Comedy/ Multiple characters, multiple casting possible/ Full Length, Two Acts
Synopsis (from offoffonline.com): “A satirical look at the present state of theatre and art in general. The hermaphrodite god Dionysus is displeased with the current state of drama, particularly in the Big Apple. After some brainstorming with her Maenads, Dionysus sends them to find a crazy playwright to write a new show for a dramatic competition. If it is deemed good, the playwright will enjoy great rewards (including an Apple Mac laptop). They find their champion in Harry Alton, a former playwright and currently a homeless schizophrenic who lost his livelihood by writing a play called Hang All the Hippies at High Noon.
“After the Maenads visit Harry and his fellow homeless lunatics in dreams, Harry goes about working on a new play for the competition. He meets a starry-eyed NYU drama student named Melissa, who suggests that they get someone to produce a reading of the work. Their plans are thwarted by Joanna Higginbotham, a member of the theatrical establishment whose ideals are the antithesis of Harry’s. Soon they are in the presence of the Whales, who are sent by Dionysus to judge the competition. But instead of a duel between the plays, the Whales call for Joanna and Harry to debate their viewpoints, with each trying to make a case for his or her goals and rules for today’s theater.”
“One of the funniest, strangest, and most cogent/penetrating plays ever written.”
– Boston Area Small Press and Poetry Scene“Strozier speaks for the outsider. He speaks for those that the establishment — be it the critic for the New York Times, the deputies from Actors Equity, the editors of the play publishing giant, Samuel French — conspires to keep from the public. He speaks for the playwrights relegated to the showcases and festivals in the hinterlands where, if there is an audience, it is an audience of friends, relatives and fellow disenfranchisees.”
– The Compulsive Reader
Contact information: Amateur and professional rights:
M. Stefan Strozier
303 Park Avenue South
Suite 1440
New York, NY 10010-3657
Email: mstefanstrozier@gmail.com
Playwright’s website: www.mstefanstrozier.org
About the Playwright: M. Stefan Strozier has been published in Gallery, War Heroes; the Taj Mahal Review; Entropic Desires (online); the op-ed pages of the Chicago Sun Times; in several poetry collections; and in a self-published collection of short stories, Sickness of the Young. His other plays include The Whales and The Tragedy of Abraham Lincoln, both produced by La Muse Venale Acting Troupe on New York City. He has also produced and directed numerous play off-off-Broadway, and is founder and president of the ezine Audience.
The Whales was first performed by La Muse Venale Acting Troupe at Where Eagles Dare Theatre, New York City, January, 2006.