THE FIX-IT-IF-YOU-CAN MAN is part of the Me & My Masks Festival (monologues based on a pandemic theme). The online festival is produced by Roland Tec, formerly of the Dramatists Guild.

Story: A brilliant but homeless tech guy decides to live at his workplace, a Goodway donation center, during the pandemic, while he battles panic attacks and finds spiritual solace in a donated Gideon Bible.

The video is 15″ in length.

An early version of the monologue was performed at an LAFPI micro read at Samuel French.

Love, M. is a story about Mothers, Sons and AIDS Activists in the early days of the AIDS crisis and will premiere on DEC 1, World AIDS Day.

WRITTEN BY CLARINDA ROSS

DIRECTED BY HEIDI McKERLEY

VIDEO EDITING & SOUND DESIGN BY AMY LEVIN

Told through letters, Love, M. is the story of two mothers at the dawn of AIDS. Atlanta white socialite Deborah writes to her son, Chris, who is pursuing his dream of becoming an actor. Myrtle, a Black southern Baptist, writes to her son, Timothy, an idealistic young lawyer. With humor and humanity, and the AIDS Quilt as backdrop, Love, M. weaves the abiding threads of the healing power of love, as the characters piece their way towards acceptance.

STARRING

LAMMAN RUCKER as Timothy

TERRY BURRELL as Myrtle

CLARINDA ROSS as Deborah

CHRIS HECKE as Chris

SPECIAL POST-SHOW COMMUNITY CONVERSATION
following DEC 1 Premiere
in Partnership with rolling out Health IQ

Produced by Atlanta’s Horizon Theatre Company In Partnership with BLACC & AIDS Healthcare Foundation

HOT JOE BIDEN, a NYE Fantasy

The full-length plays of The Road Theatre Company’s UNDER CONSTRUCTION 1 are just that… still “Under Construction.” These virtual readings are the result of the playwrights’ one-year commitment to the workshop. This is the next stage in their development. The readings begin streaming January 22-31.

PRODUCED BY: Carlyle King & Meeghan Holaway
Dramaturge: Jessica Broutt
Assistant Dramaturge: Mackenna Goodrich

Plays by female playwrights:

Friday, January 22nd at 7 PM (PT)/10 PM (ET)

SETTING THE TABLE by Velina Hasu Houston
Director: Stewart J. Zully

Cast:
Misao – Shuko Akune
Nathaniel – Merrick McCartha
Diego – Geoff Rivas
Willa Jean – Kacie Rogers
Yoshimi – Zine Tseng
Billy – Blake Young-Fountain
Stage Directions – Kara Hume

A young Japanese immigrant becomes responsible for two Black teenagers in the Midwest when her new husband dies.  Eschewed by her stepchildren and haunted by her past, she strives to come to grips with life in the US.

Saturday, January 23rd at 2 PM (PT)/5 PM (ET)

HERE COMES THE NIGHT by Lisa Kenner Grissom
Director: Diana Wyenn

Cast:
Olivia – Cherish Monique Duke
Maggie – Kaitlin Huwe

When Olivia, a musician’s wife and climate science advocate, invites Maggie, an old friend turned social media influencer, to spend the weekend while she has an at-home abortion, she doesn’t realize that Maggie, although well-intended, is about to throw Olivia off course. And actually, these women of different generations, are about to change each other’s lives – all because of a woman’s right to choose. As both struggle with their decisions, they ultimately help each other in ways they hadn’t expected, or imagined. What happens when a woman’s right to choose becomes a litmus test for all of her life choices?

Saturday, January 23rd at 7 PM (PT)/10 PM (ET)

ADAPTATION.RESILIENCE by Jennie Webb
Director: Susan Diol

Cast:
Bev – Deana Barone
Jess – Emily Jerez
Leonard – Carl Johnson
Woman Who Makes Noise – Natalie Llerena
SDs – Michelle Gillette

Jess and Bev have been together longer than either of them thought they would be. And in their respective fields of work—Climate Change and Emergency Management—things are definitely heating up, affecting them in ways they didn’t see coming. “adaptation.resilience” is a play about sustaining love and navigating grief in times of extreme disruption.

Sunday, January 24th at 2 PM (PT)/5 PM (ET)

THE SKELETON FLOWER by Elizabeth Sampson
Director: Christian Lebano

Cast:
Jean – Gwen Van Dam
Denise – Elizabeth Sampson
Darla – Stephanie Erb
Pamela – Donna Simone Johnson
Geoff – Jeff LeBeau
Matthew/Beauty Master – Leandro Cano
John – Joe Hart

In The Skeleton Flower –  middle-aged and divorced sisters Denise and Darla find out what a Black Beetle, a piece of jewelry, and a special flower have to do with their mom Jean, and how that knowledge will unlock the secrets of the family, rocking them all into finally growing up.

Sunday, January 24th at 7 PM (PT)/10 PM (ET)

THE CAREGIVER’S GUIDE by Jami Brandli
Director: Ann Hearn Tobolowsky

Cast:
Zac Miller – Ruman Kazi
Dawn Miller – Meeghan Holaway
April Miller – Samantha Tan
Paul Miller – Stephen Tobolowsky
Virginia Miller and Mary Sue – Tina Carlisi

A family dramedy about evolving heroes, truth-tellers, memory keepers, and early-onset Alzheimer’s.

Friday, January 29th at 7 PM (PT)/10 PM (ET)

LADYVILLE by Aja Houston
Director: Inger Tudor

Cast:
Nonso – Christian Telesmar
Tayla – Kacie Rogers
Zemora – Cherish Monique Duke
Femi – Tamika Katon-Donegal

Three sisters are the only people left in their town that has yet to be taken by a sinister, formless entity, “The Calling.” Constantly living in terror and fighting for their lives, the unexpected arrival of a long-lost friend gives them hope. Will they figure out if it’s false before the Calling returns to take its next victim?

Saturday, January 31st at 2 PM (PT)/5 PM (ET)

THIRD PERSON by Jennifer Maisel
Director: Emily Chase

Cast:
Josh – Josh Zuckerman
Lisa – Samantha Tan

A woman longs to find herself in the middle of her dreaming mind.  A man struggles to reconcile his past transgressions with his current life. What everyday choices add up to a life together? Will Lisa and Josh ever conquer the distance between them?  Can Siri’s voice lead them down a path to redemption?

UNDER CONSTRUCTION: THE FULL LENGTHS also features virtual readings of WHISKEY AND HOOCH by Carlos Lacámara (Saturday, January 30th at 2 PM (PT)/5 PM (ET)) and THE PLAY YOU WANT by Bernardo Cubría (Saturday, January 30th at 7 PM (PT)/10 PM (ET)).

More info: roadtheatre.org/event/under-construction-the-full-lengths/

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Directed by Diana Wyenn

Featuring Cherish Monique Duke and Kaitlin Huwe

When Olivia, a musician’s wife and climate science advocate, invites Maggie, an old friend turned social media influencer, to spend the weekend while she has an at-home abortion, she doesn’t realize that Maggie, although well-intended, is about to throw Olivia off course. And actually, these women of different generations, are about to change each other’s lives – all because of a woman’s right to choose. As both struggle with their decisions, they ultimately help each other in ways they hadn’t expected, or imagined. What happens when a woman’s right to choose becomes a litmus test for all of her life choices?

Blood/Sugar  Created and directed by Diana Wyenn Written by Diana Wyenn and Guy Zimmerman and developed in collaboration with Lauren Campedelli, John Zalewski, Jason H. Thompson, Joey Guthman, Rebecca Carr, Aaron Saldaña, and Laban Pheidias Performed by Diana Wyenn and Laban Pheidias Voiceover by Lauren Campedelli Video design by Jason H. Thompson Sound design by John Zalewski Costume Design by Rebecca Carr Live broadcast and recording by PXT Studio Produced by Plain Wood Productions Blood/Sugar has been supported in part by the California Arts Council, a state agency, and the National Arts and Disability Center at UCLA. Note: Any findings, opinions, or conclusions contained herein are not necessarily those of the California Arts Council, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the National Arts and Disability Center.

Plain Wood Productions is thrilled to announce that its groundbreaking theater and film hybrid Blood/Sugar—created, directed, and performed by theater artist Diana Wyenn—is now available on-demand to the public. Historical perspectives, staggering statistics, and personal narrative collide with video effects, Shakespearean texts, and original movement to create a vivid account of the life-sustaining care that diabetes currently demands from one out of every 10 American adults. Creator Diana Wyenn, who has Type 1 diabetes, places her story and body at the center of the work, as both a carrier of the disease and a vehicle for theatrical transmission. Originally conceived in 2017 for the stage, Blood/Sugar was reworked in 2020 to be performed live from Wyenn’s own home due to the COVID-19 pandemic and is now available for on-demand streaming in 2021. “After more than a decade of living with diabetes, I learned that roughly  90% of cases are preventable and reversible,” shares creator and director Diana Wyenn. “Immediately, I turned all my skills as a storyteller toward creating a theatrical response that dispels the lies, mystery, and shame surrounding diabetes in all its forms.” “Then COVID-19 pandemic hit, and I saw people living with diabetes on the CDC’s list of vulnerable communities. I knew I couldn’t just pause and wait for the pandemic to pass. Blood/Sugar had to evolve and telling my story from within my own home and incorporating film techniques to do so has resulted in the most intimate and shareable version of the project possible. I believe this evolution of Blood/Sugar is the one I was always working towards. I just didn’t know it.” In conjunction with the on-demand recording, Wyenn is hosting free monthly conversations for audience members to ask questions and share reflections with her and diabetes experts. “I created Blood/Sugar to spark a much-needed conversation about this disease, so the post-show discussion between the audience, myself, and medical professionals has always been central to the Blood/Sugar experience. It was here that the audience could share their own experiences with one another and ask questions that they weren’t necessarily comfortable asking their own doctors. So I’m looking forward to continuing that tradition for this on-demand experience.”   The theater and film performance hybrid of the award-winning stage production was created by Wyenn and her production company Plain Wood Productions in collaboration with Blood/Sugar’s video designer Jason H. Thompson and his company PXT Studio. Utilizing multiple laptops, cell phones, USB microphones, hundreds of feet of cable, film production lighting equipment, and a green screen at Wyenn’s home in Echo Park, and five computers, plus a myriad of sound, video, and live streaming software—including vMix, Ableton, WatchOut, Qlab, and Vimeo for the live broadcasts—all programmed and triggered by Thompson at PXT Studio five miles away in Downtown Los Angeles, they spent the summer of 2020 physically distant adapting the stage experience for an online audience to watch safely from their homes. To get a glimpse into how they made it happen, here’s a recent Spectrum News 1 TV segment by Nic Cha Kim: https://spectrumnews1.com/ca/la-west/arts/2020/11/19/theater-artist-creates-virtual-show-to-understand-diabetes Blood/Sugar was initially conceived for the stage in 2017 and has since been presented at Highways Performances Space, Bootleg Theatre, REDCAT, New York University, and the Planet Connections Theatre Festivity where it was awarded The Planet Activist Award, Outstanding Production, and Outstanding Playwriting. The live virtual iteration was presented live by Boston Court Pasadena in September 2020 and Caltech Live! in November 2020 and is now available on-demand at dianawyenn.com and vimeo.com/ondemand/bloodsugar

January 30, 4pm & 8pm
Leo’s Dead
Company: Three Shots and a Beer
Written by: Tami Hillberry
Story by: Rane Laymance and Kristin Malley
Directed by: Rane Laymance
Produced by: Alexx Wells
Performed by: Katherine Butler, Harry Santiago, Tony Moore, Molly McIntyre

Three Shots and a Beer is proud to present it’s debut of the expanded piece LEO’S DEAD. After the death of her husband, Eleanor is on her first date with a younger man, Charlie, who she met through her late husband. The two of them navigate the usual awkward moments of a first date, mingled with the added pressures of grief, societal stigmas, life experience, and expectations. What’s the right way to grieve, and who gets to say when differences of status and circumstance are too much to overcome? LEO’S DEAD uses quick dialog, humor, and vulnerability to explore the dynamics of relationships and how outside forces, as well as internal pressures, can affect those connections.

Originally presented in 2016, LEO’S DEAD started as a few short scenes interspersed with another work. Revisiting the work in 2020, we felt our experiences of the previous four years brought new insights to the questions originally posed, and we decided to expand the work into a full stand-alone one act.

WHAT:
Sarah Drew (Grey’s Anatomy, upcoming Freeform drama Cruel Summer), Seamus Dever (Castle), Joanne Whalley (Daredevil on Netflix, The White Princess on Starz, Showtime’s The Borgias) and Darren Richardson (Ryan Murphy’s Hollywood, over 40 radio plays for the BBC) star in the L.A. Theatre Works state-of-the-art audio theater recording of Extinction, a new play by Australian playwright and newspaper columnist Hannie Rayson about the urgent need to combat man-made climate change to protect biodiversity. Martin Jarvis directs.

In Extinction, a zoologist in Australia gets funding to save an endangered species from the very company that threatens its existence. Will this deal with the devil allow her to save the species, or will it destroy her entire life’s work?

Purchase of the recording includes access to a Zoom interview with playwright Hannie Rayson.

Extinction is part of L.A. Theatre Works’ Relativity Series of science-themed plays, with lead funding provided by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, bridging science and the arts in the modern world.

According to AudioFile magazine, “L.A. Theatre Works sets the gold standard for fine audio theater recordings.” The Philadelphia Inquirer calls L.A. Theatre Works “a national theatrical treasure.”

The world’s leading producer of audio theater, L.A. Theatre Works stands apart in its approach to making great theater widely accessible and affordable, bringing plays into homes and classrooms of millions of theater lovers, teachers and students each year. LATW’s syndicated radio theater series broadcasts weekly on public radio stations across the U.S. and daily in China on the Radio Beijing Network. The L.A. Theatre Works catalog of over 500 recorded plays is the largest archive of its kind in the world.

HOW:
Purchase today at https://latw.org/digital-season; recording release date: Jan. 31.

PRICE:
• $20
• Subscribe to the entire 9-play, 2020-21 Digital Season for $150, and receive additional bonus features throughout the season, including a special video conversation with L.A. Theatre Works founding members Edward Asner, Richard Dreyfuss, Hector Elizondo, Stacy Keach, Marsha Mason and JoBeth Williams.