Alton Schools in Alton, Missouri will be doing two performances of ANNIERELLA & the (VERY AWESOME) GOOD QUEEN FAIRY COWMOTHER on March 9, 2012.
Yeehaw!
Friday, January 27, 2012
Saturday, December 31, 2011
EDGAR ALLAN & VIRGINIA, FOREVERMORE. New ten-minute play!
I just put the finishing touches on a new ten-minute play titled EDGAR ALLAN & VIRGINIA, FOREVERMORE, just in time for Valentine's Day. Yes, Edgar Allan as in POE.
Set in 1845 right before the publication of THE RAVEN, EDGAR ALLAN & VIRGINIA, FOREVERMORE is a two-hander (one male, one female with the male being older) comedy about love, marriage, Valentine's Day and the reality of living with an author. Funny how some things never change.
The setting is a simple table with two chairs, and just a few props. Costumes are standard Victorian.
Before I wrote the play, I did quite a bit of research on Edgar's life and his marriage to his much younger cousin, Virginia. I've always been a fan, and read his stories over and over in high school and afterwards. They never cease to thrill me. I tried to sprinkle snippets of his "phraseology" into the play, to give it a period feeling while still using my signature word play.
I'm seeking productions and readings for this new play. For more information, please contact the playwright, Bobbi A. Chukran, by e-mail.
Set in 1845 right before the publication of THE RAVEN, EDGAR ALLAN & VIRGINIA, FOREVERMORE is a two-hander (one male, one female with the male being older) comedy about love, marriage, Valentine's Day and the reality of living with an author. Funny how some things never change.
The setting is a simple table with two chairs, and just a few props. Costumes are standard Victorian.
Before I wrote the play, I did quite a bit of research on Edgar's life and his marriage to his much younger cousin, Virginia. I've always been a fan, and read his stories over and over in high school and afterwards. They never cease to thrill me. I tried to sprinkle snippets of his "phraseology" into the play, to give it a period feeling while still using my signature word play.
I'm seeking productions and readings for this new play. For more information, please contact the playwright, Bobbi A. Chukran, by e-mail.
Friday, December 30, 2011
Resolutions, anyone?
I don't usually make New Year's resolutions, as such. I do try to think about my goals for the next year, though. Since we've been working on our huge remodeling project of the 1930's house, I haven't had as much time to write as I'd like to. I find myself spending a lot of time chatting online with friends. Granted, we do talk about writing, but that ain't exactly gettin' the writing DONE and out there. So I decided that in 2012, I will excavate those little gems from my the depths of my writing drawer, polish them up and find someplace to send them.
Oddly enough, I realized that many of my poems and stories are what some might call "speculative" fiction. So be it! I also want to write another full-length play for youth theatre using some new tips I've learned.
I hope all of you have a safe and Happy New Year, and that your writing dreams come true! From our family to yours!
Happy trails (tails?) from Texas!
bobbi c.
Oddly enough, I realized that many of my poems and stories are what some might call "speculative" fiction.
I hope all of you have a safe and Happy New Year, and that your writing dreams come true! From our family to yours!
Happy trails (tails?) from Texas!
bobbi c.
Monday, November 28, 2011
JOURNAL OF MINA HARKER Kindle E-book On Sale
My JOURNAL OF MINA HARKER vampire play e-script for the Kindle has just been put on sale for 99-cents! This is a limited time offer. Suitable for young adults and adults, any vampire comedy lover would swoon to have a copy of their own!
Here are current reviews, from Amazon:
"Don't be put off because this is a theatre script - it's as enjoyable to read as any book. If you laughed at "Young Frankenstein," you'll love this twisted take on "Dracula." The plot and characters are straight out of Bram Stoker but with a wickedly funny slant. Renfield is a scream! The only thing better than reading this version would be seeing a production." S.D.
"This play was fun to read and very entertaining. The characters, especially Renfield and Lucy, were a hoot! The play was easy to read and read more like a fast-paced novel than a playscript." D. H.
"The Journal of Mina Harker is definitely a play schools should consider for production. It's funny, sly humor with some broad humor thrown in for contrast, and the familiarity of the Dracula legend makes for good fun and crowd pleasing potential. Reads well and will play even better. "
Happy trails, and thanks for supporting an emerging playwright!
bobbi c.
Here are current reviews, from Amazon:
"Don't be put off because this is a theatre script - it's as enjoyable to read as any book. If you laughed at "Young Frankenstein," you'll love this twisted take on "Dracula." The plot and characters are straight out of Bram Stoker but with a wickedly funny slant. Renfield is a scream! The only thing better than reading this version would be seeing a production." S.D.
"This play was fun to read and very entertaining. The characters, especially Renfield and Lucy, were a hoot! The play was easy to read and read more like a fast-paced novel than a playscript." D. H.
"The Journal of Mina Harker is definitely a play schools should consider for production. It's funny, sly humor with some broad humor thrown in for contrast, and the familiarity of the Dracula legend makes for good fun and crowd pleasing potential. Reads well and will play even better. "
Happy trails, and thanks for supporting an emerging playwright!
bobbi c.
Sunday, November 6, 2011
ANNIERELLA rides again!
Just got some photos from the recent November 2 production of ANNIERELLA & the (VERY AWESOME) GOOD QUEEN FAIRY COWMOTHER, performed by students at St. Peter Catholic School in Beaufort, SC. Thanks to Sister Judy for sending the photos. :-)
Eula Gee, the stepmother, explains about the Cowpoke's Ball at the Lazy R&B ranch!
Stepmother, Eula Gee, tells Annierella she cannot go to the ball, while here three step-sisters---Mozelda Joe, Brizelda Jane and Frizzelda Ann--look on.
Annierella meets the Good Queen Fairy Cowmother.
The Fairy Cowmother does a little magic and with the help of her helpers transforms poor Annierella into a princess right before our very eyes! :-)
At the ball, Annierella meets the rich rancher, Roy Bob, who's immediately smitten. (LOVE those red boots they found for Annierella to wear!) But alas, time runs out and she has to leave, but not before losing one of her fancy dancing boots!
The step-sisters are SURE that one of them will make the boot fit. But it's not to be! (We knew that.)
After finding out that Annierella was the one wearing the missing red boot, he proposes. But what was her answer?
Sorry, you'll have to read ANNIERELLA to find out! LOL!!
(By the way, ANNIERELLA was the FIRST PLACE WINNER at the SUMMER SHORTS 4, Youth Education on Stage Festival at the Old Armory Theatre, Williston North Dakota June 23-24-25, 2009. Directed by Jack Dyville.)
bobbi c.
Annierella meets the Good Queen Fairy Cowmother.
The step-sisters are SURE that one of them will make the boot fit. But it's not to be! (We knew that.)
After finding out that Annierella was the one wearing the missing red boot, he proposes. But what was her answer?
Sorry, you'll have to read ANNIERELLA to find out! LOL!!
(By the way, ANNIERELLA was the FIRST PLACE WINNER at the SUMMER SHORTS 4, Youth Education on Stage Festival at the Old Armory Theatre, Williston North Dakota June 23-24-25, 2009. Directed by Jack Dyville.)
bobbi c.
Saturday, November 5, 2011
New improved website
Dear friends,
I've finally found the time to update my official website, and have included information on buying play scripts as well as full descriptions of all my plays. I've also included information on my ten-minute plays, which are great for speech competitions, drama class forensics, readings, etc. Take a look!
Comedy Plays for Youth Theatre by Bobbi A. Chukran
Happy trails,
bobbi c.
I've finally found the time to update my official website, and have included information on buying play scripts as well as full descriptions of all my plays. I've also included information on my ten-minute plays, which are great for speech competitions, drama class forensics, readings, etc. Take a look!
Comedy Plays for Youth Theatre by Bobbi A. Chukran
Happy trails,
bobbi c.
Friday, October 14, 2011
Writing is a messy business...
Being a writer doesn't feel like you think it will...
When I was ten years old, writing my first poetry and submitting them to contests, I'm not sure what I thought the life of a "real" writer would be like. All I knew was that I loved to write, and wanted to do a lot of it. I don't really remember a lot more of how I felt back then.
But as I got older, perhaps a starry-eyed teenager, I guess I formed a picture in my mind of what it would be like when I finally became published, became well-known, or at least, well-read by intellectual types. Maybe I would sit at a wonderful old oak roll top desk, with a little lamp on the corner sporting a cheerful green glass shade (it had to be green). I thought I'd be sitting at that desk all day with an old typewriter clacking out page after page of wonderful Stuff. Or I'd be sitting by a crackling fire, sipping cognac, pondering Great Thoughts. Honestly, where did THAT come from? Masterpiece Theatre? LOL.
When it came time to go to college, I decided to major in art. To this day I wish ONE person had said “You have talent. You should write.” It took years of frustration trying to sell my artwork before I started writing about it instead and stumbled onto a whole new path.
Well, you know what? I finally got published. And it was NOT the way I thought it would be. My first desk was a fold-up, rickety card table in the corner of my bedroom in a low-rent apartment. I had an electric typewriter by then, but produced a manuscript using plain white paper and a lot of White-Out. (Ironically enough, I'm writing on a rickety card-table again. This time it's temporary, and is in the utility room of an old 1930 house we're remodeling, and I'm writing on an old laptop, and not a typewriter.)
My first advance for a 250-page book was $500. In those days, that paid about one month’s rent and a few bills. Over the next few years, the royalties weren't much more than that. But I didn't care; I was published!
My first books were resource guides that took hours and hours of research and correspondence. After twenty plus years, that got old, and my old dream started nibbling at the corners of my mind. I wanted to write STORIES, maybe even see people act them out.
You think you’ll sit down, and begin at the beginning, and write a story or a play from beginning to end. You think that if you have your little stack of color-coded index cards, that you’ll have your plot all worked out, nice and neat. Little do you know that once you put two characters in a room alone, they’ll start a conversation and pass you by so fast your head will spin. You’ll have no control over them, what they say or do. You’ll be freaked out about this, but go with it. And they will wear the most atrocious clothing, like Mina Harker does in my new vampire comedy spoof inspired by Stoker's DRACULA.
You won’t have set hours to work. You’ll feel like crap all day because you stayed up too late the night before, have a cup of tea (caffeine!) at 5pm, then the next thing you know it’s 4am, you’re freezing, and you have produced some pages. You have no idea what you wrote, or where it came from.
You feel Out of Control. You are a writer. Writing is a messy business.
You think that you’ll “dream up” the beginning of a story, and if you keep working on it, you’ll work straight through from beginning to end. Nope. Doesn’t work that way. The first inkling you have of a story might be a snippet of conversation you hear over breakfast in the neighborhood diner. Like the one I overheard recently. "…after my first son was born, I had a flap of skin that hung down to the floor, honey…” Take that and run with it. Turn it into a character. Write about that poor woman, then see what she wants to do. Or it might be a news story you hear in passing about a mutant rodent. Go with it.
Here’s the Big Secret that it took me years to learn. You don’t always start at the first sentence---you hardly ever start at the first sentence. Writing is not a linear activity, it’s more of a spiral thing. A story is organic, it grows, a little this way, a little out that way. You don’t have to know the ending until you get there. You don't even have to know the beginning until later, either. Wow, what a mind-boggling idea that is!
I sure wish I’d known this long ago. I think it would have helped me be a little freer with my writing and get to the authentic stuff before now. I would have written more without stressing over having to know the first sentence, or trying to write a perfect book straight through. I would have paid better attention to the folks in the back corners of old diners.
Here’s the other Big Secret…you are not in control. Not really. You are a writer.
Bobbi A. Chukran
Copyright 2010
When I was ten years old, writing my first poetry and submitting them to contests, I'm not sure what I thought the life of a "real" writer would be like. All I knew was that I loved to write, and wanted to do a lot of it. I don't really remember a lot more of how I felt back then.
But as I got older, perhaps a starry-eyed teenager, I guess I formed a picture in my mind of what it would be like when I finally became published, became well-known, or at least, well-read by intellectual types. Maybe I would sit at a wonderful old oak roll top desk, with a little lamp on the corner sporting a cheerful green glass shade (it had to be green). I thought I'd be sitting at that desk all day with an old typewriter clacking out page after page of wonderful Stuff. Or I'd be sitting by a crackling fire, sipping cognac, pondering Great Thoughts. Honestly, where did THAT come from? Masterpiece Theatre? LOL.
When it came time to go to college, I decided to major in art. To this day I wish ONE person had said “You have talent. You should write.” It took years of frustration trying to sell my artwork before I started writing about it instead and stumbled onto a whole new path.
Well, you know what? I finally got published. And it was NOT the way I thought it would be. My first desk was a fold-up, rickety card table in the corner of my bedroom in a low-rent apartment. I had an electric typewriter by then, but produced a manuscript using plain white paper and a lot of White-Out. (Ironically enough, I'm writing on a rickety card-table again. This time it's temporary, and is in the utility room of an old 1930 house we're remodeling, and I'm writing on an old laptop, and not a typewriter.)
My first advance for a 250-page book was $500. In those days, that paid about one month’s rent and a few bills. Over the next few years, the royalties weren't much more than that. But I didn't care; I was published!
My first books were resource guides that took hours and hours of research and correspondence. After twenty plus years, that got old, and my old dream started nibbling at the corners of my mind. I wanted to write STORIES, maybe even see people act them out.
You think you’ll sit down, and begin at the beginning, and write a story or a play from beginning to end. You think that if you have your little stack of color-coded index cards, that you’ll have your plot all worked out, nice and neat. Little do you know that once you put two characters in a room alone, they’ll start a conversation and pass you by so fast your head will spin. You’ll have no control over them, what they say or do. You’ll be freaked out about this, but go with it. And they will wear the most atrocious clothing, like Mina Harker does in my new vampire comedy spoof inspired by Stoker's DRACULA.
You won’t have set hours to work. You’ll feel like crap all day because you stayed up too late the night before, have a cup of tea (caffeine!) at 5pm, then the next thing you know it’s 4am, you’re freezing, and you have produced some pages. You have no idea what you wrote, or where it came from.
You feel Out of Control. You are a writer. Writing is a messy business.
You think that you’ll “dream up” the beginning of a story, and if you keep working on it, you’ll work straight through from beginning to end. Nope. Doesn’t work that way. The first inkling you have of a story might be a snippet of conversation you hear over breakfast in the neighborhood diner. Like the one I overheard recently. "…after my first son was born, I had a flap of skin that hung down to the floor, honey…” Take that and run with it. Turn it into a character. Write about that poor woman, then see what she wants to do. Or it might be a news story you hear in passing about a mutant rodent. Go with it.
Here’s the Big Secret that it took me years to learn. You don’t always start at the first sentence---you hardly ever start at the first sentence. Writing is not a linear activity, it’s more of a spiral thing. A story is organic, it grows, a little this way, a little out that way. You don’t have to know the ending until you get there. You don't even have to know the beginning until later, either. Wow, what a mind-boggling idea that is!
I sure wish I’d known this long ago. I think it would have helped me be a little freer with my writing and get to the authentic stuff before now. I would have written more without stressing over having to know the first sentence, or trying to write a perfect book straight through. I would have paid better attention to the folks in the back corners of old diners.
Here’s the other Big Secret…you are not in control. Not really. You are a writer.
Bobbi A. Chukran
Copyright 2010
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