Fall 2021 Plays Breakdown

Does He Like Black Girls? (John Lion New Plays Festival Finalist)

By Veronica Driscoll (undergraduate in Theatre/Performance)
Directed by Guest Artist (TBD)

PLAYWRIGHT BIO:
Veronica Driscoll is a John W. North high school Alumni (2019). She is currently working on her BA in Theatre /Performance Option at Cal State LA and plans to continue pursuing theatre professionally for as long as she can. She is enriched by all forms of art and has decided to take on many creative arenas outside of acting such as: singing, dance, sewing, and playwriting. Her most recent play, titled Does He Like Black Girls? won the John Lion Plays Festival at Cal State LA, where it is being produced this Fall.

Find Veronica on Instagram at @veronica_driscoll and @Veronica.seams.right

PLAY SYNOPSIS:
A play about the self-discovery of African-American women/girls, the question that lingers in the mind, and the journey of understanding your uniqueness that follows. Trina and O’Naize are two young black progressive women who find themselves learning what it means to grow into yourself while dealing with the hardships that come from the world of love and romance. As they become their own people, they find the equality between the growth of one’s self and that of the world’s.

 

CHARACTER LIST:

  • O’Naize- Black female; Hard headed, wants the best for Trina, her best friend. Extremely socially sound. Love Language: Acts Of Service.Zodiac Sign: Sagitarius
  • Trina- Black female; hopeless romantic. A goal driven being, hard headed and quick witted. Extremely socially sound.Has a crush on Greg.Love Language: Physical Touch. Zodiac: Aries
  • Theo- Black female; Curious and friendly. Living life as it goes, confident in who she is and is willing to stand her ground.the new girl in town. Love Language: Quality Time. Zodiac: Aquarius
  • Finn- Black male; Pensive. Likes to write, is infatuated with Trina but also highly values her friendship. Love Language: Quality Time. Zodiac: Pisces
  • Greg- White male; Oblivious. Very social bug.Love Language: Words of Affirmation. Zodiac: Scorpio
  • Other characters (Teacher, Student 1, Student 2)

Invisible Women (John Lion New Plays Festival Finalist)

By Pamela Russell (2nd Yr MFA in Writing)
Directed by Yasmeen Al-Kayed (2nd Yr MFA in Content Creation)

PLAYWRIGHT BIO:
Pamela August Russell is the author of B is for Bad Poetry out now from Sterling Publishing. The Los Angeles Times says, “It may not be Walt Whitman, but Miss Russell’s verses are certainly a whole lot funnier.” She has written for Paramount Pictures, Oxygen and NBC. She received her BA in Fiction from Mills College in Oakland, California and is currently a second-year candidate for the MFA in TV, Film and Theater at Cal State L.A. She lives in Pasadena near the freeway.

PLAY SYNOPSIS:
After years of stealing wallets from wealthy men, slip-and-fall lawsuits, credit card fraud and all-around grifting, two septuagenarians decide to up their game by volunteering at a local homeless shelter. Posing as kind old ladies with hearts of gold, they befriend a few down-on-their-luck homeless men and appear willing to do anything to help them get back on their feet. But things get a little less charitable and a lot more sinister when the men start turning up dead!

CHARACTER LIST:

  • Helena Schmidt: Late 60’s. Loves a classic bouffant hairdo. Dresses inappropriately for her age. Short skirts. Too much make-up. Sweet but condescending. Prone to bursts of anger. Also, possibly a sociopath with a lingering Hungarian accent.
  • Ethelbert “Edie” Muller: Late 60’s. Used to be a beauty. Still thinks she is. Vain and riddled with Botox. Narcissistic, natch. Most likely a sociopath, but you certainly wouldn’t know it by looking at her. Unless of course she starts talking...
  • Detective Rhonda Louis: 30’s. She’s no nonsense. Has a kind heart but can put it aside when she’s in search of the truth. Which is always.
  • Detective Mike Gomez: 30’s. Jovial. Smart-ass. But don’t be fooled. He’s whipsmart and his bullshit meter is always on high.
  • The parts of the homeless men, the insurance adjuster, the girls’ dates, the apartment manager, the hair stylist and the lawyers can all be played by the same actors. With wigs, wardrobe changes and gumption! Assuming they might enjoy that kind of thing.

The staging and lighting should be fluid. Characters should wander in and out of each others scenes, as if in a dance. The lighting should move fluidly as well as the props on stage. It’s okay for other characters to carry them off or interact with them and each other. Like a pas-de-deux. Sort of.

Old Blood: A Dracula story

By Ben Hernandez (BA in Theatre/Performance, class of 2021)
Directed by Steve Rothman

PLAYWRIGHT BIO
Ben Hernandez (He/Him/El) (Playwright) is a queer, first generation Latinx creator working on showcasing and uplifting stories with/about/ for QBIPOC. His plays include Polygon, Goodnight Charlie, an adaptation of H. G. Wells’ novel, The War of the Worlds, also written for the CSULA Department of Theatre and Dance. Ben is a former member and founder of the Sidetracked Creative Artists and the Valley Collegiate players. He graduated with his Bachelor of Arts in Theatre/Performance Option this past spring (2021).

PLAY SYNOPSIS
Playwright Ben Hernandez has taken the timeless tale of Bram Stoker's Dracula and hurtled it into our unpredictable modern times. It’s a dash of Boyle Heights, a splash of Transylvania, plus a twist of pandemic panic!  Themes of gender & sexuality, gentrification, and the age-old clash between tradition and change combine to make this new Dracula story timely and thrilling.

CHARACTER LIST:

  • Dracula - Mature and handsome with a slow but powerful nature, he speaks from the shadows and in visions.
  • Johnny - A latine rocker dude, singer/guitarist with big dreams and storefront church realities. He is looking for a bigger future while dealing with loyalties to family and faith. Son of Martin, Bf to Mina.
  • Mina - AFAB now questioning gender identity. They/Them pronouns, a painter, trying to get out of their current city to someplace more accepting. Wants to start a family and build a home. To be portrayed as androgynous as possible.
  • Martin - The pastor of the neighborhood storefront church. Faith above all. A widower to the virus. A very controlling father to Johnny (We can perhaps change this to older brother to Johnny if casting necessitates)
  • Luke - Charming, confident and good looking. Everybody’s best friend. Newly out gay man and wants to make a statement. Best friend to Johnny and Mina. Believes hiding from the world is death in itself.
  • Rebecca - A blogger researching cultural movements. Stumbles into popularity through reporting on the neighborhood disappearances. Interested in the glamour and glory that the myths of the past offer. 
  • Ensemble
  • Church-Goer/Flower Lady #1/Taco stand lady/Party-Goer/Vampire #1
  • Church-Goer/Attacker #1/Boba guy
  • Church-Goer/Attacker #2/Taco Stand Guy/Party-Goer/Vampire #2
  • Church-Goer/Flower Lady #2/ Party-Goer/

(Out From Under) The Family Tree

By Perri Keyes* (MFA in Production)
Directed by Perri Keyes
*In partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of MFA in Television, Film, and Theatre

PLAYWRIGHT BIO:
Perri Keyes is a graduate student in the MFA in TVFT/Production Option.  She grew up in Michigan, but also lived in Minneapolis, MN and Atlanta, GA before coming to Los Angeles. She loves exploring new places and hopes to add some more cities to that roster as time goes by. In 2011, Perri received an A.S. degree in Film Editing and Post Production from Minneapolis Community & Technical College. In 2014, she graduated Summa Cum Laude from the University of Southern California with a B.A. in American Studies and Ethnicity. As a creative artist thus far, she has worked on writing both short and feature-length screenplays, as well as creating short films, music videos, and a documentary on anti-gang legislation in California. As she begins this MFA program, she is excited to turn her attention to exploring a new, more experimental form of storytelling – one that is grounded in the narrative feature-film format yet interwoven with more experimental elements that pull from the worlds of theater and dance.

PLAY SYNOPSIS:
(Out from Under) The Family Tree is a drama about a teenage girl named Celestine who is visiting her childhood home for the first time in years. Revisiting scenes from her past, Celestine struggles to reconcile her happy memories with the darker aspects of her home life as well as the disappearance of her best friend several years earlier. First, we're going to do the show as a live theater production, with performances in the Arena Theatre between Nov. 4-7. We will then create a film version of the piece (set in the same theater space) to be submitted to film festivals.

CHARACTER LIST:

  • Celestine - 18 years old in present day, introverted, determined, a book-worm
  • Seni - Celestine’s mother, independent, confident, disillusioned about love, Latina
  • Michael - Celestine’s father, charming, moody, detail-oriented, difficult to please, Caucasian
  • Carissa - Celestine’s teenage best friend, extroverted, fun-loving, charming
  • Grandfather - Celestine’s paternal grandfather, unscrupulous, likes to win
  • Teacher - Energetic, high expectations, fair (female)
    • Female Stagehand (played by Teacher actor)
    • Male Stagehand (played by Grandfather actor)