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Showing posts from January, 2009

Excerpt: "Longing for Nostalgia"

Longing for Nostalgia By Marilyn Anne Campbell At RISE A large rectangular wooden box sits center stage with two plain chairs, one on either side. Upstage a few cardboard boxes have been stacked - the kind you would use to pack childhood keepsakes in your parents' basement. They are variously labeled "Brian", "Tasha" and "Corey". Standing downstage, TASHA and BRIAN don't acknowledge the presence of each other or of COREY, who is seated on the box behind them. TASHA: ( to audience ) If someone was ever like, 'what was your defining moment', you know, or 'what shaped you for the rest of your life?', I've always known what my answer would be. BRIAN: ( to audience )My sister gets melodramatic. TASHA: ( to audience ) Or at least I used to know. Until now. BRIAN: ( to audience ) I can’t remember if she was that way as a child or if it was a case of, once she had the material she decided to run with it. Chicken or the eg

Longing for Nostalgia

Stage play: Stylized comedy, one act (21 pages), 2M/1W When Brian and Tasha learn their brother Corey has been killed, they awkwardly reminisce about a past they remember differently. Corey meanwhile insists he isn't dead, but nobody seems to be listening. Longing for Nostalgia slips between past and present, forcing Corey to take on all the other roles from the siblings' past as they try to sort through the major events of their lives. Status:  Available for premiere production Read an  excerpt online now ;  contact the playwright  to obtain a full reading copy Members of the  New Play Exchange may download a full copy

Inheriting James

by Marilyn Anne Campbell Stageplay: Drama, flexible one- or two-act (69 pages), 3M/3W After a car accident took the life of her father and left her best friend James in a waking coma, Shannon left her hometown and shut herself away behind a daily grind. Now James' mother has passed away leaving a pop culture obsessed church minister and a local pariah to champion the plan to have Shannon return and take charge of James' care. As Shannon struggles with the request, the ghost of her father and the still-active consciousness of James work to make their presences known. Inheriting James has been through several drafts and a private staged reading (thanks again to all participants!). The script is under no obligations and is available for first production.

False Fire

Adapted from William Shakespeare's Hamlet Screenplay: Feature-length, Crim e/Noir/Shakespearean Having his father killed was the easy part. Now to take over as Chief of Police Hamlet King has to frame his uncle, fool his mother and exploit the press, all while ditching a love-struck one-night stand. But has his corruption gone too far for some of his once loyal gang? All of the dialogue in False Fire comes directly from Shakespeare's original work, but changing the context has changed the meaning of even the most well-known speeches. The result is an exciting crime drama that holds an extra thrill for anyone who's read or seen Hamlet.

Full Stage Script: "All the Light-Hearted Souls"

"All the Light-Hearted Souls" was produced by Calgary's 8-0-8 Productions in November 2005 as part of their collaborative stage show "nigh". Six scenes by six different writers told individual stories of encounters with The Man, the gatekeeper between life and death. "All the Light-Hearted Souls" was directed by Meg Wilkie and starred Ted Lach as Alex, with Jed Tomlinson as The Man. This scene opened the show. All the Light-Hearted Souls By Marilyn Anne Campbell At RISE The MAN waits. Mid-40s ALEX ambles in from off stage. Dressed in dusty work clothes and a ball cap, ALEX peers around, casually checking out the sparse surroundings. MAN: Were you looking for something more? ALEX finally looks to the MAN ALEX: Uh, hey. ( ALEX pulls off his cap awkwardly, not sure if this is a formal affair. ) I guess I was expecting fancier. But you know, I like this. It’s simple. ( He tucks the cap in the back of his pants. ) I wish they still buried pe