An excerpt from my play The Amphibians was recently published in Smith & Kraus' Best Women's Stage Monologues, 2021 anthology! You can pick up a copy through the S&K website, on Amazon, at the New York Drama Book Shop, or wherever plays are sold. Thanks to Smith & Kraus for including me in another anthology, and an extra-big thanks to playwright Debbie Lamedman for selecting my work!
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I'm happy to announce that I was a Semi-Finalist for The Civilians' 2021–2022 R&D Group!
The R&D Group specifically supports new works of investigative theatre—narratives that are written using interviews, community engagement, research, or some other method of inquiry. In my case, I applied with a new play I'm working on about vampirism and family. The project is still very much in its early stages, so I'll hopefully have more to share about it soon. You can check out the other Semi-Finalists, Finalists, and group members over at the company's online journal, Extended Play. Big thanks to The Civilians for the recognition and considering my work! Last weekend, I had the pleasure of hearing my play The Amphibians out loud, courtesy of the wonderful folks over at JOOK in Memphis as part of their First Look series. The actors were wonderful, and I got some great insight on how today's teenagers are educated about climate change, and what that might look like in the future. You can also head over to JOOK's Instagram for an interview with me about new work, climate change, horror movies (naturally!), and more.
Thanks to JOOK and all of the other companies who have helped me to continue to develop this play. I'm hoping we get to see it fully produced in the near future! The B. Iden Payne Awards—which recognize outstanding theatrical performance, production, and design in Austin, Texas—took place this past Monday, and Jarrott Productions' world premiere of my play The Frog Prince nabbed four wins out of our 11 nominations!
Outstanding Production of Digital Theatre (Audio) Outstanding Direction of Digital Theatre (Audio) – David R. Jarrott Outstanding Lead Performance In Digital Theatre (Audio) – Jacqui Calloway Outstanding Featured Performance In Digital Theatre (Audio) – Karen Jambon Congrats to all, and big thanks to the B. Iden Payne Awards Council. I'm hoping this isn't the last we've seen of our little show, so keep your eyes peeled for more Frog Prince news! Tonight, my short horror play "Duckass" goes up at Webster University, as part of the Conservatory's 2021/2022 ET Season!
It's a script that's near and dear to my heart, as it pays homage to the EC Comics from the '40s and '50s. And seeing as it's the first production of the play, I really wish I could be there to see it. In the meantime, check out the nifty graphic created by director Erik Peterson below. There might be some more cool "Duckass' news on the horizon, so stay tuned! A couple of months ago, I was selected for The Workshop Theater's Fall Intensive here in New York, where I've been developing my new play Kaiju!
It's my first writer's group I've ever been a part of, and the Workshop staff—along with a small group of incredibly kind and talented playwrights—have helped me bring out the best in the script; elements that I wasn't fully sure were even there. The Workshop Theater is specifically focused on new-play development, and I recommend that every playwright check them out. They've got a wide range of programs, from writer's groups to labs and readings. Thanks to The Workshop Theater for supporting my work, and stay tuned for more Kaiju news soon! Jarrott Productions' audio production of my play The Frog Prince has been nominated for a whopping (hopping??) 11 B. Iden Payne Awards!
Outstanding Audio Production Outstanding Direction – David R. Jarrott Outstanding Lead Performer – Jacqui Calloway Outstanding Lead Performer – Toby Minor Outstanding Featured Performer – Janelle Buchanan Outstanding Featured Performer – Karen Jambon Outstanding Featured Performer – Beau Paul Outstanding Featured Performer – Rupert Reyes Outstanding Small Cast Outstanding Original Score – Dave Cooper & The One-Man Frog Band Outstanding Sound Design – Craig Brock For the uninitiated, the B. Iden Payne Awards Council recognizes outstanding theatrical performance, production, and design in Austin, Texas. If you're on the council and need to submit your votes, you can listen to the play FOR FREE for a limited time via Jarrott's website. Or if you just want to listen for your own personal enjoyment, that's great, too! Big thanks to the council for recognizing our work, and big thanks to Jarrott Production for doing such beautiful work with my play! We're a little over halfway through Frogust, and my adaptation of The Frog Prince has gotten some really nice press!
The Austin Chronicle calls it "one fine-ass studio production" that's an "acerbically modern and politically savvy take on a classic fairytale." Louise Penn of LouReviews over in London praised the script for "ooz[ing] suggestive puns, as well as addressing the quite troubling premise that an animal that once was human might take advantage of its size and vulnerability to cross a behavioural barrier." "The Frog Prince looks at the fanaticism of fairytales," she continues. "If you are familiar with the collections assembled by Angela Carter, you will know that these myths and tales are often given a sexual or erotic tinge, and such is true of this audio play, as it addresses some difficult topics in an amusing and immersive way, with a touch of music as it goes." Finally, director David Jarrott and I had two really fun Austin radio interviews over at KUT and KOOP-FM. Big thanks to Michael Lee, Lisa Scheps, and Nicole Shiro for talking with us! Check out all of our press so far (and any future reviews we get) over at Jarrott Productions. And be sure to get your tickets before Frogust ends and the show croaks for good! Jarrott Productions' world-premiere audio production of my play The Frog Prince is now available to stream!
I'm truly blown away by what the team did with my little show. Tickets are $10 per household through August (Frogust) 31st. You can get them here. It's meant so much to be able to work on an actual play during the pandemic, and I would love for you to check it out. So hop on over! In one of my final playwriting workshops at UT Austin, we were tasked to complete just the first page of 10 different scripts that we had always wanted to write, but had never gotten around to starting. For one of my plays, I chose a dark and subversive version of "The Frog Prince," one of my favorite fairytales from childhood.
As school ended and the pandemic raged on, one of my colleagues Minghao Tu and I challenged each other to actually complete one of the scripts we had begun in that workshop. A few months later, we both had complete drafts, and a few months after that, I was lucky to get some interest in The Frog Prince from one of my favorite Austin theatre companies, Jarrott Productions. They'll be releasing a world-premiere audio version of my script on August 1st (or as we like to call it, Frogust 1st), and if you're in Austin, you can even attend a live (outside) listening party at the beloved Butterfly Bar at The Vortex. Tickets are free if you RSVP, which you can do right here. Check out Jarrott Productions' website for more info, including our incredible cast, crew, and design team. Despite not being a physical production, there are so many cool features, from the comprehensive sound design to an original score and evocative caricatures of each character. Endless thanks to David Jarrott, Will Douglas, and the rest of the gang for giving me an actual show during a time when those opportunities are very few and far between. We're so excited to unveil this to the world! |
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