Since I'm about halfway through the project, I guess I'm not tempting the gods too much if I make an official announcement.
In addition to my "nice" project, I've been working on something a little more theatrical.
I've been wanting to find a way to create the quintessential monologue show. All the shows have been incredible experiences for me, but I wanted to find a way to put together something that would really say--"This is what this is about."
Of course, once I set out to do that, I realized that defining the monologue shows would be the same thing as defining myself as a writer. This proved to be pretty difficult.
Then, during the sex show, when we almost had one hundred performers over the course of the run, I realized that was what I needed to create my Big Monologue Experience.
One hundred people doing a show about...well...people.
The biggest thrill I've gotten while doing these shows is getting to work with so many amazing people. Even though I've been in plays since third grade, I still get that feeling when I don't get cast in something or asked to participate.
It feels like a group of kids on the playground saying they don't want to play with me. So it's been awesome to create an experience where nobody has to feel that way. Everyone that wants to play can play.
Still, I hear the same things from people:
When are you going to write a full-length play?
What are these shows anyway?
When are you going to do something else?
In response to the last question, I usually say--"Bless your heart."
But I can understand why people are wondering what this is all leading up to. I was wondering myself until a few months ago.
Seeing how excited everyone was over having so many people involved in one project, I knew I could make it happen--so here it is.
One Hundred People.
Ten separate shows with different themes.
The following have already been written:
Naked People.
City People.
Famous People.
Straight People.
Short People
I'm nearly done with Rich People, and then I'll have four more shows to go, including Imaginary People and Dead People.
All the characters on any given night are strongly connected, but all one hundred characters have loose connections to each other.
To me, this is my version of a full-length that doesn't completely abandon the monologues, because honestly, I like writing them, and I'm not ready to be done with them yet.
Maybe after this project, I will be.
Once the tenth show is completed, I'll start looking for opportunities to produce the shows either one after another, or in clusters. Hopefully I'll get to do some sort of marathon showing, because you know I love some epic theater.
This is really just a celebration of community and it's a thank you to everyone I've worked with so far. It's also in many ways a love letter to Rhode Island. All the pieces take place within the state. I just feel like it's time more people started to say, "Yeah, this is where I'm from, I'm proud of it, and it reflects in my work." I'm not going to write a play set in New York and search for Boston actors to perform it just to make myself look more metropolitan. I'm going to use what I got, because what I got is local talent, and it's pretty damn impressive.
I'm hoping to get one hundred different performers to participate in this, but since the pieces are pre-written, I'm going to come looking for you, so don't worry about letting me know that you're interested in participating. I'm sure by the time I'm done, I'm going to have worked with everybody that wants to take part.
I'm hoping that in addition to performing with a large group of people, I want to perform these pieces at different locations across the state. I think each of the shows offers something different for everyone. The monologues featuring Gabriel the janitor have gotten a great response, and people already seem to be excited about the prospect of a show dealing with nudity.
All that excitement is exactly what I was hoping for, and it really helps me to continue with the writing and start thinking about putting these shows up.
I hope once it's all on the page, you'll want to help me bring them to the stage.
In addition to my "nice" project, I've been working on something a little more theatrical.
I've been wanting to find a way to create the quintessential monologue show. All the shows have been incredible experiences for me, but I wanted to find a way to put together something that would really say--"This is what this is about."
Of course, once I set out to do that, I realized that defining the monologue shows would be the same thing as defining myself as a writer. This proved to be pretty difficult.
Then, during the sex show, when we almost had one hundred performers over the course of the run, I realized that was what I needed to create my Big Monologue Experience.
One hundred people doing a show about...well...people.
The biggest thrill I've gotten while doing these shows is getting to work with so many amazing people. Even though I've been in plays since third grade, I still get that feeling when I don't get cast in something or asked to participate.
It feels like a group of kids on the playground saying they don't want to play with me. So it's been awesome to create an experience where nobody has to feel that way. Everyone that wants to play can play.
Still, I hear the same things from people:
When are you going to write a full-length play?
What are these shows anyway?
When are you going to do something else?
In response to the last question, I usually say--"Bless your heart."
But I can understand why people are wondering what this is all leading up to. I was wondering myself until a few months ago.
Seeing how excited everyone was over having so many people involved in one project, I knew I could make it happen--so here it is.
One Hundred People.
Ten separate shows with different themes.
The following have already been written:
Naked People.
City People.
Famous People.
Straight People.
Short People
I'm nearly done with Rich People, and then I'll have four more shows to go, including Imaginary People and Dead People.
All the characters on any given night are strongly connected, but all one hundred characters have loose connections to each other.
To me, this is my version of a full-length that doesn't completely abandon the monologues, because honestly, I like writing them, and I'm not ready to be done with them yet.
Maybe after this project, I will be.
Once the tenth show is completed, I'll start looking for opportunities to produce the shows either one after another, or in clusters. Hopefully I'll get to do some sort of marathon showing, because you know I love some epic theater.
This is really just a celebration of community and it's a thank you to everyone I've worked with so far. It's also in many ways a love letter to Rhode Island. All the pieces take place within the state. I just feel like it's time more people started to say, "Yeah, this is where I'm from, I'm proud of it, and it reflects in my work." I'm not going to write a play set in New York and search for Boston actors to perform it just to make myself look more metropolitan. I'm going to use what I got, because what I got is local talent, and it's pretty damn impressive.
I'm hoping to get one hundred different performers to participate in this, but since the pieces are pre-written, I'm going to come looking for you, so don't worry about letting me know that you're interested in participating. I'm sure by the time I'm done, I'm going to have worked with everybody that wants to take part.
I'm hoping that in addition to performing with a large group of people, I want to perform these pieces at different locations across the state. I think each of the shows offers something different for everyone. The monologues featuring Gabriel the janitor have gotten a great response, and people already seem to be excited about the prospect of a show dealing with nudity.
All that excitement is exactly what I was hoping for, and it really helps me to continue with the writing and start thinking about putting these shows up.
I hope once it's all on the page, you'll want to help me bring them to the stage.
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