I have two brand new plays burning holes in my head, and a third in need of a page-one rewrite. Oddly enough, they're all on the bit of the twisted side…
I'm starting with my rewrite and tackling The Summer I Howled, which I haven't worked on since 2019. My creepy yet comical camp werewolf play for teen performers has me scratching my head a LOT. Not only by my choices and pacing, but I also left all sorts of notes without a shred of context…. Thanks, past Rachel! But I still love the story, and the characters, and I think I'm just about ready to jump in and rework - or completely scrap and rewrite - this play! As a bonus I finally think I've figured out the timing of things! Maybe it's good I haven't touched it in two years! I'm planning to up the flexibility of the cast, with plenty of doubling and characters that can be played by any gender.
After The Summer I Howled I have a prom murder mystery simmering on my brain's back burner just begging me to start. It will also be intended for young performers, with a cast of 13. Right now I think the title will be Blood & Sequins. I am having a ton of fun reading classic murder mysteries right now to get inspired.
Finally, the next play on my brain stove is another history. But, unlike The Book Women or The Night Witches the focus of the story won't be on pilots, or librarians, but instead on criminals. Alice Diamond ran the girl-gang the 40 Elephants that terrorized London, and stole everything they could get their hands on along the way. This play, which doesn't have a title quite yet, will also be for school-aged performers, and will finish up my trio of creep-tastic new plays for young performers.
I'm hoping to complete the trio before December, and start sending out drafts of each, respectively, as they are available. I will post about each play as a new draft is ready, and put those all up on the New Play Exchange! Be sure to check back here for updates, or email me directly to get on the first-to-know list: Rnbublitz@gmail.com.
Happy Monday! And now, if you'll excuse me, I have a lot of writing to do…