Barnyard Theater’s summer production of ‘Pinky’ resulted in sold-out performances and an extension.
This March marks the three year anniversary of the premiere of ‘Pinky,’ and as it’s been a while since I posted anything on this blog, it seems like a good time to bring any fans of that play up to date on what’s become it, and its playwright (that would be me), over the last few years.
The short version: the debut of ‘Pinky,’ at Main Stage West, was followed later that year by another full run at 6th Street Playhouse in Santa Rosa. I then put my energies into other projects: an adaptation of ‘The Little Prince,’ which was a wonderful exercise for me, though ultimately disappointing as we were not able to get the American rights to do my version on stage. Someday, I hope it can happen, and till then, I am looking at other options.
Since then, I’ve written another one-man-show, titled ‘Polar Bears: A Story of Fatherhood, Death, and Santa Claus,’ which had a public reading in July 2014, and is scheduled for its world premiere in November of 2015, at Main Stage West. The script is complete, and we will likely begin production on it in October or so.
My original one-man-show, ‘Wretch Like Me,’ has had many, many performances over the last few years, and was completely re-written and then re-directed (by my ‘Pinky’ collaborator Sheri Lee Miller), and that’s the version that we took to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in August of 2014. That was an amazing experience, and you can read all about that, and more about that show, on my companion blog at http://www.wretchlikemeblog.com.
Team Wretch in Scotland, where ‘Wretch Like Me’ was performed 14 times at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.
While Team Wretch was in Scotland, ‘Pinky’ had another run (without myself or the other two original Pinkys), staged by Barnyard Theater, in Davis, California. Directed by Maddy Ryan, this version took a different approach, casting a troupe of teenage actors as all of the secondary roles, with Pinky and David stepping into actual conversation with their friends. The production was reportedly a huge success, with sold-out houses and an extension, so that’s extremely gratifying to hear.
It’s my intention to prepare ‘Pinky’ for more such performances in the future, and I also intend to submit the script for publication this year. That would be a big step in getting this story out into the world. At the moment, though I have no immediate plans to re-stage ‘Pinky’ with myself playing David, I am open to the possibility. Mainly, I just want to get the script out there for other companies to tackle, bringing their own vision to my semi-autobiographical tale.
Check back here for news about such performances, and my other playwriting activities. Your enthusiasm for ‘Pinky’ and my other plays is, as always, greatly appreciated. However you spend your new year, may you remember to take a tip from Pinky and David, and always follow your heart, because it often knows more than we do, even if it takes a while to figure things out.
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