Survival Island! available for licensing

So I've got a brand new play for you. It's titled Survivor Island! and before I submit it for publication, I'm licensing it directly to schools and community theaters so that I can work out any bugs and make it the very best it can be.

Survivor Island! features a cast of 10 (3M, 3F, 4 any). It's the closest thing I've ever written to a true ensemble piece, with no single lead and 8 of the 10 parts being fairly substantial. It requires only a single beach set and runs a very brisk 70 minutes. 

The play was inspired by--big surprise!--the TV reality series Survivor! I always thought it was funny that, while the living conditions faced by the contestants on the show may be difficult, they are nowhere near being a true survival situation. This made me think: what if a bunch of mostly pampered city dwellers signed up for a survival reality show only to be forced to fend for themselves when the show's host and crew disappear in a tragic accident.

Okay, so it's a little dark. But not that dark. The characters are over-the-top parodies of the types of personalities you often see on these shows. And both the situations they get into and the dialogue among the characters are very comical. In tone, I figure it's halfway between Gilligan's Island and Lord of the Flies.

Here's the full synopsis:

What's the most popular reality show on TV? Survival Island!, of course! And host Chase Conroy promises that this season will be the most thrilling one yet. Not only is the island they've chosen surrounded by the most shark-infested waters on earth, but the jungle is teeming with poisonous plants, and there's an active volcano right in the middle of it!

Behind the scenes, Chase assures the eight contestants that there's nothing to worry about. His number one job is to keep them safe. Of course, that's before Chase and the entire crew fall into the volcano. Now the contestants are on their own with no boat, no food, and no way to communicate with the outside world.

At first, they vow to work together to get rescued. But when one of the contestants—a quiet, shy librarian named Shannon—discovers the island's lone banana tree, she decides to use that knowledge to fuel her own ambitions, leading to a war between the haves and the have-nots. A war fought with bananas, of course!

My good friends at Jacksonville Performing Arts in Jacksonville, North Carolina, will present the world premiere in November. In the meantime, I'm looking for additionally producing groups who would like to produce this raucously funny, thought-provoking play.

Interested in receiving a free perusal copy of the script? Then email me directly at todd.wallinger@gmail.com. There's absolutely no obligation to perform the play. I won't even bug you about it.

If you decide to perform it, just let me know the dates. The licensing fee is $60 per performance and includes the right to make as many copies of the script as you need for no additional cost. I would greatly appreciate it if you could give me feedback on the production challenges you faced and any suggestions for improvement you may have, but this is by no means required.

Oh, and did I mention that every script includes instructions on how to build an actual functioning banana battery (a key plot point in the play)?

Theater AND science. Would could be better than that?

Reno Bookshop builds libraries

I'm always thrilled to see the creative ways that schools and community theaters use The Enchanted Bookshop to encourage reading in their communities. Some have a story time before the show. Some give a free book to every child attending the performance.

And then there's Reno Little Theater in--you guessed it!--Reno, Nevada. They came up with a way to promote reading not only among their smaller audience members but throughout the city. At each performance, they'll be holding a book exchange in which each person who donates three books gets to take home one book of their choice. The books remaining at the end of the production will then be donated to non-profit Spread the Word Nevada to help local kids build their own home libraries.

The show runs March 7-16. If you're in the area, I urge you to attend. Not only will you see a great show, but you'll get a chance to share your love of reading with countless others.

Seriously, what can be better than that?

Texas How to Enchant makes a magical place

It must be the height of theater season because I've got another TV spot to share with you today. This one features a production of How to Enchant a Bookshop by the Sherman Community Players in Sherman, TX. You can watch the clip here.

Director Lynda Leach, artistic director Darrah Dunn, and cast member Grace Sanchez joined KXII TV host Caroline Fletcher to talk about the show. Much of the discussion revolves around the magic in the play and of the wonderfully immersive (and immense!) set the theater's crew built for it.

My favorite part, though, came when Caroline pointed out that the Honey McGee Theater where the play will be performed is already a magical place.

That's really true, isn't it? Whether the story revolves around fairies and magic spells and book characters come to life, like my play does, or whether it's grounded in the reality of the world today, the theater itself remains a place where magic happens, night after night after night.

Need a little magic in your life? Then you won't want to miss this "delightful" show (their word, not mine!), which runs March 9-16. Click here for all the deets.

Tulsa Purrfect Crime to bring love and laughter

None of the children's theaters that perform my plays get as much local TV coverage as Tulsa's Spotlight Children's Theatre, and they were back at it again today with an interview of three gifted actors from their production of my cat inheritance comedy The Purrfect Crime. You can watch the video here.

The play runs the next two weekends, and the young actors are very excited to be in it, as the interview makes clear.

My favorite part was when the host asked the kids what they hope the audience gets out of the play. Natalie Mayes, who plays Annie, answered simply, "a lot of laughter, hopefully," while Ray Sawyer-Karloski, who plays Little Bob, quickly added, "it also sends a message to appreciate your loved ones while they're still around."

Guess what. Both answers are correct!

Break legs, everybody! And a big thank you to this amazing theater company for their continued support. They've already scheduled a production of my western comedy The Stinky Feet Gang for August (my sixth production with them!) and I can't wait to see what the kids have to say about that one!

Too Many Ghosts is now available!

Just eleven days after my 30th play (Route 66) was released, my 31st play has now been published. This one is titled Too Many Ghosts, and I can't wait for you to read it.

Here's the blurb:

Jo Crenshaw dreams of turning the abandoned house she inherited in Salem, Massachusetts, into a successful bed and breakfast. But that could be a problem when she and her teenage daughter discover the place is home to five rambunctious ghosts. And none of the ghosts are particularly keen on sharing it with an endless parade of guests.

The level-headed Jo quickly lays down the law. There will be absolutely no haunting of the guests. But Roland, a cobbler from the 1790s, can't help himself. He ends up scaring off the very first guest they have: a popular travel blogger who dubs the place "the most haunted B&B in New England." Within days, the place is mobbed by thrill-loving tourists seeking their own ghostly encounters. 

 

Unfortunately, this draws the attention of Julia, the greedy owner of the largest hotel in town. After her plans to sabotage the property fail, she decides there's only one way to put the B&B out of business: hire a trio of "ghostbusters" to get rid of the ghosts for good.

The play has a cast of 24 (7M, 11F, 6 any) and runs about 90 minutes. The scenes primarily take place in two locations: the lobby of the B&B and a guest room. To eliminate need for set changes, these locations share a split stage, with three brief scenes being played in front of the curtain.

I'm super proud of the play. I think it's just as funny as any of my earlier comedies, but it goes much deeper into the emotions of the characters and there's an element of melancholy, of sadness even, which will hit audiences right in the heartstrings.

Too Many Ghosts didn't start out that way. I originally planned it to be a straight, laugh-out-loud comedy. But the very first character I came up with was a young ghost who was searching for a locket she'd lost. Although the character herself wasn't pushy by any means, she almost immediately took over the storyline and as I delved into how she lost the locket and what it meant to her, the story of her previous demise turned out to be rather tragic.

In the original version of the story, the young ghost was named Pip and she was only ten years old. I wrote the first two scenes in a couple weeks, and although I liked them very much, I ended up setting the script aside. The idea of a young ghost meant that the character herself must have died young, and I came to realize that this made the story almost completely unmarketable (Casper the Friendly Ghost notwithstanding).

Still, young Pip kept calling to me. She wanted to come to life, if only in spectral form. I had to figure out how to make it work.

It would be another sixteen months before I returned to the script. And that's because it took me that long to admit what I'd known all along. The girl had to be older. Like nine years older. Yes, the death of a nineteen-year-old is just as tragic as that of a ten-year-old, but it's somehow more palatable to audiences.

I wish I'd figured that out earlier. Because as much as I'd fought the idea of making her older, once I had, the writing flowed. I changed her name to Sophie, which was driven by a surprise twist near the end of the play. And instead of a lively preteen who was interested in dolls and cheap jewelry, she became a giddy young woman who was madly in love with--

Well, you'll have to read the script. But trust me. It's really, really good.

Even from the beginning, this young ghost developed a close friendship with the daughter of the woman who inherited the house. Well now, to make that friendship more meaningful, I had to make the daughter older as well. So twelve-year-old Millicent became seventeen-year-old Lily. And instead of being afraid of ghosts, she became an avid horror-movie fan, which gave me all sorts of stuff to have fun with.

 

The lesson for writers? There are two:

1) Don't fall in love with your writing.

2) Don't fight the changes you know you need to make.

It may take some time and a lot of effort to rewrite what you wrote, but in the end, it will all be worth it.

So, yeah, Too Many Ghosts still has some sad parts. But the ending is so full of hope and love and joy that I'm sure it'll make your heart all toasty and warm inside.

Oh, and if you want to read a sample or order a perusal copy of the script, click here.

Sophie would approve.

Route 66 musical is now available!

Big news! Route 66 has just been released by Pioneer Drama Service. This tuneful adaptation of my megahit diner comedy, It Happened on Route 66, is my 30th play but only my 2nd musical.

The musical includes all of the dialogue of the straight play while adding nine songs as well as a chorus of customers and diner staff to the cast. These songs were penned by the super-talented Scott DeTurk, who I blogged about before.

Here's the blurb:

It's 1955 and Sally, a waitress at Cookie's Diner, loves her town of Winona, Arizona, especially now that it's a stop on the famous "Route 66." She also loves the glamorous lives of the movie stars in her favorite tabloid, "Screen Scene Magazine."

Sally is especially excited today. Not only is she sure her longtime beau, Roscoe, is finally going to propose, but it's also the day that movie start Lovey Lamour is marrying crooner Johnny Jerome. What a surprise when the next customer at the diner turns out to be Lovey herself, who has fled her wedding and needs a place to hide! Sally is sure she can help Lovey keep her identity by helping her pose as a waitress. She teaches the Hollywood star the "Diner Lingo" she needs to know, but their entire scheme threatens to unravel when a nosy tabloid photographer discovers Lovey's identity ("I Found Her!") and tips off Johnny as to her location.

This 1950s musical is packed with fun, entertaining tunes that feature your actors' voices as well as a chorus of customers and all the hilarious characters -- a short-tempered cook, Sally's geeky boyfriend (who doesn't propose -- he's "Moving to Chicago!"), an ever-hungry customer who has everyone limbo dancing, the world's worst auto mechanic, and even "Travelin' Man" Elvis Presley before he was famous!

I've listened to the songs, and I've got to say, they're a lot of fun. The tunes are catchy, the lyrics are clever, and they add another whole dimension to the characters I created.

I think you'll like them too. You can listen to the song clips by visiting the musical's web page and clicking on the Song Samples button about two-thirds of the way down.

And while you're on that page, why don't you book a production (or at least order a perusal copy of the script)? After all, somebody's got to be first. Why not you?

What was lost in the fires

I've got a story for you today. A true story. A personal story.

It happened in 1992. I was working as an engineer for a semiconductor company in Tempe, Arizona. I was invited to present a technical paper at an engineering conference in Los Angeles, and as a sort of impromptu mini-vacation, I decided to bring my wife Tammy and our daughter Ashley with me. Ashley was only three months old at the time and cute as a button.

I gave my presentation on Friday, and on Saturday we decided to take a drive up the Pacific Coast Highway to Malibu, a town I'd visited before but Tammy had not (obviously that goes double for Ashley).

The first place we went to was Zuma Beach. Since it was October, we had the place almost entirely to ourselves. We didn't put Ashley in the water--it was a little too cold for that--but she loved the feel of the sand between her chubby little fingers and she was completely mesmerized by the waves pounding again and again against the shore.

When it came time for dinner, we decided to stop at a funky little Thai restaurant--it was really just a shack--a short ways up the highway from the beach. It was quiet inside, and dark. It seemed the perfect place for a relaxing dinner.

We were promptly seated at a table next to another couple, which I thought was weird as we were just about the only parties in the restaurant. Tammy and Ashley sat with their backs to a young woman. I sat across from Tammy, facing the man across from the woman.

Before we'd even ordered, the young woman turned to Tammy and lavished an embarrassing amount of praise on how beautiful Ashley was. We thanked her. She mentioned that she was expecting, and we congratulated her. And then she introduced the two of them--being sure to use their first names only. Her name was Linda and the man's name was James. We chatted a little more before our food came.

I thought they might be celebrities so I took little peeks of them during our dinner. The woman seemed vaguely familiar, but she was wearing sunglasses, even in the darkness of the restaurant, and I couldn't quite tell who she was.

I looked across at the man and when he looked back at me, he had the look of someone who desperately wanted to be recognized. But no. I didn't recognize him at all.

After dinner, we paid our bill and said a quick but warm goodbye to the couple. As we headed toward the exit, we noticed that three of the servers were huddled around the stand, pointing at the couple and giggling.

That's when Tammy turned to look back at the couple. "I think I know who that is," she whispered to me. "That's Linda Hamilton." Movie fans will remember her from The Terminator and Terminator 2, the latter of which she'd starred in just the year before. 

It would be another six years before I figured out who the man was. Tammy and I were watching the 1998 Oscars at a friend's house when they announced who'd won Best Director. A tall, thin, blond man took the stage, and as he hoisted his statuette in the air shouting "I'm king of the world!", I immediately recognized him as the guy from the restaurant.

It was, of course, James Cameron. The film, Titanic.

I'd met other celebrities before. I had a nice talk with Amadeus playwright and screenwriter Peter Shaffer at a theater seminar in Colorado Springs. I had an equally nice talk with America Ferrara at the screening of a small indie film she'd appeared in, also in Colorado Springs. And when I was about ten years old, I met Buddy Ebsen on a film location in Monument Valley, where the old hoofer entertained me and my family with a quick little jig.

But meeting Linda Hamilton and James Cameron was the best celebrity meet of them all, because it wasn't a celebrity meet. It was just two couples having a friendly chat over dinner. 

That restaurant burned to the ground this week in the Palisades fire.

Thousands of people have suffered unfathomable loss from the fires currently burning in southern California. Some have lost homes. Some have lost family members. Some have lost everything. 

It has broken my heart reading all of the stories, and I wonder how long it'll take those affected to return to a semblance of normal life. Maybe never.

So my heart goes out to them today. And my prayers. And my deepest, dearest hopes for some sort of recovery.

In the midst of so much devastation and loss, one cozy little beachside restaurant may not count for much. But I know I'll never forget it.