MetroTimes): “Charlie James is sentenced to death for killing a cop. To him, life is a joke and death is a joke. Maybe that’s why this play has been labeled a dark comedy. But comedy isn’t its real purpose; it’s just what’s on the surface . . . .
“Humor is how Charlie deals with a life gone bad, and it’s how he deals with the many people around him who all of a sudden want something from a dead man walking. And what could they possibly want from a man who apparently has nothing? His body, of course. Christner utilizes This Blood’s For You as a tool to not only deal with the ethical implications involved with capital punishment, but with organ donation as well, and the interaction of the two.”
“Playwright David Christner uses the rich material of organ harvesting as a marvelous monkey wrench in This Blood’s For You, a powerful and thought evoking commentary on capital punishment. This intriguing vehicle . . . will make you laugh, and it will make you think. Dark comedy at its best.” – Key West Citizen
“[Charlie’s] quick-witted dialogue sounds as if Noel Coward was an American career criminal with 10 days left to live . . . . Everybody gets something in This Blood’s For You, and you will too. But like the characters in the play, it might not be what you expected. Check it out.”
– Detroit MetroTimes“Go and you’ll laugh after almost every line. Playwright David W. Christner has put together an upbeat play with a strong central character.”
– Room Magazine (Windsor, Ont.)
Amateur and professional rights:
David W. Christner
585 Indian Corner Road
Saunderstown, RI 02874-2120
E-mail: playwright43@gmail.com
About the Playwright: David W. Christner was born in Sweetwater, Tennessee and raised in a small farming community in southwestern Oklahoma. He received a BA and an MA from the University of Oklahoma. Two plays of his Vietnam Trilogy — The Wall and Bui-Doi: The Dust of Live — have been recognized in national playwriting competitions, and The Walk, Red Hot Mamas, The Babe, The Bard, and the Baron, The Bitch of Baily’s Beach, Ezra and Evil, and This Blood’s For You have also been finalists or winners in national/international playwriting competitions. His plays have been produced throughout the United States, as well as in Canada and Australia. Mr. Christner is a member of the Dramatists Guild, Inc., the Theatre Communications Group, and is published by The Dramatic Publishing Company.
This Blood’s For You was first produced at the Key West Theatre Festival, Key West, Florida in October 1997.