Monday, February 06, 2012

January 2012 play of the month



Lorenzo Scott and Keona Welch are just awesome actors and this is probably the best play of the month we've done. It took me hours and hours to edit this together, and clearly I could have done better if I had alot more takes. Also I have no control over my damn radiator and so some of the sound is crap because I had to do some major audio work to get rid of that awful loud steam-heat hiss.

But considering we recorded this script-in-hand reading in a little over an hour, I think it came out pretty well. The stellar performances, of course, are key.

This is one of the best plays we've done, although it's not perfect. Since I've gone over the play many times while editing the video, several things jump out - the subjects raised come up sort of randomly - I think the plot could be re-organized to have a stronger impact.

And the woman portrayed, Jacqueline Smith, is still alive and kicking and has a web site now to protest the Civil Rights Museum. I didn't realize she was a real person - and that the author used her real name, until after we announced that this play was the winning selection. I don't want to get sued by Jacqueline Smith - she's obviously incredibly tenacious - hence the big disclaimer at the beginning of this video.

I am working on a play CELIA - I started writing it before I met Keona, but once I met her I realized how absolutely perfect she is for the role. I have to finish that play so I can get her to star in a production. I really don't understand why she isn't starring in movies now, she's so young and pretty and talented.