"Enlarged to Show Texture" Video

Here's a video of Enlarged to Show Texture at the Kansas City Fringe Festival on July 27, 2019. Written by Bryan Colley and Tara Varney. Starring Tara Varney as Dysmenorrhea. 

And here's a video of all the audience volunteer "Battle of the Band" segments. 

What's New? November 2019

• I had a great time visiting Portland, Maine for the US Association of Fringe Festivals Conference and taking a side trip to Acadia National Park. A trip video is in the works.  
• King Pest and Red Death seems to be happening for next year's Fringe, and I've applied to take it to Orlando. I'll find out if we're going on Dec 2. 
• I've started a massive photo scanning project to digitize my stacks and stacks of family photos, and I'm having fun putting some of them on Facebook.

Add your email to keep up to date.

"Utah Rocks 2019" Vacation Video

Tara and I went to Utah to look at rocks, and I made this video.

"There Are No Small Parts" Short Screenplay Reading Aug 28

Join KC Screenwriters, KC Women in Film and Television, and the IFCKC as we present joint readings of short screenplays from all three groups.

• "She-Woman" by Jessica Whitfield (IFCKC)
• "Work for Hire" by Joni Mitchell (KCWIFT)
• "There Are No Small Parts" by Bryan Colley and Tara Varney (KC Screenwriters)

The scripts will be read by Deanna Mazdra, Laura Burt, and Richard Burt, followed by a Q&A with the writers.

The readings will be at 7:00pm Wednesday, August 28, 2019 at the Screenland Crossroads, 1701 McGee, Kansas City. Free admission.

"Enlarged to Show Texture" Review by Kelly Luck

There is not much this reviewer can say about this play, as to go into even basic detail would be to spoil the thing. Suffice to say it is a meditation upon friendship, conflict of differences, the ways we cope with how the world messes with our minds, and the means by which we heal.

Fringe veterans will know that it’s always worth finding out what Tara Varney and Bryan Colley are up to. Over the years, it’s never been quite possible to guess what they would come up with next, but it is always something interesting. Once again we get the blend of humor and tragedy, the frivolous drilling down to the deeply personal. There’s even a little music history thrown in for good measure.

Sometimes things don’t always go to plan. Sometimes you have to get out there and wing it. And sometimes you need to stop and ask yourself what is really important. A most affecting show, and definitely worth the Fringer’s attention.

https://kcfringe.org/enlarged-to-show-texture-review-by-kelly-luck/

"Enlarged to Show Texture" at the 2019 Kansas City Fringe Festival

Typhanee and Dysmenorrhea are childhood pals who once shared secrets, dreams, and McNuggets, before their lives took decidedly different paths. Now they share the stage seeking common ground between bubblegum and black metal. Can their friendship survive adulthood? Find out in the new comedy Enlarged to Show Texture by Bryan Colley and Tara Varney at the Kansas City Fringe Festival. Starring Megan Steadman and Tara Varney.

Performances are at the Loretto Auditorium, 1111 W 39th Street on the following dates:

• 9:00pm FRI JULY 19
• 4:30pm SAT JULY 20
• 7:30pm MON JULY 22
• 7:30pm THU JULY 25
• 6:00pm SAT JULY 27

Produced by Plan B Productions. More details to come!

"Hexing Hitler" Reading May 20

The Midwest Dramatists Center will present a reading of Bryan Colley and Tara Varney's new full-length version of "Hexing Hitler" at 7pm, May 20 at the Second Presbyterian Church at 55th and Brookside (318 E 55th St). The reading is directed by Tara Varney and the cast includes Gary Wesche, Shelley Wyche, J. Will Fritz, Emma Carter, and Michael Golliher.

An hour-long version of "Hexing Hitler" was produced at the 2011 Kansas City Fringe Festival, and it has now been expanded into a full-length 90 minute play. It is a true story as told in a 1941 photo essay from "Life Magazine" about a party that gathered in a remote Maryland cabin to put a curse on Adolf Hitler and end World War II using witchcraft.

Leading the hexing was the successful writer William Seabrook, who popularized the word "zombie" in 1927, when he published a book, "Magic Island," about his adventures in Haiti, which served as the basis for the film "White Zombie" in 1932. Throughout the 1930s he was a best-selling author, world traveler, and journalist. He was also fascinated with witchcraft, black magic, and the occult. Along with writing about voodoo rituals on the island of Haiti, he wrote about eating human flesh in the jungles of Africa, battling alcoholism in an asylum, and joining a Bedouin tribe, much like T.E. Lawrence in "Lawrence of Arabia."

A companion work play by Colley and Varney, "Sexing Hitler," was also expanded to full-length and presented in a staged reading at the Unicorn Theatre in 2016. It details the true story a Nazi program led by Heinrich Himmler to create inflatable pleasure dolls, intended for standard issue to Nazi soldiers. Along with connecting thematic threads, both plays are designed to use the same cast.

Call for Photographers - Where the Streets Have New Names

Where the Streets Have New Names

What is it? This is a group art exhibit that offers a different kind of street photography. We will document at day in the life along the newly renamed Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd. (formerly The Paseo), one of Kansas City's most prominent historic boulevards. Photographers will explore the entire ten miles of the boulevard from Cliff Drive to 85th Street over a single day, collecting hundreds of images to create an online archive of a moment in time. Highlights of this archive will be exhibited as a collage at Union Station.

When? 10:00am Saturday, May 11 (in case of rain, we'll try again on May 18)

Who? Anyone with a camera is invited to make the five mile hike. Feel free to invite your friends or anyone that might be interested.

Where? We'll divide into two groups. One group will start from the north end where The Paseo turns into Cliff Drive. There's street parking on the Paseo. The second group will start from the south where The Paseo ends at 85th Street. There's parking at the Center Alternative School. Both groups will hike five miles and meet in the middle at Gate's Barbecue on Cleaver II Blvd for lunch.

According to Google, the walk only takes two hours, but I'm guessing it will take at least four hours as we stop for photos. After lunch, you can arrange to be picked up or you can ride the bus back to your car. The Paseo bus only takes 20 minutes from Gates to 85th Street. However, getting to Cliff Drive takes about an hour, and you have to take the Troost bus.

How do I sign up? Email me at jupiterkansas@gmail.com so I know how many people are going, and let me know if you want to do the south hike from 85th Street or the north hike from Cliff Drive. It would help to give me your text number too.

What to bring?

• Cameras with a charged battery and a big memory card so you can photograph your entire hike.
• Water & Snacks
• Sunscreen & Hat
• Good walking shoes
• Curiosity and a good eye

Afterwards? After the hike, I'll send out a link to a Google Drive folder where you can upload your photos. You can upload all of them, or choose your favorites. I will build a collage for the exhibit at the Kansas City Fringe Festival, and offer the full collection as an online archive.

The Kansas City Fringe Festival exhibit will be in the Great Hall of Union Station July 14-28. It's free and open to the public. Every photographer that goes on the hike will get credited.

New 10-minute Play Reading at the MDC Winter Shorts

I have a new 10 minute play for the Midwest Dramatists Center's Winter Shorts readings at the Uptown Arts Bar. It's a comedy called There Are No Small Parts.  Come check out the new venue, give feedback on the MDC residents' short plays, and enjoy a night of local theatre!

Monday, Jan 21, 2019
6:30 p.m. (doors open at 6:00)
Uptown Arts Bar
3611 Broadway
Kansas City, MO 64111

Click here for the Facebook event