Today is the 152nd anniversary of General Lee’s surrender to General Grant at Appomattox. Casualties during the Appomattox Campaign, March 25 – April 9, 1865 totaled nearly 39,000 men killed, wounded and captured. My latest play “Carpetbaggers” examines the ways in which we are still engaged in a Civil War in the United States. A signed surrender and disengagement in …
Wanda Sabir writes for the Oakland Post and the SF Bay View Newspaper, and has her own website dedicated to the arts and the African diaspora. She reviewed the Off Broadway West Production of “Without Mercy” and conducted an hour-long interview with me about the play. Listen now: Wanda writes, “It is quite moving, the conclusion both unexpected and …
I had the pleasure of speaking with Jovelyn Richards of KPFA, who interviewed Off Broadway West Artistic Director Richard Harder and me about “Without Mercy,” playing at the Phoenix Theater through March 25. Her show is called “Cover to Cover,” airing Wednesdays at 3:30 pm. Please have a listen!
I’m excited to participate in the 11th Annual International Women’s Work Festival in St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada next week. The festival will offer a reading of “Without Mercy,” with a twist: three women in the cast. I specifically wrote Sam Sibley as a gender-neutral character, and I’ll get to see the effect (if any) of casting a woman in the …
My family drama, “Without Mercy” will premiere at the Phoenix Theatre in San Francisco, February 24 – March 25, 2017. It is being presented by the award-winning Off Broadway West Theatre Company. Directed by Richard Harder Performed by Sylvia Kratins (Joanna), Niki Yapo-Held (Bethany), and Ian Walker (Sam), with David Skillman (Sam/alternate) Learning that her missing daughter has been murdered, …
I’m honored to be featured in the Dramatists Guild Magazine, “The Dramatist;” in the Jan/Feb 2017 issue. SF Bay Area Rep Suze Allen interviewed me, and the profile/article is the result. What a cool way to start the new year! Yes, it is odd to be featured in “The Florida Issue,” but I’ll just enjoy the irony of it all. …
For the fourth year, I’ll be participating in the Playwrights Foundation benefit event, FlashPlays! It’s a beloved community event, fundraiser, and theatrical mindf*ck. I’ll have three plays: “Moment of Silence,” “Pep Talk,” and “Bridge After Tunnel,” in the first cluster of ~one-minute microplays. I was inspired by Black Lives Matter and the Bay Bridge. Saturday, December 3rd at 8:00PM Sunday, …
Hearts of Palm (4w, 1m) follows the personal ethical crises that play out among a group of United States land negotiators intent on expanding a Southeast Asian palm oil plantation. Relaxed safety standards, nonexistent environmental regulations, and dirt-cheap labor – these are the qualities that attracted Empire Holdings to the island of Marititu. Idealistic Empire negotiator Vi Wells is faced …
Fall promises to be busy and productive. I will be an artist-in-residence at Arts, Letters + Numbers from September 1-15. That’s a wonderful residency in upstate New York, located outside Albany, in an old mill. I’ll be developing “Without Mercy” (working title), a play that looks at a family’s struggle over a decision regarding the murderer of a family member. …
The reception of the play has been gratifying. We’ve had sold-out houses most performances, with a warm audience response, and we’ve been extended a week. The blend of absurd humor and dark subject matter that make up the play is not an easy one to pull off – either in the writing or in the performance. My typical “lasagne-style” layered …