Shelia Callaghan's ROADKILL CONFIDENTIAL

Sheila Callaghan’s Roadkill Confidential is a charged collision of two, three, or maybe infinitely more, worlds. From the first twitchity moments on stage, we know these characters are not what they seem, and we suspect they are not even what they think they are. The cast brings a Romper Room excitement to the chase, and Kip Fagan’s meticulously clear direction is delicious to watch. But the real treat is jungle gym of language on which they play. It is at once pipe-strong and improvisational, propulsive and obtuse, irreverent and heroic. Like the wine tasting scene, Callaghan perfectly supports the layers of this spicy delight with balanced notes that provide a full bodied, mysterious, and intoxicating potion.

(Clubbed Thumb presents Roadkill Confidential at 3 Legged Dog Theatre downtown in the Liberty Zone.)

“

A dramatist is one who believes that the pure event - an action involving human beings - is more arresting than any comment that can be made upon it.

”

- Thornton Wilder

The Builders Association, JETLAG, and NJ Transit

NJ Transit is providing a civic service to the surrounding community by shuttling patrons to Montclair State University for performances of The Builders Association’s re-mounting of JETLAG. This meditative work immerses you in the journey of journeying - in why and how we travel - and asks what each step costs us as we move further from (or closer to) ourselves. Artistic Director Marianne Weems and the creative team of Diller Scofidio + Renfro craft a thoughtful and richly funny event; Weems' expansive storytelling is a master class for theatre artists. And NJ Transit gives frame to this play by allowing it to be an event in and of itself. Watch the moonlit towns and cross-tracks roll underneath your window and you’ll be saying the lines you just heard from the characters a short while before. Maybe the performance isn’t ended.

(Builders Association and Peak Performances presents JETLAG at MSU. Take the NJ Transit Montclair / Boontown line and hop off at Montclair Heights.)

Dramatists Guild Fellows Showcase

This evening I stopped by the annual Dramatists Guild Fellows Showcase held at Playwrights Horizons on 42nd Street. I was supporting my fellow CMU writers Edgar Mendoza and Chris Dimond and Michael Kooman, and in the process I saw about twelve other CMU alums. It was great to see the school representing so strongly, and supporting each others work.

And the readings were vibrant and engaging. Notably the very funny DG Fellows Katie Baldwin-Eng and Larry Pontius. Cheers to Ms. Lepcio and the team at the Guild for putting on such a top notch event. (And thanks for the snacks afterwards.)

New Dramatists Pt. 1: The Letter that I Didn't Send...

So there's this annual playwriting ritual called "applying for membership with New Dramatists", and it's always hopeful and heartbreaking. Kind of like suit pants for dogs.

Every year we put on our Sunday Best and submit our two finest plays (two copies each, three-hole punched and bound, but not permanently bound - i.e. published versions or Kinkos spiral binding). And we write our Personal Statements outlining why we think we deserve this accolade. I always secretly hope that my statement will be The Best Single Page I've Ever Written, and it will instantly alert the selection committee to my genius. But, I mean, of course, they already know that from the plays, so...

This year I thought I'd mix it up a bit. I wrote the personal statement that I always wanted to write, but of course could never really send.