"Dream Operator" Play Reading December 12

I'm excited to announce a reading of my new play "Dream Operator."

The play is an adaptation of the 1891 novel "Peter Ibbetson" by George DuMaurier. It's a romantic fantasy about two lovers drawn together by destiny after a nostalgic young man meets the woman of his dreams.

The cast includes Andy Garrison, Davis DeRock, and Emma Carter.

The reading will be at 7pm, Monday, December 12 at The Writer's Place, 3607 Pennsylvania. This event is free. Donations are encouraged.

"Voyage to Voyager" is Ready for Production

Are you interested in producing Voyage to Voyager? Here's all the details:

Synopsis: Using a team of local actors, astrophysicist Carl Sagan directs a play about creating the Golden Record that was on board the Voyager spacecrafts when they launched in 1977. The Golden Record was a message from earth to whatever intelligent life in the universe that might happen find it drifting through space, and included music, images, and greetings from earth in multiple languages.
Voyage to Voyager is a multimedia show that parallels the creation of the record with the creation of the play, and the actors play themselves as well as the Voyager team. The humor of Sagan learning to direct a play along with the bureaucracy he faced creating the record is balanced with an awe for the universe and the quest to define what it means to be human.

Production History: The 60 minute version of the play was first produced at the Arvin Gottlieb Planetarium in Union Station as part of the Kansas City Fringe Festival in 2015.

Reviews: "Comical, educational, and provocative, this production asks many questions as to what the human experience truly entails and how diverse we all are from one another.... Filled with laughs and scientific details, Voyage to Voyager gives a fresh perspective on the historic task set forth by Sagan and reminds us of the hope that fuels our individual dreams to take us where no one has gone before." - KC Metropolis

Requirements: The cast requires seven actors of any gender and includes a multi-media presentation of images, sounds, and video. This is a longer version of the play that includes additional material that wasn't part of the original Fringe production. The running time is approximately 80 minutes, but the shortened 60 minute version is available. Performance royalties are negotiable and dependent on the size of the performance venue and ticket prices.

Click here for more information and to download the script

"Freak Up the Street" at the KC Fringe Festival

I'm producing at play at the 2016 KC Fringe Festival.

Freak Up the Street is a new play written and directed by Billy Blob. Billy is the artist and filmmaker who created the animated sequences in last year's hit Fringe Festival play Voyage to Voyager at the planetarium in Union Station. He enjoyed his Fringe experience so much that he wrote his first play for this year's festival.

Andy Garrison stars as William, a middle aged man who finds it easier to play dead than face his past.  With the help of his time machine, William soon comes face to face with an eccentric childhood neighbor who is William’s most painful memory and possibly his last hope. William Grey Warren, Davis Lee DeRock Jr and Sallie Downing also star in this nostalgic, humorous and mostly true story of childhood. Stage direction by Laura Burt.

Freak Up the Street will be at the Unicorn Theatre's Levin Stage, 3828 Main Street, on the following dates:

• 11:00pm Friday, July 22
• 5:00pm Saturday, July 23
• 8:00pm Monday, July 25
• 6:30pm Wednesday, July 27
• 9:30pm Thursday, July 28
• 8:00pm Saturday, July 30

Tickets are $10 with a $5 Fringe Button (available at the box office). For more information visit www.billyblob.com or for tickets go to www.kcfringe.org

"Sexing Hitler" reading at the Unicorn May 15

I'm happy to announce that the Unicorn Theatre will be doing a reading of Sexing Hitler as part of their In-Progress New Play Reading Series in partnership with the Midwest Dramatists Center. This KC Fringe Festival hit from 2012 has been expanded with about 30 minutes of new material.

Sexing Hitler tells the true story of how the Nazis invented inflatable pleasure dolls to protect troops from contracting syphilis in occupied countries. The play explores Heinrich Himmler's eugenics programs and the Third Reich's plans for global conquest.

The cast for the reading will be Brian Paulette, Amy Attaway, Logan Black, Laura Jacobs, and Andy Perkins. Ian R. Crawford is directing.

The reading is May 15 at 7:30pm at the Unicorn Theatre. Admission is free; donations accepted.

"Hexing Hitler/Sexing Hitler" preview at Johnson County Library

The Unicorn Theatre will present a selection of diverse scenes from local playwrights participating in the In-Progress New Play Reading Series. Hexing Hitler and Sexing Hitler will be getting a short preview in anticipation of a full reading at the Unicorn Theatre on May 15. The other local playwrights include Bryan Moses, Ron Simonian, Vicki Vodrey, David Wayne Reed, and Cynthia Hardeman.

2pm, Saturday, February 13 at the Johnson County Central Resource Library, 9875 W 87th Street. Free.

more info

"Khaaaaan! the Musical" concert reading Feb. 8

Prepare yourself for a rockin', time trippin', far out voyage with the crew of the Starship Enterprise when Khaaaaan! the Musical returns to the Writer's Place for a special one night only concert performance of the hit 2010 Kansas City Fringe Festival play. 

The cast includes Jay Coombes and Amy Hurrelbrink reprising their roles, along with new faces Gary Wesche, Curtis Smith, and Pancho Villegas. The reading will be directed by Steven Eubank. Khaaaaan! the Musical was written by MDC playwright Bryan Colley and Tara Varney, with music by Tim Gillespie and Michelle Cotton.

Monday, February 8, at the Writer's Place, 3607 Pennsylvania. The reading begins at 7:00pm and will be followed by a talkback with playwright Bryan Colley and cast. As with all MDC readings, no reservations are required and it's free! Donations appreciated, and CD soundtracks will be available for purchase.