Community Theater Green Room Discussion Board: new comedy for community theatres

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   Hello everyone--
I was wondering if y'all (I'm in Texas) could help me. 

I've been noticing that a lot of us are hunting for that perfect comedy out there, and there don't seem to be a lot of things written in the last fifteen years or so that work for a broad audience. 

Anyway, I'm a professional playwright in addition to being a high-school and middle-school theater teacher, and I set about trying to create a funny, modern play in the style of Neil Simon, but not slavishly devoted to Neil Simon. (Just so you don't think I'm a hack--I've published 18 plays, won a couple of awards, blah blah blah--last year I had productions at community theaters in Washington, Montana, Ohio, Florida, Mass., the Virgin Islands, Canada, England and Germany--but all the shows I had produced were really intended for schools and the CTs just picked them up.)

So I wrote this play, "An Unintended Christmas" (that's a working title, I'm trying to think of something else) , here's my blurb:

An Unintended Christmas

5F 3M

In the winter of 1986, thirteen-year old Louis vows to kiss the love of his life, the quirky theatre queen Carolyn, before Christmas. Standing in his way are the forces of puberty, his big-haired vitriolic older sister, his anal retentive mother and his eternally amused father.  The surprise arrival of both grandmothers, each crazy in their own way, throws the family into turmoil and cracks Louis’ world wide open. 

I would love it if a few people on the list would consent to read over the play and comment on its suitablity for community theatres. Maybe you could even post them on this thread. 

And ideally, maybe there is someone out there who would like to do a world premiere? 

Let me know and I'll email you the play.

Thanks!

Don Zolidis

Author	Message
donzolidis Celebrity Joined: 5/15/07 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 156	Topic: new comedy for community theatres Posted: 8/15/07 at 12:00pm
	Hello everyone-- I was wondering if y'all (I'm in Texas) could help me. I've been noticing that a lot of us are hunting for that perfect comedy out there, and there don't seem to be a lot of things written in the last fifteen years or so that work for a broad audience. Anyway, I'm a professional playwright in addition to being a high-school and middle-school theater teacher, and I set about trying to create a funny, modern play in the style of Neil Simon, but not slavishly devoted to Neil Simon. (Just so you don't think I'm a hack--I've published 18 plays, won a couple of awards, blah blah blah--last year I had productions at community theaters in Washington, Montana, Ohio, Florida, Mass., the Virgin Islands, Canada, England and Germany--but all the shows I had produced were really intended for schools and the CTs just picked them up.) So I wrote this play, "An Unintended Christmas" (that's a working title, I'm trying to think of something else) , here's my blurb: An Unintended Christmas 5F 3M In the winter of 1986, thirteen-year old Louis vows to kiss the love of his life, the quirky theatre queen Carolyn, before Christmas. Standing in his way are the forces of puberty, his big-haired vitriolic older sister, his anal retentive mother and his eternally amused father. The surprise arrival of both grandmothers, each crazy in their own way, throws the family into turmoil and cracks Louis’ world wide open. I would love it if a few people on the list would consent to read over the play and comment on its suitablity for community theatres. Maybe you could even post them on this thread. And ideally, maybe there is someone out there who would like to do a world premiere? Let me know and I'll email you the play. Thanks! Don Zolidis
	www.donzolidis.com

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tristanrobin Celebrity Joined: 4/25/05 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 704	Posted: 8/15/07 at 6:55pm
	ooh - I love reading new plays!
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Jim_L Lead Joined: 6/09/06 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 34	Posted: 8/16/07 at 8:56am
	Good luck with that! I can't seem to give away my musical even after it's first production! ;>) -Jim
	http://home.comcast.net/~castle.walls/tavern/
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EddyZ Star Joined: 8/21/06 Online Status: Offline Posts: 60	Posted: 8/19/07 at 12:00am
	I'd love to read it, too.
	EddyZ http://webpages.atlanticbb.net/~ezahurak/ www.nailsouptheatre.com/
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eveharrington Celebrity Joined: 8/28/06 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 198	Posted: 8/19/07 at 1:50am
	I would also like to read it.
	"If nothing else, there's applause... like waves of love pouring over the footlights."
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donzolidis Celebrity Joined: 5/15/07 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 156	Posted: 8/19/07 at 2:20pm
	Great! Drop me an email at donzolidis@yahoo.com and I'll email you a copy of the script. Hope you like it!
	www.donzolidis.com
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eveharrington Celebrity Joined: 8/28/06 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 198	Posted: 8/21/07 at 1:18am
	Ok, I sent my e-mail address somewhere, I hope it was to you.
	"If nothing else, there's applause... like waves of love pouring over the footlights."
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eveharrington Celebrity Joined: 8/28/06 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 198	Posted: 8/22/07 at 3:36am
	Ok, I read it straight thru as soon as I received it. I thought it was wonderful, I was expecting a Christmas play, but I think it would do just as well in the summer. The characters were quite charming and the dialogue was very real. I've had that exact argument with my husband about where the dishes go. The only problem I saw, as it relates to community theater, is that it would require a strong, adolescent male actor for young Louis which can be hard to come by, but the use of older Louis as narrator takes much of the heavier dialogue off of young Louis' shoulders. In short, Bravo!
	"If nothing else, there's applause... like waves of love pouring over the footlights."
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donzolidis Celebrity Joined: 5/15/07 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 156	Posted: 8/22/07 at 5:30pm
	Thanks for the comments! (Yeah, it's more of an all-year play than a Christmas play, I need a new title.) When we did Lost in Yonkers, we used a 17-year old to play Artie (or Jay) I forget which is the younger one, but he's supposed to be 12, I think. It worked just fine. We've used teenage actors in Brighton Beach Memoirs as well, so I think the best way to do it would be to use an high school age, stronger actor to play "younger" as a 13-year old. Anyone else want to take a look?
	www.donzolidis.com
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mommathes Walk-On Joined: 12/15/06 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 0	Posted: 8/22/07 at 10:58pm
	I would love to read your script. Our group has actually been looking for something that would feature a good role for a 13 year old boy.
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