Anyway, here is a look back at this past session (a few people are missing).  This was taken the last day, Tuesday, July 3rd, during our ending pow-wow wrap-up.  I felt a sense of comraderie and I hope we all get to workshop again with each other soon.

I’ve finally rewritten “Japan 1946 Meets California 2010″ into a full length play now titled “Unforgettable”.  It’s part of the DHHWI New Works Festival – Spring 2012 Series (see photo).

Please come and give your feedback (and comparison to the original one act that we produced last year.)  I’d love to see you there!  Best part is it’s FREE!

——–
A little blurb about the play:

UNFORGETTABLE
By Rochelle Perry
“Time and memory collide when a grandmother’s struggle to remember     her past inspires her granddaughter to think about her future.”

——–
Let’s go to XLIXE or Daikokuya afterwards.

I’ll update you more in the weeks ahead.

I also googled myself to see what people can find out about me.  I really hope those porn videos never come out!  Kidding!  Kidding!  (… or am I?)  Well here’s something I found that I never knew existed.  Where these people grabbed this information I have no idea, but it was fun to find nonetheless.  (It’s a really old database of my produced plays.)

http://www.doollee.com/PlaywrightsP/perry-rochelle.html

Oh, if you do google me, you may find another “Rochelle Perry” who died years ago.  Sorry to end this musing on a sad note.  But just know, I’m still here and hoping to make a name for all Rochelle Perrys out there…

“Between the Lines” features Professor Schubert (Tom Killam), esteemed in his field yet lost in his own “small world.” When a young, idealistic student (Natalie Camunas) learns that he draws his inspiration from Disneyland amusement rides, she has a rude awakening to the bitter taste of the real world after all.

“Baby Blues” is almost like Albee’s Zoo Story, set on a park bench, where a talkative proud mama boasts about her young toddler; all the while the emotional pregnant woman beside her carries a stillborn. The irony and tragedy is heart wrenching.

“Can You Hear Me Now“ is a vignette on love in the era of texting. It ponders the modern day dilemma of face to face vs. technological. Love in 3D seems to overpower the one dimensional blasé of online interaction.

“The Broken Ones” features a clown/Marilyn impersonator (Ramona Young), awaiting “Mr. Right,” the man of her dreams. Yet the man who literally rolls along in a wheelchair is looking for some semblance of love as well; the two form a bond and realize that their uniting is better than fantasy indeed.

“Benny and Pearl Loving in a Gold Fish Bowl“ begins with my favorite tune, “In My Life,” and portrays a reunion of two old souls who never connected romantically. They dance, kiss, and rekindle sparks — all through the eyes of a fishbowl. Life’s truly a fishbowl: We’re all swimming around trying to hook the right catch.

“Taken for a Ride” features a cat, in anthropomorphic form (Anthony Rutowicz). He is so like a human when “dumped” from a relationship with Susan (Chris Lee): tossed out, abandoned, left to fend for himself.

“In My Dress,” my favorite one-act, I was reminded of Cinderella, trying on the infamous glass slipper. It seems when each character (Amy Alleson, Anna Douglas, and Jessica Gardner) don this magical piece of clothing, the basic little black dress, something uncanny occurs.

The one-acts are bound together by a similar theme: disconnected souls wandering in and out of love, whose lives are turned and twisted by the fickle hand of fate — a perfect Valentine’s entertainment treat.

Connections runs through Feb. 21 on Mondays and Tuesdays at 8 p.m. The Write Act Repertory Theatre is located at 6128 Yucca St. in Hollywood. For more information, visit http://www.writeactrep.org or call (323) 469-3113.

Taken from review on Tolucan Times: http://tolucantimes.info/section/theatre_review/making-the-write-connections-at-write-act-repertory/

These new works will be offered for a limited run at Write Act Repertory Theatre, opening Wednesday, February 1^st through Tuesday February 21^st, 2012. The performances run Mondays & Tuesdays at 8:00pm, with one Wednesday performance at 8:00pm.

Between the Lines written By Mari Falcone Cantos

Directed by Richard Pierce

Synopsis – When a bright young college student has the opportunity to interview the reclusive writer she has always idolized, she learns more than she ever wanted to know.

Can You Hear Me Now? written By Lynne Moses

Directed by Michael Eiden

Synopsis – In this modern age of texting and tweeting, is it possible to have a real face-to-face conversation, and possibly even begin a meaningful relationship?

Baby Blues written By Rhea MacCallum

Directed by Rocco Vitacco

Synopsis – Two young women sit on the same bench watching children at play in the park.  But motherhood has a very different meaning to each.

The Broken Ones written By Elayne Heilveil

Directed by Melanie Cruz

Synopsis – Two lost souls meet at a carnival in hopes of connecting with each other and the world that has abandoned them.

Benny and Pearl Loving in a Gold Fish Bowl written By Linda L. Rand

Directed by Louise Kroot-Haukka

Synopsis – Two old friends find romance while teaching their watery namesakes about the art of love.

Taken for a Ride written By Jan O’Connor

Directed by Diane Chernansky

Synopsis – After a failed love affair, a troubled young woman moves back to Chicago, but first must explain to her cat why she is leaving him behind.

In My Dress written By Rochelle Perry

Directed by Barika A. Croom

Synopsis – One dress impacts the lives of three different women.

DATES AND TIMES:

*Press Opening – Wednesday, February 1^st, 2012 with Opening Night Reception

Performs Mondays & Tuesdays, @ 8:00PM and Wednesday February 1st  @ 8:00pm.

Performances through Tuesday, February 21st.

Box Office opens 25 minutes prior to curtain.

All performances will feature a “Meet and Greet the Artists” reception following the show.

LOCATION:

Write Act Repertory Theatre – 6128 Yucca St., Hollywood, CA. 90028

(North of Vine St – two blocks east of Historic Landmark Capitol Records Building)

Free parking in the lot on the south side of St. Stephen’s Church at 6125 Carlos Ave.

TICKET PRICES:

General Admission:  $15 at the door / Discounted Rate: $12 (Seniors, Students, Groups 4+)

Online Credit Card and Discount Tix – www.brownpapertickets.com

INFORMATION & RESERVATIONS:

Call:   (323) 469-3113 / Reservations Suggested / General Admission Seating / ADA Compliant

Visit: www.writeactrep.org

Here’s a little more about it:

Cast of Characters
Shelby Higgins:     At first, a woman married into wealth.  At last, a divorcee who loses custody of her children and home for becoming an alcoholic. Identity: Needy/relies on others’ for happiness.

Myra Higgins:     At first, an artist who struggles with identity.  At last, a homeless woman on the street, begging for money.  Identity: Follows passion.

Dorothy Bridger:    At first, a struggling college pre-med student. At last, a successful doctor. Identity: Perseverence.

Male Chorus:    One Actor plays each of these varied roles.

(Author’s Note: The dress these women wear is the same exact dress – size, color, etc.  Three dresses total – one brand new, the second more faded/stains, the third torn and nearly unwearable.)

Scene

Somewhere in Los Angeles.

Time

Seven years ago and present time.

Synopsis

Three women on a mission to find themselves discover their identities through a dress that travels through each of their lives time and time again.

http://www.socal.com/7242/172/Night+of+Dead.html

A literary heavyweight and living master of horror and short fiction, Stephen King lent six of his spookier short stories to the Visceral Company for adaptation to the stage. In prototypical King fashion, each of the stories is an eerie exploration of the darker side of the human spirit.

Perhaps by happenstance but more likely by design, the plays seemed to improve as the show went on, slowly building on one another and culminating with what was the least creepy but most entertaining play of the six. Though many of the players appeared in several of the plays, each was written, directed, and lead-acted by different talents so each play warrants its own consideration as a separate entity from the others.

The production opened with Strawberry Spring, a college-set murder mystery where red herrings abound and the killer’s identity is a topic of constant speculation. The end reveals a surprising twist, but the revelation is less jaw-dropping than it is head-scratching. Daniel Patrick’s depiction of a college student caught up in a murder mystery was vaguely wanting of endearment and Kerr Seth Lordygan’s comic relief seemed forced, conceivably only because his character’s vulgarity seemed an abrasive opening to the production. The weakest of the six plays, Strawberry Spring’s greatest shortcoming was its inability to grab the audience and get them invested in the mystery.

The second play Mute centers around a mysterious hitchhiker and a Catholic confessional. The lead actor Roger Weiss emotionally spills to his priest about a peculiar, silent hitchhiker who deeply affected Weiss’s character in truly unspeakable ways. In a display of extremely effective storytelling, Mute’s  surprise ending reveals itself to the attentive audience member just moments before the characters spell it out in plain English; this final revelation is enough to compensate for the play’s slow start and  apparent sluggishness.

Bringing the show into intermission was Nona, the story of a ghoulish Bonnie and Clyde-esque romance between two drifters. Erica Rhodes’ convincing performance as the fiendish title character and a less-believable Corey Craig (if largely because his boyish looks clashed with the ruthlessness of his character) as her spellbound lover struck a chord with the audience, and even a gaffe in blocking that resulted in a jarring banging noise did not deter from the story or the two actors’ chemistry. Complete with romance, uninhibited violence, and ghostly overtones, Nona was the most entertaining story to that point, a good hook that returned theatre goers to their seats shortly after they departed for intermission.

Following the break, the two apparent senior statesmen of the Visceral Company flexed their muscles in the finest-acted performance of the evening. In the single-scene play Harvey’s dream, an elderly couple, ably portrayed by Kathy Bell Denton and Jonathan Harrison, toils over a grim vision that Harrison’s character experiences in a dream.  As the dream is explained, the two characters struggle with the possibility that it may not have been just a dream after all.

The Man Who Loved Flowers, the shortest play of the evening, saw Craig decidedly redeem any lingering misgivings about his earlier performance in Nona; similarly, Roger Weiss’s supporting role as the flower salesman oozed charm and surely outshined his lead role in Mute. The Man Who Loved Flowers was straightforward and linear in story, but the outstanding acting by all parties involved (including the seemingly under-utilized Renee-Marie Brewster) made it an effective transition to the oddly entertaining concluding play.

Though its basic premise was mildly unsatisfying (the plot arbitrarily hinged upon the extent to which its characters were addicted to cigarettes), The Ten O’Clock People was seriously engaging and made an excellent ending to the production. The chemistry between its two lead actors (Jared Martzell and Carl Bradley Anderson) was apparent in their first exchange, and Martzell’s portrayal of a stressed-out businessman and struggling-to-quit cigarette smoker was spot on. The story itself was a departure from the others in that it dealt candidly with the supernatural, whereas all of the other plays were expressly concerned with the evils of the human character, save for Nona which merely hinted at paranormal activity. If you’re not one to be put off by a storyline that lies outside the realm of everyday reality, and if you can appreciate a solid blend of horror and comedy with a touch of absurdity, you will thoroughly enjoy Dead of Night’s closing play.

Dead of Night runs through the Halloween season on Fridays and Saturdays at 8pm, and on Sundays at 3pm, at the historic Lankershim Arts Center in North Hollywood. While not necessarily staggering, fans of the horror genre or theatergoers intending to embrace the Halloween spirit will find that a seat in the theatre is worth the $25 ticket price.

http://www.backstage.com/bso/advice/dead-of-night-1005390612.story

In “Harvey’s Dream,” Kathy Bell Denton and Jonathan Harrison do a fine job portraying an older couple, parents of adult children, faced with the growing terror that the husband’s nightmare is invading reality. Their work together is ably measured, and director Angela Relucio has the good sense to curtail any tendency to melodrama.

http://creepyla.com/blog/2011/10/10/dead-of-night-stephen-king-done-right/

Dead of Night: Stephen King Done Right

BY RICHARDABECKER

–  OCTOBER 10, 2011

In a world where everyone loves Stephen King…

It’s hard to be one of the critics. King himself admits he’s a sausage-maker, and I think he’s a damn good one at times. But there’s something more that a reader of his fiction — or a viewer of its adaptations — picks up after a while, and it’s pretty ironic coming from a creaky old dinosaur like yours truly.

The fact is, a lot of King’s short fiction is kinda old-fashioned in the year 2011.

Now, don’t get me wrong. Old-fashioned is good, and classics are always classics, old or new. But theater and short fiction are in a constant uphill battle for readership viewership, and they’re also in a struggle for social currency. Fusty literary journals that still think Raymond Carver is on the cutting edge, stodgy genre fiction magazines that keep serving up the fans’ favorites, community colleges and little theaters giving you the umpteenth revival of The Fantasticks or Much Ado About Nothing — all these outlets are bringing you the newest ideas of about 20-50 years ago. Again, nothing wrong with it, but publishing and theater are meant to do more than just keep the classics in circulation so that each generation can experience them for itself. (Or, more to the point, so that the same generations can experience them over and over…)

This is why the Visceral Company’s production of Dead of Night, an anthology of six Stephen King short stories adapted to the stage, feels like such a departure. The company’s trademark has been to blaze new trails in dark and disturbing theater, and they’ve done an exception job of it in their previous shows. With Dead of Night, they’re taking a somewhat safer tack — let’s face it, if Stephen King was that far off the beaten track, he wouldn’t be the world’s best selling horror writer — and the real question is, can they do it with their customary style and art? The answer is a qualified yes.

In the six short vignettes the company packs into two hours (with intermission), namely Stephen King’s “Nona,” “Strawberry Spring,” “Harvey’s Dream,” “The Man Who Loved Flowers,” “Mute” and “The Ten O’Clock People,” the Visceral Company weaves together a unifying theme of dreams, delusions, madness, altered perception, murder and the horror found in the commonplace. The cast and their directors are all strong, with particular standout performances by Jared Martzell (in “Mute” and “The Ten O’Clock People”), Roger Weiss (“Monette”) and Kathy Bell Denton (“Harvey’s Dream”).

Springheel Jack, the undead, witchcraft, homicidal maniacs, unearthly creatures and urban legends come to life — there’s no doubt the show’s got it all. And it’s impossible to fault the minimalist set by Sean Vasquez and props (though there was one rather disturbing thing about the props: They appear to my tired old eyes to be live steel blades!), and as always, the Visceral Company showcases John McCormick’s flawless sound design and Willy Greer’s highly effective original music for the show. Technically, the show’s a gem.

The bat in the ointment, unfortunately, is the source material. Stephen King + anthology theater apparently = the slightest smell of old paper and dust. (Again, not necessarily a bad thing, but…) There is sometimes the sense that we’re looking back into vague moments out of a sinister landscape of the past, despite no clear attempt to make the work a collection of period pieces. There’s also the general air of King himself writing short fiction that fits better in long-ago genre magazines than it would fit beside his own current novel output. This criticism is hard to put into words that are fair to the talent all around this show, but it really comes down to this: Stephen King’s short stories seem like B-student Twilight Zone and Tales From The Darkside episodes, and it’s hard for the Visceral Company to rise above that here.They do, in a few places, most notably the delightful fear of the conclusion of “The Ten O’Clock People,” but otherwise there is a sense that the company has leashed itself to a well-known commercial property that really isn’t a good fit. If you had seen the Visceral Company’s previous shows (including The Revenants and Closetland, both reviewed here), the contrast would be sharp as one of King’s psychopaths’ knives. (And his stories of madness and murder do seem to crib a good deal from the late Robert Bloch, by the way, but that’s a matter for a literary criticism column.) I understand why the company would choose to do something a bit more obviously commercial, but here’s hoping they go back to blazing new trails of their own, too.

Still, this is good horror theater, and there aren’t very many places you’ll find that around town. (Just a few, in fact. Have a look around this blog and you’ll see ‘em!) Dead of Night takes a solid, workmanlike approach to an American favorite and delivers the shivers. If you’re a King fan, you’ll be especially delighted with it all; these aren’t stories of his that you see performed every day. For all that it has that touch of musty old bookstore, Dead of Night is well done, and hey, it’s Stephen King, ‘tis the Halloween season, and you don’t see shows as good as the ones put on by the Visceral Company every day. Go and enjoy!

http://tolucantimes.info/section/theatre_review/dead-of-night-offers-chills/

Dead of Night Offers Chills

By Mary Mallory on October 13th, 2011 Printer-Friendly

Harvey (Jonathan Harrison) tells his wife Janet (Kathy Bell Denton) about an unsettling dream he had the night before in “Harvey’s Dream,” one of six short plays based on stories by Stephen King in The Visceral Company’s production of “Dead of Night,” now playing at the Lankershim Arts Center through Nov. 6.

Just in time for Halloween, the Visceral Company presents an evening of suspenseful short plays based on Stephen King short stories. A little uneven, the presentation does feature some fine acting and production work.

The production features six King stories that offer a chilling twist at the end, often macabre and eerie. While the pieces do include both lighthearted moments and dark, suspenseful sections, most of the works are too literary bound, telling events through narrative rather than visceral presentation.

The show builds as the evening progresses, with the last play, “The Ten O’clock People,” the strongest. Director Jana Wimer and writer Dan Spurgeon create fine staging and images in the last setup, complemented by creative lighting and effects. Ironic humor, dark twists, and nice timing add to the spooky feeling. “Mute” is also good, understatedly revealing how one man unexpectedly gets his problems resolved. “Nona” has some twisted moments, and “Harvey’s Dream” is believably real.

Jared Martzell brings quiet intensity and energy to his characters, making them believably edgy and vulnerable at the same time. Roger Weiss makes the troubled Monette alternately relieved and suspicious. Corey Craig’s gentle, shy appearance hides the angry, menacing ogre within his often psychotic and dangerous characters. Carl Bradley Anderson gives solid, understated dignity to his roles.

The show features adult language and situations, and is recommended for more mature audiences.

Dead of Night demonstrates that things often aren’t what they seem, suggesting that charming, sweet looking characters often hide boogeymen inside.

The Visceral Company presents Dead of Night Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m., Sundays at 3 p.m. through Nov. 6 at the Lankershim Arts Center located at 5108 Lankershim Blvd. in North Hollywood. Tickets cost $25. Please visit www.thevisceralcompany.com for further information or to buy tickets.

http://nohoartsdistrict.com/theatre-reviews/item/739-dead-of-night

If you are one of many Stephen King fans, you must see “Dead of Night“, now playing at the historic Lankershim Arts Center. The Visceral Company has cooked up a feast of six stories in all, with a fifteen minute intermission. These are new original mini-plays, each based on stories by Stephen King. Here you will be drawn in to each characters ploy and wonder how its going to be played out? All the ingredients that King fans enjoy are boldly displayed. Murder. Serial killers. Premonitions. Evil other-world conspirators. All played out in the dark-night mists and fogs within which Stephen King loves to place his stories. And don’t worry, the actors have nailed their parts, from beginning to end, and nothing was left out! Each story explores the dark side of human psychology. That’s right, you’ll practically be chewing off your fingernails trying to anticipate the edge-of-your-seat endings! Reminiscent of Rod Serling’s Twilight Zone, these tightly directed stories lead you down a twisting path to ironic, and sometimes disturbing conclusions.

Don’t be the only one among your friends to have missed out on these great plays, all brought to you by very passionate and talented actors! So, if anyone is to blame for you missing out on this cult classic series, it will be you!

For a satisfying theatrical evening, go to www.thevisceralcompany.com for tickets and info.

NOTE: We are running for 6 weekends, September 30 through November 6!

The Visceral Company presents
DEAD OF NIGHT
6 Short Plays based on stories by Stephen King

STRAWBERRY SPRING
Written by Kenneth Cosby
Directed by John McCormick

MUTE
Written by Michael Sadler
Directed by Bennett Cohon

NONA
Written by Cathy Noah
Directed by Dan Spurgeon

THE MAN WHO LOVED FLOWERS and HARVEY’S DREAM
Written by Rochelle Perry
Directed by Angela Relucio

THE TEN O’CLOCK PEOPLE
Written by Dan Spurgeon
Directed by Jana Wimer

Featuring
Carl Bradley Anderson* – Renee-Marie Brewster* – Corey Craig – Kathy Bell Denton* – Jonathan Harrison – Kerr Seth Lordygan – Jared Martzell – Daniel Pittack – Dolores Quintana – Erica Rhodes* – Roger Weiss
*appearing courtesy Actors Equity Association

Produced by Drew Blakeman
Associate Producer – Rebecca Lorenne Doppelt
Set Design by Sean Vasquez
Lighting Design by Dave Sousa
Costumes by Lara Fisher

 TICKETS $25 – available at brownpapertickets.com and thevisceralcompany.com (Use code FB20 when purchasing online to save $5!)

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