• Every Tuesday and Thursday for the past month, my wife Anna Paone and I have schlepped on New Jersey Transit. The trips are for rehearsals of “Dungeons,” the one-act play she’s directing. While it may seem arduous to trek out to the Garden State twice a week, I don’t mind at all. In fact, I look forward to these practice runs all day.
That’s because each and every performance, Anna’s actors Manny Simmons, Akeyla Wallace and Susan Schnitzer bring something new to the script.
Seriously, I’ve seen the play over 20 times and I’m still not sick of it.
Together, the four of them have fleshed out their characters, added higher emotional stakes, majorly punched up the dialogue and threw in swashbuckling comedic physical flourishes (yeah, there’s a sword) to what was already a pretty sweet script to begin with (yeah, I’ll admit it, I wrote the play. Sue me).
Now, after over a month of fine-tuning, this one-act will finally be available for audiences on April 1-3 at the DuCret School of Art in Plainfield, New Jersey.
I cannot wait to see it with a crowd. I’ve got those seventh grade dance butterflies.
My mind has been racing on a happy loop where I wonder, “How will they react?” “Will that joke work?” “Will they see what we were going for there?” all week. It's the best.
With all that being said, let me sweeten the deal a bit more.
If you come, you’ll get more than just “Dungeons.” That’s right folks, there’s more.
In addition to our play about a feuding brother and sister who happens to be a Dungeon Master, the fest will also showcase “Ten Minutes” directed by Catherine LaMoreaux (an existential meta-commentary on what it means to be a fictional character), “Lady MacBeth is a Freshman in the Ensemble” directed by Julia Stibich (a snarky Gen Z take on behind the scenes high school theater drama), “Egg Salad” directed by Richard Lear (a sweetly melancholy tale of a grieving mother is confronted by her daughters about her lifestyle choices) and “Twang” directed by Diane Parker (a pointed parable centered around a country singer and a convenience store worker meeting for the first time).
Having seen all five live, I can tell you this show is a steal. You’ll be committing theft if you come. That’s how much of a steal it is.
Want tickets? I got you. This link will take care of all your ticketing needs (don’t steal them, the show is already enough of a steal as is).
• A lot more about other projects, movies, tv and podcasts to come next week in a more traditional Stray Notes.
But for now, this is all I got.
I was going to write way more tonight but I’m still reeling from the Will Smith punch heard round the world.
So, that’s all.
