Writing is not a linear activity.

An oldie but goodie, reprinted from my previous writing blog......

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. 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.

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.

My first advance for a 250-page book was $500. In those days, that paid about two 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 dry, dull, resource guides that took hours and hours of research and correspondence. After twenty plus years, even that got old, and my old dream started nibbling at the corners of my mind. To tell stories--that was the dream.

You think you’ll sit down, and begin at the beginning, and write a story 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.

You won’t have set hours to work. You’ll feel like crap all day, have a cup of tea at 5pm, then next you know it’s 4am, you’re freezing, and you have a stack of pages beside you. You have no idea what you wrote, or where it came from.

You feel Out of Control. You are a writer.

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…”…after my first son was born, I had a flap of skin that hung down to the floor, honey…” Take that and go with it. Turn it into a character. Write about her, 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. Writing is not a linear activity, it’s more of a spiral thing. It’s organic, it grows, a little this way, a little out that way. You don’t have to know the ending until you get there! Wow, what a mind-boggling idea that is!

I sure wish I’d known this before the age of 50. 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 having to know the first sentence. 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

Now available for the Nook on Barnes & Noble

Less than 2 days later, my novel Lone Star Death went live and for sale on Barnes & Noble, in Nook e-book format.  Click on the links below to be magically whisked away to the Amazon.com or the Barnes & Noble sites where you can read free samples of the book, or to order. :-)

 

Purchase from Barnes & Noble for the Nook

Purchase from Amazon.com for the Kindle

Happy trails from Texas!  bobbi c.

AKA "B.A. Neal"

LONE STAR DEATH for the Nook!

Dear peeps,

After a lot of hair-pulling, cussin' and cursin', I finally got my new mystery novel, Lone Star Death, formatted correctly and uploaded to the Barnes & Noble website (in spite of hours of "technical difficulties" where I wasn't sure if it was something I did, or something really wrong with their system.  Yep, it was THEM. :-) )

Hopefully, within 24 to 72-hours, it will be published and available to buy there for the Nook.  Yay!

It's a minor thing in the grand scheme of things, but a milestone for me.  It's been years since any of my printed (on paper!) books have been for sale in the Barnes and Noble stores.  I'm just glad I'm able to make the book available for the folks who have Nooks AND Kindles.

And since I still love holding books in my hot little hands, AND love seeing my books on library shelves, I'll be signing up with CreateSpace to make that happen.  Soon, very soon.

Ginger Snap Ann says "You can't sit on an e-book, dagnabbit! Whassup with THAT?"

Baby steps, people, baby steps!

Happy trails from Texas--
bobbi c.
http://bobbichukran.com

LONE STAR DEATH--now available!

Now available for sale on Amazon.com, for the Kindle. 
BUY LONE STAR DEATH here.

And remember, you don't have to own a Kindle to read Kindle books.  You can download free reading software on Amazon.com.

Happy trails!

bobbi c.

Lone Star Death---new title!

My Texas historical murder mystery, LONE STAR STATE OF DEATH, published back in 2006,  has a new title, new cover, and a new author!  Well, not exactly a new author.  Same ol' author (me!), with a new name.

For some time now I've been pondering using a pseudonym on the updated Kindle e-book version of this book.  I finally decided on B. A. Neal, my maiden name, and a little more generic.  Also, easier to spell and pronounce.  :-)

Since the book is totally updated, I wanted a new title, something that would set it apart from the previous version and be a bit shorter.  I pondered many hours over this, and finally came up with LONE STAR DEATH.  Close enough to the old name to be found by Google, but different.

As for the cover, I've always loved that photo of the horse, but wanted something a bit more "western-ish" in design and color.  Luckily, I have an art, graphics and publishing background and was able to easily redesign it.  Using a little Photoshop Elements magic, here's the new cover I came up with:

The plot and characters are the same.  The new version takes care of some pesky typos and formatting errors that ended up in the original one.  I also fixed the problem of the doctor whose eye color changed from chapter to chapter!  LOL

To read a synopsis of the book, read about my inspiration for the book and a little background, check out the book's blog, here.


I'll post more news when the book is available for sale on Amazon.  Hopefully, that will be within the next week!

The book is now live, and available for purchase!

BUY LONE STAR DEATH

This book has been through an exciting adventure since I first wrote it sixteen years ago, and I'm happy to see it available once again, this time for the Kindle.

Happy trails!

bobbi c.

Maybe you quit too soon, she said.

I was surprised the other day when some new friends mentioned that they didn't know I was an artist.  After all, I've been working at trying to sell my art for over 35 years.  Yikes, that's a long time. 

Here I am, back a few years ago, with one of my mixed-media paintings in the Cedar Park Regional Medical Center Permanent Art collection.  They specifically looked for local artists when commissioning the art, and since I lived very near there, I was honored to be a part of it.

 I told my woeful tale of how hard it is to make a living as an artist, much less get by.  And I told them how frustrating and depressing it was to watch the art pile up, year after year.  I admitted that I had *officially retired* from the art business two years ago, and was now concentrating on my writing.

The installation of my three pieces, in their own beautiful niches, in the Cedar Park Regional Medical Center

As I looked at my new friends' amazing art collection that includes sculpture, paintings, prints and outsider folk art, I commented that I always heard that there were people who loved art, and collected lots of it, but I had NEVER, in all those years, ever met any of them.  Isn't that strange?

One of them (thanks, Ms. P!) later said "Maybe you quit too soon."  Hmmm.  Ever since then, I've been thinking about the incredible amount of artwork I've created over the years.  I've worked in almost every media imaginable. Before we moved, I'll admit I either destroyed or gave away a good bit of my collection.  I'm sure some would think that's horrible.  But my new home is much smaller than our previous home, and my office doesn't even have a closet.  In the back of my mind, maybe I was thinking that the small cottage out back of our house *might* possibly become an art studio one day, once it's protected against the elements.  I made the conscious decision to spend full-time writing.  After all, I had ALSO been writing all those years.

I do have digital photos of most of my artwork, and for me, that's OK.  Many artists, I've learned, periodically destroy some of their art.  Another new Taylor friend, also an artist, told me to keep one good piece from each of my new directions.  I liked that advice, and so did keep a dozen or so pieces. Will I regret destroying those others?  Time will tell, but in general, I very rarely regret my actions.

"Sun in a Circle" Abstract Painting on Paper

As I looked through the photos, I made the decision to add a new page to my official website for samples of my artwork.  In general, it reminds me that all those years I spent weren't wasted, that some beauty came out of them, and many people did see my paintings and such--even if they don't own them.  That's the beauty of the Internet and digital images.  And since I do have digital images, the artwork can still be shared over and over, and even printed if I choose.

Right now, I'm happy writing full-time, because our house remodeling project, and my new garden design (yes, we do all our own work), have been taking up any extra time I have.  Once we're settled in, though, I expect I'll be eyeing that space out in the cottage and dreaming of a new work space, and maybe even a painting area.

Actually, come to think of it, I have written poetry about painting, and about art.  Can I separate the two, without feeling that I'm missing something?  Maybe someday I can find a *satisfying* way to combine the two.  I hope so.

Happy trails!

bobbi c.

Southern Humorist Featured Columnist

I'm a featured columnist over on the Southern Humorist website with my "The Good, The Bad & the Naughty" story about snails in the garden.  Check it out! 

http://www.southernhumorists.com/chukran.htm

And while you're there, check out some of the other writers, too.  Funny stuff!

Happy trails (snails?) from Texas!

bobbi c.

Edgar Allan Poe Short Story Published!

My fun Edgar Allan Poe short story I mentioned a few weeks ago was published today.  Take a peek, and enjoy!

http://kingsriverlife.com/05/12/edgar-allan-virginia-forevermore/

Happy trails!

bobbi c.

LITTLE RED RIDING BOOTS MADE IT!

Dear friends,

My comedy fairy tale mash-up  play, LITTLE RED RIDING BOOTS & COOTER COYOTE, MASTER OF DISGUISE, made it into the YES competition this year! YEEEHAW!  Here's the official announcement, with a list of the other plays that made it---written by several of my online playwright buds, and directed by Jack Dyville.

Youth Education On Stage announces the selection of Our 2012 SUMMER SHORTS: "Animal Antics" to be produced in Williston, North Dakota at the Old Armory Theatre June 19-20-21.

 ARCTIC AFTERNOON by Christine Emmert (Valley Forge PA)
 HISS HISS KISS KISS by Marjorie Conn (Asbury Park NJ)
 LIONS & TIGERS & BEARS, OH MY! by Shirley King (Benicia CA)
 THE DOG & THE GIRAFFE by Katie Labhan (New York, NY)
 THE FLEAS WHO FLED THE FUR by Marti Johnson (Seaside OR)
THE NEW ADVENTURES of KATIE KITTY! by Jack Dyville (Guttenberg NJ)
WHISKERS LEARNS A LESSON by Martha Patterson (Boston MA)

My play ANNIERELLA & the (VERY AWESOME) GOOD QUEEN FAIRY COWMOTHER was in this competition back in 2009, where it won First Place and was subsequently published by Brooklyn Publishers.

LITTLE RED RIDING BOOTS started out about five years ago as a  children's picture book, then turned into a play.

Happy trails!

bobbi c.

Flash fiction, anyone?

Dear friends,

I'm not sure why, but the older I get, the more frustrated I get with long books or stories.  Maybe it's because of all the blogging I do, or because I'm so busy that by the time I get a chance to sit down and read, I'm exhausted and can't stay awake!

Recently, I've realized that my best work tends to be short--both my plays and my stories.  I discovered *flash fiction* a few years ago, have just discovered *flash memoirs* and have to say that I'm really excited about some of the stuff I'm reading out there.

I have had two short flash stories published online, at the Clockwise Cat blog.  Check 'em out, HERE. The editor called them "absurd" fiction, which I found interesting.  I call it quirky-strange fiction, maybe even a bit macabre.  OK with me!  LOL.

Here's a short garden story I wrote.  Actually, I guess it's a "flash memoir" because it really did happen.  Hope you enjoy reading "Help!  Mantis Attack!"

I love taking a snippet of conversation, an observation about a quirky character I see, or an idea, and running with it.  I had one of these flashes of inspiration yesterday while sitting in the garden, dripping with sweat, covered with mud, listening to the chaos from a house down the street from us.  Seems they decided to cut down a pecan tree.  That idea, coupled with a chance comment a friend of mine made last week, turned into the draft of a short story that I hope will be a good one.  If not good, then at least amusing. :-)

As I practice writing flash/short fiction, I look around the 'net for great examples of other stories.  I learn more by reading fiction by others than I ever have from how-to books.  (I'm still trying to find the ultimate how-to-write-flash-genre-fiction book.  So far, no luck.)

This morning I ran into the new (to me) WIGLEAF website that focuses on  (very) short fiction.  Lots of good stuff there and great artwork, too.

If you have never read any flash fiction, I suggest you "do a Google" for "flash fiction stories" and go from there.  There are thousands of great short stories online for you to read--for FREE!  AND great collections of them for sale inexpensively on Amazon.com.

Happy trails,

bobbi c.

Dark Shadows and Vampires

 

I can truthfully say that I've been a fan of DARK SHADOWS since I was ten years old.  It first showed up on TV waaaay back in 1966 and ran for five years, until 1971.  A gothic soap opera, the likes of which nobody had ever seen, titillated and thrilled with the story line that included vampires, werewolves, witches and dare I say---leviathans!

I was one of those rabid fans, and had a serious crush on Jonathan Frid, who played the vampire Barnabas Collins.  Sadly, he recently died on Friday, April 13th, at the age of 87---RIP.  I'm sure I wasn't the only young girl who sent away and anxiously awaited the free fan photo.  It finally came in the mail, and had a constant place under my pillow at night.

Jonathan Frid as Barnabas Collins

On the days when our school bus was delayed (my memory is a bit sketchy at the reason), my mother would tape the show on an ancient reel-to-reel tape recorder, and I'd listen to the audio later that night.  Those were back in the days before VCRs, and it took a lot of imagination sometimes to figure out what exactly was happening in the scene---all those dreaded, heavy silences drove me mad--wondering.

 I obsessively collected the novels and read them under blanket cover late at night, scaring the bejeebers out of  me.  They were written by gothic novelist W. E. Daniel "Dan" Ross under the pseudonym Marilyn Ross (his wife's name).

I recently learned that two former actresses on the series have their own novels based on the show--Lara Parker (who played Angelique) and Kathryn Leigh Scott (who played Josette).  And I even developed a crush on David Selby, who played the werewolf Quentin Collins.  How could anyone resist those sideburns?

David Selby as Quentin Collins, werewolf

I also had his fan photo, and it lay safely under my pillow, along with Barnabas'.

And oh!  That music!  There was something about that haunting, eerie music.  I bought the record album (remember those?) and played it over and over.  I still have that album, forty-six years later!  According to Wikipedia, the original soundtrack made the top 20 on the Billboard national  chart in 1969 and still ranks as one of the top-selling TV soundtracks ever.

Well!  Let me just announce right here that I was beside myself with joy---giddy, one might say, when I heard that there would be a new DARK SHADOWS movie.  And I was even more excited when I heard that none other than Tim Burton would be directing it.  I've been a fan of his work from the get-go, and knew that something special would come of it.   Then to find out that Johnny Depp would play Barnabas?  I tell ya, that was a swoonable moment.  Not to mention the lovely Ms. Pfeiffer.

Johnny Depp and the cast of the DARK SHADOWS movie

When I saw the first trailer, I was blown away.  WHAT?  A SPOOF?  of my beloved DARK SHADOWS!  Yes!  It totally works!  I love the idea.  I, ahem, recently wrote my own vampire spoof, THE JOURNAL OF MINA HARKER, and am totally delighted that the writers and director decided to play it this way.  After all, there are many who say that the original show was played a bit tongue-in-cheek anyway.  (Oh come on, yes it was!)

If you go back and watch the show on DVDs (yes, of course I own them!), you just have to laugh.  At the time, of course, I didn't see it as funny--it was serious stuff.   I've been watching the trailers over and over, and I cannot wait to see the movie.  Stay tuned for a review, right here!

In the meantime, listen to this interview of the writer, Seth Grahame-Smith.  BTW, he also penned the script for the new ABRAHAM LINCOLN, VAMPIRE HUNTER movie coming out in June.

RIP, Jonathan.

But in the meantime, won't you meet me down at the Blue Whale, where we'll hoist a pint of ale (or root beer) in honor of the original DARK SHADOWS cast.

 In memory of those who have crossed.  Or have they?  ;-)

 (Cue the howling wolf. Cue flapping wings.)

Happy trails!

bobbi c.

Dracula ala Mel Brooks!

   If you laughed at "Young Frankenstein," you'll love this twisted take on DRACULA.
http://amzn.to/ItLBH6   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 play script would be seeing a production.
--From a review on Amazon.com

Short Story Published!

Dear friends,

I found out last night that my short story "Edgar Allan & Virginia, Forevermore" will be published in the May 12th edition of King's River Life magazine.  Great timing, since The Raven movie is also out now!  It's a story about those who live with writers, and the sacrifices they have to make.  And yes, of course, it's a comedy.

This is a "love" story that started out as a short play I wrote for Valentine's Day last year in response to a call for plays about love.  When the producer never acknowledged my submission (something that happens way too often these days), I decided to turn it into a short story.

It's especially exciting because it's my first short mystery story publication and first fiction  ever in a professional online magazine.  I'm honored to join all the other authors who've been published in KRL.  Thanks to Lorie for putting out the call for stories.

I'll remind y'all again once it's out.  LOL.  In the meantime, check out King's River Life, where you'll find lots of other great mysteries, reviews, news, etc.

Happy trails,

bobbi c.
http://bobbichukran.com

ANNIERELLA Productions Coming Up!

Alton Schools in Alton, Missouri will be doing two performances of ANNIERELLA & the (VERY AWESOME) GOOD QUEEN FAIRY COWMOTHER on March 9, 2012.

Yeehaw!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

It's alive, it's alive! My DRACULA e-play adaptation...

Come on, you KNOW you want to read it...

No, not Frankenstein's monster....my new Kindle e-book on Amazon!  Just in time for Halloween reading...THE JOURNAL OF MINA HARKER is now ready for purchase for only $2.99.

DOWNLOAD A FREE SAMPLE or BUY THE BOOK FROM AMAZON.COM

Since a few of my friends have asked, I thought I'd write a bit about the background of this play, and how I came to write it.

A few years ago,  I was looking for a classic book to adapt into a serious, literary play, suitable for high school students. I decided to do Bram Stoker's DRACULA since I grew up watching (and loving!) the old DRACULA movies with Bela Lugosi and other vampire movies of the time.

Look deeep into my eyes...

Although the Lugosi movie was loosely based on the book, it didn't completely follow along with the original story.  I didn't know that until I actually sat down and read the book.  Once I started, I was mesmerized by the language, the imagery, and the story.  And I was fascinated to learn that a lot of the things we think we know about vampires didn't come from the novel; they came from the movie.

Turns out, the book is told through a series of journal entries, some by Jonathan Harker (Daniel in my story), and some by his wife, Mina.  Some of it comes through letters sent back and forth between the main characters (Jonathan even collected recipes that he sent home to Mina).  When I read it, I was astounded to learn that it really was Mina's story that she had pieced together from all these letters.  So I decided to tell it from her viewpoint.  Since it is a play, I had to shorten it so I choose to leave out a few of the original characters and scenes.  I do mention Holmwood and Texan Quincey Morris, but they don't show up in the play as real characters.

So, if I started out writing a serious adaptation, what happened?  LOL.  Well, the characters took over.  When I write fiction or a stage play, it plays in my head like a movie. When Dracula first enters and stumbles and almost falls, it occurred to me that he was "blind as a bat."  Hmmm.  I tried to ignore that, but  later, when poor Mr. Renfield ran into the room with his underwear over his head, spouting his Renfield rap---in Latin, no less--he's a really bad poet---I knew it wasn't going to be a serious adaptation.  Mina started wearing the most ginormous hats,  Daniel got a craving for an onion tart, and the Count demanded to know if his new home had nice curtains. After that, the characters took over and it became a comedy.  What else is an author to do?

Let's just say, it ain't Bela's DRACULA.  :-)  Sorry, Bela!

 (And with apologies to Bram.)

(And this hilariously fun play still needs a production.  Run time is approximately an hour.  E-mail me if interested.)

bobbi c.

DRACULA adaptation, The Journal of Mina Harker, published for Kindle

Dear readers,

Ever since I got a Kindle for Christmas last year, I've wanted to make some of my work available in that format.  Last year, I started work on my DRACULA adaptation, THE JOURNAL OF MINA HARKER, a comedy vampire play.  I edited and re-edited, reworked the characters, decided to go for a pure campy style and decided to tell it from Mina's point of view.  Yes, it's a bit twisted; it is a spoof, after all.  Finally, I was satisfied with it enough to publish it.  (By the way, I'd say it's rated PG-13...with just a few naughty innuendos. :-) )

So, just in time for Halloween 2011, I uploaded it to the Amazon.com site tonight.  Within 24-hours, it should be available for purchase in Kindle format for $2.99.

I'm convinced that people love to read plays and act out the parts in their minds.  I know I do.   At any rate, the script is also available to groups who want to do readings (and of course, productions).

I'll post the link when it's available on the Amazon website.

Happy trails,

bobbi c.

Monologues for Middle School published

I'm excited to announce that two of my original monologues for middle school age actors will be published by Dramatic Publishing in a new collection coming out soon--ORIGINAL MIDDLE SCHOOL SCENES and MONOLOGUES.

The two pieces are titled POWER PLAY and TELLING STORIES, and the short monologues are perfect for competitions or drama classes.

For more information, contact me.

Where the heck have I been?

Ah, good question.  For one thing, I've been trying to survive the drought from H.E.Double-Toothpicks here in Texas.  So far, so good, and doing that while simultaneously trying to remodel a VERY old (1930) home in Taylor, Texas.  That's like vintage, man.  It's been a dream of mine for years to do this, but didn't have the chance until recently.  Working on the house has left little time for writing much more than a few blog entries at my new Two Sisters 1930 Cottage blog. In the process of working on the house, I have come up with a few dandy ideas for plays and novels based on some of the characters I've met.  My lips are sealed!  For now.

In playwriting news, my ANNIERELLA play has chalked up a few more productions and my newest full-length fairy tale twist-up, PRINCESS PRIMROSE & the CURSE OF THE BIG SLEEP, won Third Place in the East Valley Children's Theatre Aspiring Playwriting contest for 2011.  Yay!  That's my second win with the great folks at the EVCT.

More news later.  And oh, by the way, why not consider doing a fun comedy play for a fund-raiser for your school, non-profit group, church or community event?  I have a GREAT Christmas play that needs a production.  Just sayin'....  :-)

Happy trails from HOT Texas!

bobbi c.

I am right chuffed!

One thing I do with my plays is offer some of the new unproduced and unpublished short ones to schoolteachers who use them in reading or playwriting exercises. In the past, school classes in several places in the U.S. have read my plays, and that was thrilling. Recently, I got an e-mail from an elementary school teacher in Cambridge, England who wanted to use one of my short plays with some drama exercises in her primary school class, to get them ready for a Wild West theme. I LOVED this idea, and sent her a few scripts that she's using now (The Lonely Cowboy and Little Red Riding Boots). I'm honored that the teacher reached out to me, all the way here to Texas. I hope eventually I'll get a report on how the kids used my plays for their exercises.

Happy trails from cold Texas!

bobbi c.

Free ANNIERELLA script

Howdy friends!

I just found out that my ANNIERELLA play is the free e-script of the week over at Brooklyn Publishers. Please, go download it, read it, and comment on it. Thanks for your support!

http://www.brookpub.com

bobbi c.

New fairy tale smash-up play! PRINCESS PRIMROSE

Announcing a new play by Bobbi A. Chukran!!!

PRINCESS PRIMROSE & the CURSE of the BIG SLEEP
From the Casefiles of Rapunzel & White, In Service to Her Majesty the Queen

What if two of the most famous fairy tale women, Rapunzel Rapunzel and Snow White were friends, and got together and started a detective agency? They'd have seven little sidekicks (Nosy, Snoops, Sherlock, Stealthy, Creeper, Gumshoe and Marlowe) and be called in to help when a certain princess (Primrose) was threatened by her aunt, a wicked witch (Moribunda McEvil) and her faithful partner, Eargore (a spell gone really bad). Mix in Queen Floribunda, King Rosario, Chester the Jester, Snitch, the tattle-tale fairy who can't get his story straight, a young witch that can only reverse spells (Miss Slumberkins), an enchanted frog that's afraid of germs (Thaddeus A. Pole), and Weasel the Wizard.

You'll never look at a frog the same way again. :-)

Comedy; App. 65-minutes; cast of 21 plus some a few motley enchanted creatures, typical fairy tale setting and costumes. Family friendly (of course), suitable for adult, high school and advanced middle school actors.

This play is available for readings. Please contact the playwright for more information.

Award-Winning Christmas Play

Dear peeps,

I'm still looking for a Texas theatre who wants to either do a reading of (or production of!) my award-winning play, DOT & the (AMAZING TECHNICOLOR) QUEST FOR THE REAL SANTA CLAUSE.

DOT was the Third Place winner in the East Valley Children's Theatre Emerging Playwriting Competition this year.

The play is suitable for older teens, adults or advanced middle school kids.

E-mail me for details.

Happy trails!

bobbi c.

ANNIERELLA production!

Dear peoples,

I just learned that my ten-minute version of ANNIERELLA & the (VERY AWESOME) GOOD QUEEN FAIRY COWMOTHER was produced by the East Central High School Drama class in St. Leon, Indiana on November 5th for two performances.

ANNIERELLA rides again! Yeehaw!

If anybody is interested in reading a bit of the script, check out Brooklyn Publishing's website and search for the title there.

Happy trails,

bobbi c.

Free script excerpts posted

Dear friends,

I've added a new page to my website and posted some free excerpts from my longer play scripts for THEATER EDUCATION. These are suitable for middle grades on up through adult. They are family friendly, and guaranteed to be suitable for all audiences.

If you need a script for a competition, or a drama class or readings, check it out.

Happy trails!

bobbi c.

Short Plays for Kids...and Adults.....and Families!

Dear friends,

I'm still trying to "find the market" so to speak for my new plays. I tend to use a lot of classic fairy tales as the "bones" of my story, or the underlying ideas behind them. But then my imagination takes over and I divert in different directions. For example, my brand BRAND new play that I finished last Friday (first draft only at this point) is based on a combo of the Princess and the Frog stories and the story of Sleeping Beauty. BUT, I have two new recurring characters that I'm sure will show up again...Rapunzel Rapunzel and Snow White. These two fiesty young women have gone into business together and run a detective agency, in Service to Her Majesty the Queen. Of course Ms. White has seven helpers...LOL!

The working title is "Princess Primrose and the Curse of the Big Sleep" but I love long titles so will probably add a sub-title, like "From the Casebook of Rapunzel & White, In Service to Her Majesty the Queen". This is the first in a series of plays I hope to write about these characters. Perhaps the stories will become books some day, too. That would be cake WITH icing. :-)

Writing about the same characters in several plays is a somewhat dangerous thing to do, because you run into the problem of theatres that don't want to do sequels because of various reasons. It's a shame, because I've found that people do fall in love with characters and want to see them return. At any rate, I love writing about the same characters in different situations. When I write a character, they become real to me.

My plays aren't the same ol' fairy tales, that's for sure. But deep down, they have that fantasy element, that magic that all classic fairy tales have brought to us down through the ages.

Happy trails!

bobbi c.
Playwright & Storyteller

Vampire plays...galore!

Dear friends,

For the first time ever, I read the entire original DRACULA book by Bram Stoker. The version of Dracula that we've seen often in movies isn't very similar to the original story in the book. I decided that I had to adapt it into a play, naturally. First of all, I wrote it pretty straight forward. Then, since I needed a short play for a youth festival competition, I wrote a ten-minute version (yes, I did! LOL). I guess all the brou-ha-ha about "those" vampire novels and movies was lurking in the back of my mind, so I named that one VAMPIRE FEVER!

Then, since I couldn't help myself, I did another longer version, Texas style. That one is titled DRACULA BITES! or, Texas Has a Vampire in It! and it's my favorite. A bit melodramatic, but that's what I was going for.

For now, I think I'll let Mr. Dracula rest.

Happy trails!

bobbi c.

New Ten-Minute Play....The Lonely Cowboy

Howdy Folks!

Just finished a new ten-minute comedy western play titled The Lonely Cowboy, suitable for all ages! Guaranteed to have no spittin', no cursin', no horsin' around and no naughty bits! Well, maybe just a little horsin' around. :-)

Lonely Cowboy is sitting out alone in the desert, beside his campfire, happy as a pig in slop. What happens when a string of colorful characters decide to pay him a visit? There's the Grizzled Prospector looking for gold, the Dancehall Girl who jumped out of an overturned stagecoach, the Singin' Cowboy and the Preacher.

This fun play has a cast of four males, one female or two males, one female and two other females dressed as males.

E-mail me for information on readings or if you'd like to produce this play.

Happy trails!

bobbi c.
Official Website

DOT's a prize winner!

Dear friends,

The good news just keeps on comin' here at Catnip Cottage! This morning I learned that my new Christmas play, Dot & the (Amazing Technicolor) Quest for the Real Santa Clause won THIRD PLACE in the East Valley Children's Theatre Aspiring Playwright's Contest in Mesa, AZ! AND it comes with a cash prize...my first ever!

I'm still looking for a theatre to premiere a production of DOT, so e-mail me if you're interested, or check out an excerpt on my website.

Happy trails!

bobbi c.

LITTLE RED RIDING BOOTS & COOTER COYOTE...a Short Comedy Play available for productions...

LITTLE RED RIDING BOOTS & COOTER COYOTE, a new ten-minute play by Bobbi A. Chukran, native Texan playwright, is now available for readings and productions.

The play is a very loose retelling of the Little Red Riding Hood fairy tale, with a Texas twist and a quirky villainous coyote who tries to steal Granny's food from Little Red Riding Boots, with hilarious results. You will love this funny, heartwarming tale about a fiesty young heroine who teams up with her grandmother to outwit a rascally coyote.

This comedy tale is written for a cast of 3 F, 2 M and 1 or 2 Either (in a horse costume), or for easier staging, a toy stick horse can be used. The play is rated Family-Friendly, fun for kids of all ages!

For more information, script excerpt or to get permission to produce this new play, please e-mail Ms. Chukran.

To read more about the playwright, download a resume or read excerpts of other plays, please visit Bobbi's website.

Happy Trails!

bobbi c.

Playwriting News!

Dear friends,

I just found out that a sequel I wrote to my first ANNIERELLA play, titled "Annierella & the (Not So) Secret Garden" as well as a spoof based on Bram Stoker's DRACULA titled "Vampire Fever!" are semi-finalists in the 2010 Youth Education on Stage play writing competition. I'm in some fine company there, with several of my friends from the Playwright's Binge Yahoo group and my friend Steph Deferie.

This is the same competition where ANNIERELLA was the First Place Winner last summer.

Happy Trails,

bobbi c.

What others are saying about ANNIERELLA:

A blurb from my first director, Jack Dyville, about ANNIERELLA:

"As producer of Youth Education On Stage, we have found that doing SUMMER SHORTS, a short play festival is the ideal way to give more grade school children each summer that all important opportunity to sink their teeth into roles (even if they are brief plays) rather than just playing a tree or third chorus kid to the left!!!
With "Annierella" my cast had so much fun with these folksey characters and had the opportunity to create roles that had meaning to them. The dialogue was clever and the jokes were strong. The audiences loved it and it moved the judges -- winning the Best Over-All Production of the Festival".
---Jack Dyville Co-Producer Youth Education On Stage (Williston North Dakota) and Artistic Director, Friends Always Creating Theatre (NYC)

ANNIERELLA was also one of the featured plays announced by the publisher today. You may read it online here:

Brooklyn Publishing Announces the Publication of two versions of ANNIERELLA

Happy trails!

bobbi c.

Playwriting FAQ

Since I've had a lot of questions lately about how I write my plays, I decided to put together a page of FAQ's, or frequently asked questions on the subject. I'll be adding to this as time goes by, so if you have any questions you'd like answered, let me know.

Playwriting FAQ

Happy trails,

bobbi c.

Production Scripts

Dear friends,

I was contacted by Production Scripts, in the UK, a few weeks ago and asked to submit some of my scripts to list on their website. I sent them my new Christmas play, DOT & the (AMAZING TECHNICOLOR) QUEST FOR THE REAL SANTA CLAUSE and it got posted there today. They are not a publisher; they act as a sales outlet for scripts, and hopefully, productions. The playwright gets a percentage of the sales price.

So far, DOT has not been produced, but I hope since Christmas is coming up, that will change soon.

I'm excited to be affiliated with Production Scripts. Surf on over and take a look if you're looking for any type or length of drama or comedy script, for adults or for children or youth.

happy trails,

bobbi c.

Our local theatre finally has a permanent home!

After years of putting up with sub-standard conditions, our local Way off Broadway Community Players theatre has a permanent home in a renovated former bathtub plant here in Leander, Texas. The new space features a rehearsal stage and plenty of space to spread out.

A recent article in the local Hill Country News newspaper gives the full story and also reports on the grant that the theatre received from the newly formed Leander Public Arts Committee.

As a local playwright who lives within "spittin' distance" from the new theater, I couldn't be happier for them!

Their first show in the new facility will be NOISES OFF by Michael Frayn and I can't wait to see it!

For more about the WOBCP, please check out their website.

Happy trails from warm and sunny Texas!

bobbi c.

FREE Preview of new play

Howdy folks!

I just added a FREE PREVIEW of my DOT & the (Amazing Technicolor) Quest for the Real Santa Clause on my website. Take a look! This is a brand new unpublished play suitable for all audiences. Here's a synopsis from a previous post for the curious amongst you.

Happy trails!

bobbi c.

Press Release....ANNIERELLA

Just added a press release about the publication of ANNIERELLA to the website. Take a look!



bobbi c.

ANNIERELLA published...it's official!

Folks!

I got the best birthday ever this year when my editor at Brooklyn Publishers called to tell me that my ANNIERELLA and the (Very Awesome) Good Queen Fairy Cowmother plays are officially published now! Woohoo, and yeehaw (as Annierella would say).

This has been an almost year-long process from writing the one-act play (my first), to doing a short version for the Youth Education on Stage competition, to winning First Place in that, to the submission to Brooklyn, their acceptance, the editing process and now publication!

A preview of the script can be downloaded on the publisher's website here:
Preview of ANNIERELLA

Here's hoping that ANNIERELLA rides far and near and has many productions!

Happy trails,

bobbi c.

Another new play....DRACULA BITES

Finished another new play last week, DRACULA BITES. It's a full-length vampire comedy loosely based on Bram Stoker's classic. This one was definitely a challenge to write while avoiding all the old cliched vampire jokes. I hope I was able to pull it off.

Excerpts are available, just e-mail me.

Also updated my official website, which you can read here.

Happy trails!

bobbi c.
Texas playwright

Dot & the (Amazing Technicolor) Quest for the Real Santa Claus Synopsis

Brand-new holiday and Christmas comedy play available for productions. 8F, 1M, adult or youth; some doubling, app. 60-minutes


A story about a young woman named Dot who yearns for a traditional holiday, her mother and aunt who embrace the modern, a runaway inflatable helicopter, old toys that come to life, a very strange cat named Cattywampus, and a quest through a magical fantasy land for the real Santa Claus. Sometimes what you search for is right under your nose.

Contact the playwright for more information on readings or productions.

ANNOUNCING, A NEW PLAY!

After slaving over a hot keyboard for FOUR whole days, I'd like to announce my latest play...this time, a full-length.

DOT and the (AMAZING TECHNICOLOR) QUEST FOR THE REAL SANTA CLAUSE

This is a holiday/Christmas play for adults, nine characters with possible doubling or cross-dressing (oh my!). I wrote it for a playwriting competition, and actually made the deadline. Motivation is a good thing!

It's been sent to several directors, but like they say, a play is never finished.

happy trails,

bobbi c.

Are playwrights whiners?

Perhaps. Do we have a right to be? Perhaps.

Take a look at this quote from an article in the Guardian (UK) by Theresa Rebeck. You can find the entire post HERE.

"Is the American theatre allowing itself to become irrelevant? The problem isn't that playwrights aren't being paid enough. It's that theatres all over America are looking towards New York to tell them what new plays to do. Meanwhile, New York is in thrall to revivals and movie stars."

Of course, I'd love it if every small community theatre in Texas decided to do my plays, but I'm not famous enough. Yet. LOL.

Food for thought...

bobbi c.

DEATHTRAP by Ira Levin coming to WOBCP

Opening this week! One of my all time favorite plays, DEATHTRAP, by Ira Levin, is coming to the Way off Broadway Community Players, here in Leander. It plays through January 30th. Please check their website for details, or to reserve tickets.



Happy trails!

bobbi c.

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.