Handwritten Theatre

Handwritten Theatre returns with, if not a constant flow, at least a spurt of new plays. Sometimes we look for secrets, sometimes the secrets find us. And that can happen anywhere, even in a suburban drive-way. Handwritten Theatre Nineteen: "Leo speeds up when he sees a yard sale." Performed by Marsha Clark Running Time: 18:48 All Audiences (But it is about grown-up behavior) The book of photographs discovered by the character was inspired by an actual collection of snapshots uncovered at a flea market by Michel Hurst and Robert Swope who published a selection of their discoveries under the title Casa Susanna This remarkable book is available at Amazon.com. In Other News: Handwritten Theatre Live! An evening of Handwritten Theatre was presented recently in Fremont, Nebraska by The Fremont Community Players under the direction of Will Mitchell (Cyberjazzdaddy.blogspot.com) and featuring Bill Bishop, Jodie Bishop, Daniel Christensen, Ed Cutler, Laura England, Teresa Giesselmann, Haley Halverson, Madeline MacDonald, Kim Mitchell, Will Mitchell, and Cheryl Warren If your theatre company or drama department is interested in producing a program of Handwritten Theatre, send an email to the rambling campus of The Handwritten Theatre World Headquarters and Corporate Retreat Facility at: GhostWords@mac.com

Ah, summer. Travel. Adventure. Romance. Inexplicable narratives from the man in the window seat. Yes, he's back. Enjoy your complimentary cocktail and warm nuts. Handwritten Theatre Twenty: "This is how the story was told to me." (v. 3.0) Performed by Paul Jacek Running time: 9:26 All Audiences If your theatre company or drama department is interested in producing a program of Handwritten Theatre, send an email to the rambling campus of The Handwritten Theatre World Headquarters and Corporate Retreat Facility at: GhostWords@mac.com Remembering James M. Cain on his birthday. "I drove out to Glendale to put three new truck drivers on a brewery company bond, and then I remembered this renewal over in Hollywoodland. I decided to run over there. That was how I came to this House of Death, that you've been reading about in the papers. It didn't look like a House of Death when I saw it." -Double Indemnity

Arrange all materials within reach. Make yourself comfortable. Begin. Handwritten Theatre Twenty-Two: "Read all instructions first." Performed by Michael Rayner Running time: 7:05 All Audiences Story Salon invites storytellers around the globe to fill the world with stories on Saturday, October 20th, 2007: Story Salon Saturday Pick a time on that special Saturday to tell a story...to friends, to strangers, in a coffeehouse or your living room. Then send an email to storysalon@gmail.com and let us know what, where, and when you're going to be joining storytellers around the world. Listen to Story Salon's series of special podcasts to be posted throughout the day starting at 12:01 A.M. Saturday, October 20th (GMT) during which we'll give a shout-out to every individual participant in the event. www.StorySalon.com If your theatre company or drama department is interested in producing a program of Handwritten Theatre, send an email to the rambling campus of The Handwritten Theatre World Headquarters and Corporate Retreat Facility at: GhostWords@mac.com

The women you meet in bars always tell the most interesting stories. Sip that third martini and listen to the song of the cocktail sirens. Handwritten Theatre Twenty-One: "This was before I knew her." Performed by Moira Quirk and Marsha Clark Running Time: 23:27 Mature Audiences (Contains several common vulgarities) Handwritten Theatre on stage Bill and Jody Bishop and Cheryl Warren performing "Note the relationship between the two seated figures in the booth" as produced by The Fremont Community Players in Fremont, Nebraska. If your theatre company or drama department is interested in producing a program of Handwritten Theatre, send an email to the rambling campus of The Handwritten Theatre World Headquarters and Corporate Retreat Facility at: GhostWords@mac.com Birthday Wishes to Ray Bradbury August 22nd "I have come up with a new simile to describe myself lately. It can be yours. Every morning I jump out of bed and step on a landmine. The landmine is me. After the explosion, I spend the rest of the day putting the pieces together. Now, it's your turn. Jump!"

The light is flashing on your answering machine. Pick up. Handwritten Theatre Twenty-Three: "Pick up." Performed by Moira Quirk Running Time: 12:13 All Audiences. You've got all of October to celebrate the birthday of Harold Pinter October 10, 1930 "There are some things one remembers even though they may never have happened." -Anna in Old Times Read. Watch. Perform. Savor. Harold Pinter performing Krapp's Last Tape in 2006 Ian Holm, Vivien Merchant and Paul Rogers in the 1973 film version of The Homecoming

Beware: Memory! Handwritten Theatre Twenty-Four: "It was one of those fully detailed memories." Performed by the author Running Time: 7:06 All Audiences It's October again, time to start your month long celebration of Harold Pinter's Birthday! October 10, 1930 Apart From That by Harold Pinter Performed by the author and Rupert Graves in 2006 Handwritten Theatre, the book! Available now

"The very act of storytelling, of arranging memory and invention according to the structure of narrative is, by definition, holy." -James Carroll American Requiem Handwritten Theatre Eighteen: "He changed his mind about what he wanted to read in bed and went back into the living room looking for a particular short story." Running Time: 10:16 All Audiences. Salutations to Reynolds Price on the anniversary of his birth. 1 February, 1933 "I sleep long nights with few hard dreams, and now I've outlived both my parents. Even my handwriting looks very little like the script of the man I was in June of '84. Cranky as it is, it's taller, more legible, with more air and stride. It comes down the arm of a grateful man." -Reynolds Price A Whole New Life

Another woman. Another series of cocktails. Another story. Lean close to her and listen. Handwritten Theatre Seventeen: "The swimming pool at the Econo-Lodge was empty." Performed by Moira Quirk Running Time: 11:54 All Audiences (But it is about grown-up behavior)

More communication from the corporate world. Coincidence? You be the judge. Handwritten Theatre Sixteen: "I think it went well." Performed by Tony Figueroa Running Time: 5:22 All Audiences.

Finally, some practical information on how to handle life in corporate America. Feel free to take notes. There will be a test on this material. Handwritten Theatre Fifteen: "I look to you for advice." Performed by David Clennon and Dan Farren Running Time: 9:52 All Audiences Remembering Kenneth Millar on his birthday. 13 DecemberWriting as Ross Macdonald, he took the American detective novel to a new level.

A cold, rainy, winter night in Los Angeles and a friend comes over late to see you. There's something she needs to talk about. You give her a glass of wine and sit down with her. She talks, you listen. Handwritten Theatre Fourteen: "I saw the obituary while I was recycling the newspapers." Performed by Donna Allen Figueroa Running Time: 17:55 All Audiences

Another first for Handwritten Theatre: Our first sequel. Time once again to join that interesting man in the window seat on board a jet-liner bound, non-stop, for...say, is that Rod Serling standing by the cockpit door? Handwritten Theatre Thirteen: "This is how the story was told to me." (v.2.0) Performed by Paul Jacek Running Time: 6:51 All Audiences Another belated birthday. Kurt Vonnegut 11 November

Handwritten Theatre reaches the rarefied level of double-digits! Sit still. Be quiet. The restraints are for your protection. Handwritten Theatre Ten: "I can see you're concerned about torture." Performed by Moira Quirk Running Time: 10:51 Explicit Content (Contains a single, non-gratuitous utterance of a popular vulgarity.) Other Business Victoria Haas, who tells the tale of a young woman's first encounter with a sour apple martini in Handwritten Theatre Four, recently finished work on Approaching Union Square, an independent film that has been selected for screening at The 2006 Waterfront Film Festival in Saugatuck, Michigan, June 8 - 11. Let me assure you from personal experience that as impressive an actress as Victoria is when she's just a voice on your iPod, she's even more remarkable when you can see her. Approaching Union Square will also be shown at The Long Island Film Expo at The Bellmore Movie Theatre in Bellmore, NY Monday, July 17th, the New Filmmakers LA series at The Frank Lloyd Wright Hollyhock House Theatre at Barnsdall Art Park in Beverly Hills, CA the first week of August, and the Anthology Film Archives on 2nd Avenue and 2nd Street in New York City, Wednesday, August 30, 2006 Waterfront Film Festival 2006 Anthology Film Archives Thanks and a big "Welcome to the team" to The Pear Tree Pen Company for "stepping up to the plate" by covering the cost of new uniforms for the Handwritten Theatre Little League Team, "The Scriveners." It's just the boost the kids needed. The Pear Tree Pen Company

Handwritten Theatre returns with a cycle of brand-spanking new plays, fresh from the kitchens of L.A. Podcasters' Studio 101 at The Brewery in Los Angeles. Handwritten Theatre Twelve: "Note the relationship between the two seated figures in the booth." Performed by Donna Allen Figueroa, Tony Figueroa, and David Clennon Running Time: 11:23 All Audiences Belated good wishes to Harold Pinter on his 76th birthday. 10 October

Just because the actors have all gone to the beach, doesn't mean we're not going to soldier on here at Handwritten Theatre. A presentation from the archives: A scene from a movie I wrote a couple of years back, the remake of a key film from my youth, Attack of the 50 Ft. Woman. While not conceived for this podcast, I can guarantee that it was handwritten at the time. The movie was directed by Christopher Guest and produced by Debra Hill with Daryl Hannah in the titular role. In the great tradition of B-movie science fiction pictures, the movie was short. So short the studio insisted we go back and add scenes to pad the running time. While this had an unfortunate impact on the pace, it gave me the unique opportunity to go back and write new scenes for two of the actors, O'Neal Compton and Victoria Haas who played the sheriff and deputy in the town rampaged by a giant Daryl Hannah. Sheriff Denby and Deputy "Charlie" Spooner were characters at the edge of the action, but Victoria and O'Neal had the most remarkable...I refuse to say chemistry. Let's just say they were really good in scenes I'd written before I met them. The need to add screen time gave me a chance to write something specifically for their voices. What I came up with is a scene that does nothing to move the picture forward, just the Sheriff and the Deputy talking about two thirds through the movie. It's pure padding, but it's one of my favorite scenes. And I think it's one of the perfect counterfeits in a movie filled with scenes meant to sound like they were lifted from a Jack Arnold Universal-International picture made between 1954 and 1957. Give a listen to two very good actors who got to go back after a movie was finished and play a scene written expressly for them. About an hour into the picture, Sheriff Denby and his deputy are discovered in his office where he times Deputy Charlie to see how fast she can load her revolver. This leads to a general discussion of life and what's been going on up at the Archer place where the beautiful Nancy Archer has grown to five stories tall, yet hopes to keep her marriage with the philandering Harry intact. Handwritten Theatre: Summer Bonus Track #1 Performed by Victoria Haas and O'Neal Compton Running Time: 7:02 All Audiences If you'd like to see the scene...as well as the rest of the picture, you can rent my version of Attack of the 50 Ft. Woman at Netflix... ...or buy a DVD for your very own at Amazon.com