ANNIERELLA scripts available soon...

Word from the publisher is that I should have scripts to ANNIERELLA by January/February. It will appear in the fall catalog that's mailed out to 50,000 schools, theatres, etc. and will be on the publisher's website and advertised by e-mail to 20,000. I'm just giddy with happiness since none of my previous publishers have ever done that much to promote my work.

For those of you who are interested, here's the synopsis I recently wrote for the catalog:

"Poor little Annierella is heartbroken when her step-mother, Eula Gee, tells her that she cannot attend the Cowpoke’s Ball at the Lazy R&B Ranch with her step-sisters Frizelda Ann, Brizelda Jane and Mozelda Joe.

But then along comes a hilarious Fairy CowMother with an attitude the size of Texas who makes Annierella’s dreams of going to the Ball come true. With the use of an old watermelon from the compost patch and a few enchanted armadillos, Fairy Cowmother gets Annierella to the Ball in style.

When Annierella finally meets Roy Bob and he falls head over heels in love with her, she learns that sometimes it’s best NOT to get what you wish for in this Texas style version of the classic tale. The audience will laugh all the way to the surprising twist ending that turns the original story topsy-turvy.

This ain’t your mama’s Cinderella story!"

Happy trails!

bobbi c.

That Disney Magic....The Princess and the Frog

I know, it's not a play, but I also happen to love movies. And watching movies is a good exercise for playwrights, I think. I personally pay very close attention to dialogue, how the characters interact, and how the story might be staged if it was a play.

Husband and I saw *The Princess and the Frog* yesterday, and LOVED it. At first I thought it would just be a few hours of mindless distraction from these major decisions we're having to make since Husband quit his job, but it was much more than that.

It wasn't really a kid's movie at all--well, not only for children, anyway. It has that wonderful Disney hand-drawn animation that we fell in love with as kids. It's also different because it's set in the past in New Orleans and they didn't miss a trick about the food, culture, accents, music, setting---they really did their homework. I recognized several spots, including the Voodoo Museum and one of the main graveyards although they had been turned into 'toons. And they managed to turn a traditional story on its head with a few twists along the way.

I want to figure out how they can manage to make you laugh your rear
off AND cry your eyes out at the same time..LOL. That's the Disney magic.

Happy trails!

bobbi c.

Local theatre in Leander, tonight!

I've wanted to see this play (The Farndale Townswomen's Christmas Carol, for short) for quite some time, and was jazzed to find out that our local community theatre is doing it as their annual Christmas offering. Directed by Tavaris (Tazz) Kelly from Austin, and featuring several actors that we've enjoyed in previous productions, it should be a HOOT.

So if you're in Leander tonight or this weekend (and where else would you be? Hmmm?),check it out! Performances continue this weekend, with performances at 8 p.m. tonight, tomorrow night and with a matinee on Sunday, December 13.

See you there!

bobbi c.

ANNIERELLA tentative publication date, January!

Hi folks!

The tentative publication date of BOTH versions of my ANNIERELLA play will be in January 2010. Brooklyn Publishing decided out of the blue to bring out the short award-winning ten-minute version and the longer one-act version simultaneously since they are both very different from each other. I'm totally psyched about that and very grateful to them for giving my first published play a good start!

Getting both versions published means that it will be easy for interested schools, festivals, directors, community theatres, etc. to order scripts.

And by the way, although the first production of ANNIERELLA was done by young people, that doesn't mean that it's just a kid's play! I've pretty much turned the original story inside out and upside down, and it has a great message for adults as well as young people/children.

I'll post more news as soon as I hear!

Happy trails,

bobbi c.

More new news!

I've recently learned that Brooklyn Publishers, the awesome guys who are publishing the ten-minute version of Annierella, decided to also publish the long one-act version! Woohoo! This is great news, since it means that Annierella & the (Very Awesome) Good Queen Fairy Cowmother will get wider exposure, and will be available in script form for youth theatre, church drama groups, anybody who wants to produce a family-friendly, comedy play.

Stay tuned for more news....I'll post when the scripts are available for purchase through the publisher. In the meantime, check out their other wonderful plays!

http://www.brookpub.com

Happy trails,

bobbi c.

New news!

Friends!

Haven't had much playwriting news lately....UNTIL now! My ten-minute Annierella play will be published by Brooklyn Publishers! Woohoo! So, if you are a drama teacher, teacher of theatre arts for middle schools or high schools, keep a watch out! I'll post more news and the link later, once everything is finalized.

Happy trails from Grackle Stew Studio!

bobbi c.

Working on full length ANNIERELLA...

Since winning FIRST PLACE for my ten-minute version of ANNIERELLA, I've decided to go back and add some of the fun things that happened in the short version to the long version. The characters came more alive in the short version, the language is more fun and rhythmical, and making it shorter seemed to make the story more alive.

It will be fun to go back to the longer version and revamp it. My goal is to get this one published so that it will be easily available to high schools, middle schools, drama clubs, etc. And to get it published, it needs to get produced! That's the way this works, if you're lucky.

happy trails,

bobbi c.

ANNIERELLA won FIRST PLACE! Woohoo!

Dear friends,

Just got word that my play, ANNIERELLA & the (VERY AWESOME) GOOD QUEEN FAIRY COWMOTHER won FIRST PLACE in the competition! I am just giddy with joy over this! Thanks to Jack Dyville and all the staff at the Youth Education on Stage program in Williston, ND for their help in getting ANNIERELLA produced. I'm especially jazzed that two of the actors in the play also got Outstanding Acting Awards.

Other winners include:

2nd PLACE
The Adventures of ROCKY & SKYE & GRANT
by Kelly Du Mar, Sherborn Massachusetts

3rd PLACE
NICK TICKLE, FAIRY TALE DETECTIVE In Witch Crook Took The Book?
by Steph DeFerie, Harwich Massachusetts

AUDIENCE FAVORITE
NICK TICKLE, FAIRY TALE DETECTIVE In Witch Crook Took The Book?
by STEPH DE FERIE, Harwich Massachusetts

TOP TEN OUTSTANDING ACTING NOMINEES

Hayden Kemp (Rocky)
Abigail Fagerland (Skye)
ADVENTURES of ROCKY & SKYE & GRANT
by Kelly Du Mar, Sherborn Massachusetts

Rachael Richter (Doctor Cootie)
THE ATTACK OF THE COOTIES
by Zach-Rothman-Hicks, New York, New York

Alexandra Hoffelt (Annierella)
Raghen Lucy (Fairy CowMother)
ANNIERELLA And The Very Awesome GOOD QUEEN FAIRY COWMOTHER

Julia Christensen (Scout the Dog)
Renae Evenson (Socks, The Cat)
DOG DAY AFTERNOON
by Claudia Haas, White bear Lake, Minnesota

Mallory Nygard (Nick Tickle)
Ashley Fagerland (Mrs. Toad Stool)
NICK TICKLE FAIR TALE DETECTIVE, In Witch Crook Took The Book?
by Steph De Ferie, Harwich Massachusetts

Noah Germundson (Ryan)
THE GUITAR HERO
by Kathy Coudle-King, Grand Forks, North Dakota

Puttin' on those red boots now!

Happy trails!

bobbi c.

Annierella in the news!

This just tickles me no end!

ANNIERELLA in the news!

bobbi c.

Listed in Doollee, the Playwrights Database!

Dear friends,

I suppose I'm an official playwright now since I've just been listed in Doollee, the International Database of Playwrights.

Check out my personal listing, and check out some of the other fine playwrights listed on there.

Happy trails,

bobbi c.

ANNIERELLA premiere tonight!

I'm beyond jazzed.....my Annierella play premieres tonight in North Dakota at the Old Armory theatre there at the SUMMER SHORTS Youth Education on Stage festival. This is my first play EVER that's been produced. Thanks to Jack Dyville for his hard work getting it there!

More news later on the winners....

bobbi c.

ANNIERELLA coming up on June 23-25!

My ten-minute version of my "Annierella & the (Very Awesome) Good Queen Fairy Cowmother" will be one of nine plays performed by students aged 7-18 at the 4th annual SUMMER SHORTS Youth Education on Stage Festival at the Old Armory Theatre, Williston North Dakota June 23-24-25, 2009 and directed by Jack Dyville.

Each of the 9 Finalists will be performed three times, and 5 different adjudicators from Community Theatres, and High Schools and Colleges will score each play. A 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place will be awarded plus an overall Audience Award for Popular Vote.

The other selections include:

ATTACK OF THE COOTIES by Zach Rothman-Hicks (New York, NY), DOG DAY AFTERNOON by my new friend Claudia Haas (White Bear Lake, MN), HAIR TODAY, GONE TOMORROW by Ron Frankel (New Lebanon NY), NICK TICKLE, FAIRY TALE DETECTIVE in: WITCH CROOK TOOK THE BOOK? By my bestest new on-line playwright friend Steph DeFerie (Harwich MA), PREMATURE, by Russ Weeks (Seattle WA), THE GUITAR HERO by Kathy Coudle-King (Grand Forks ND) and THE TALE OF PETER RABBIT and BENJAMIN BUNNY by Evan Guilford-Blake (Stone Mountain GA).

I'm especially excited since I've met many of the other playwrights on-line within the last few months, and have had a chance to talk with them about writing. This is a thrill for me to have my first play EVER produced.

And if you can, get your selves up to North Dakota to see them. Wish I could beam myself up there!

happy trails,

bobbi c.

ANNIERELLA is a finalist!

WORLD PREMIERE OF BOBBI A. CHUKRAN'S PLAY, ANNIERELLA

I'm beyond jazzed at the news that my short play for youth, ANNIERELLA & the (VERY AWESOME) GOOD QUEEN FAIRY COWMOTHER is a finalist in the SUMMER SHORTS 4: CELEBRATION, Youth Education on Stage Festival in Williston, ND and will be produced!!! This is a ten-minute version of the longer play by the same title.

Directed by Jack Dyville, former Texan, the play is a very loose adaptation of the classic Cinderella story, Texas style, BUT with a very different ending.

The Festival takes place at the Old Armory Theatre in downtown Williston, North Dakota on June 23-25. ANNIERELLA is one of nine finalists, each of which will be performed three times during the festival.

If you're in the area, please GO!

This version of the ANNIERELLA play, as well as the longer version (app. 40 minutes, suitable for all ages), is available for more productions. Please e-mail me, the playwright, for more information.

Happy Trails!

bobbi c.

Woohoo! ANNIERELLA's a Semi-Finalist!

Friends!

I just found out yesterday that my play, ANNIERELLA AND THE (VERY AWESOME) GOOD QUEEN FAIRY COWMOTHER, is a semi-finalist in the SUMMER SHORTS 4, Youth Education on Stage Play Festival in Williston, ND!

I. AM. SO. JAZZED! This play has a long history already. Well, the story does, anyway. It started out as a story I wrote over FIVE years ago that was to be a children's book. At that time, it didn't quite come together for me, and I was doing other things, so I tucked her into a drawer. She wasn't content to stay there, though, so I took it out a few years later and rewrote it as a play. The first version of the play was much longer.

In order to submit it to the Summer Shorts Festival, I had to cut it down drastically, to TEN minutes! I thought, I cannot do this! But I love challenges,and after realizing that the original Cinderella story (which this is loosely based on)was only a couple of pages long. Once I got over that mind block, it was easier for me to cut the story down, and I think it actually reads better in some parts. The characters started rhyming and the words flowed.

I'm hoping that in the coming years, a lot of folks will want to produce ANNIERELLA! Either the long or the shorter version.

Now, children book author friends of mine tell me I need to turn it back into a book! Why not? LOL

Happy trails from Texas! and stay tuned for more news of ANNIERELLA and that crazy FAIRY COWMOTHER!

bobbi c.

Specializing in short plays?

Hey folks,

Just finished another short play, titled THE YEARNING. I have to say, I'm lovin' writing these short plays. This one is less than ten minutes long, and is suitable for a cast of two, male and female of any adult age, or perhaps older teenagers.

In less than a month, I've submitted plays to nineteen opportunities, contests or festivals. It will be interesting to see what percentage of those get responses. Already I've gotten feedback from some, asking to see a long play in a shorter version, etc. etc.

Fun times!

Happy trails,

bobbi c.

One-minute plays!

A one-minute play, can you imagine? This is one of the hardest things I've ever written, and believe it or not, it took me a week. I found a great timer on-line, and read and read and re-read the crazy thing until it was perfect. So, tah-dah, my first ONE-MINUTE play, *Clown-O-Phobia*, is available for production. Suitable for one female and one clown, any age.

I also have a ten-minute play finished, titled *High Fashion*. It started out as a personal essay I wrote for the Erma Bombeck Humor Writing Contest, that ALAS, I did not win. Pooh. Anywho, it turned into a play. Suitable for two women of any age, color, size or shape! LOL.

I love writing these short plays. Want more info.? E-mail me!

Oh, did I mention that these are comedies? LOL!!

bobbi c.

ANNIERELLA play finished!

My first longer play, *Annierella & The Very Awesome Good Queen Fairy Cowmother* is now finished! ANNIERELLA is a Texas style comedy adaptation of Cinderella, with a feminist slant. It's a one-act play (two different simple scenes), approximately 45 minutes, and suitable for older teens or adults of any age. Cast size can be anywhere from 8 on up, using some doubling and extras for the Cowpoke's Ball scene. And it's rated "G"...

More details available, just e-mail me!

happy trails from Texas, y'all...

bobbi c.

Making progress...

Dear friends,

One thing I've noticed is that there seem to be tons of opportunities for playwrights these days....anything from theatres that do full productions, to festivals of ten-minute plays.

So far, I've managed to submit my full-length one act play to a contest in Texas, and have submitted my ten-minute play to three different other places, all in the last week.

My longer play is an adaption of the Cinderella story, told Texas style. I"m hoping that it becomes popular with both community theatres and high schools, since it is appropriate for both age levels and can use a larger cast if needed.

That's another thing I like about playwriting....the ability to submit them to as many places as I want. That's SO unlike other types of writing, where you send one story out to one editor, then wait, and wait,and wait.

Happy trails,

bobbi c.

A new direction....

Welcome to my new blog, all about my adventures in playwriting! For years I've written everything else under the sun....non-fiction books, magazine articles, a novel, short stories, personal essays--you name it!

I can't pinpoint the moment when I decided to try writing a play, but at some time, I did just that. WAY back when I was a pre-teen and teenager, I'd frequently write plays that I tried to get my sister and brother to act in...they usually were outer space adventures in a rocket ship, OR underwater adventures in a submarine! I know I was influenced by the TV shows I watched back then.

In school, and in church groups, I did many musicals and other plays and have always loved attending performances by others. I majored in art in college, though, although my love of costuming and dramatics never left me. Fast forward about 30 years (YIKES), and here I am...going back to some of the types of writing that I loved as a teenager.

Two years ago I started a play that has since become a one-act with five scenes, a modern Texas style adaptation of Cinderella. I'm hoping that our local community theatre can produce it, but if not, I'm also entering it in a contest and trying to find other outlets for it.

In addition, I've written a ten-minute play featuring two sisters sitting in a diner discussing a fashion magazine. This short play started out as a comedy essay I wrote for the Erma Bombeck comedy award. Alas, I didn't win, but that's OK...it's MUCH better as a play, I think.

Both plays are comedies, and I feel like I'm off to a roaring start!

So come back and check out the blog now and then, and join me on my new journey to becoming a produced playwright.

Happy trails!

bobbi c.