Prayer for the Intercession of Charles Ludlam on the Occasion of a Table Reading

Most sublime and irreverent Charles Ludlam, avatar of the ridiculous, mistress of theatrical mastery, thy kind and beneficent intercession with those who have the say-so up there, we most humbly beseech, on the occasion of our table reading for the Best of PlayGround Festival – for all of the plays, of course, but in particular for The Boy Who Did Not Listen To His Mother. Please arrange it, if at all possible, so that in the process of crafting a small slew of most modest revisions to the text, I did not end up puncturing the vulnerable inflation of that most fragile soufflé — the script. I know I waited until too close to deadline to work the revision, and it’s true that I spent perhaps a teeny bit more time in the thrall of Project Runway, Top Chef, American Idol, Keeping Up with the Kardashians, and X-Tube than would generally be considered prudent, and certainly too-too many hours trapped in that time-devouring house of mirrors that is CraigsList Personals, but it should be noted that penance in this regard could be considered paid-in-full, given the ratio of energy expended to pleasure derived. (Note to self: write treatment for play about parasitic sub-sub-sub-culture of pic collectors). Please, also try to make the actors and director at least act as if they like me, even if they don’t mean it. Thy merciful assistance in these ultimately-inconsequential-except-to-me matters, and in anticipation of thy favorable intercession, we — thy most unworthy, yet persistently intrepid, acolyte — most humbly and gratefully beseech. Amen.
Photo: © Fred W. McDarrah www.greatmodernpictures.com

Festivities

PlayGround held its Annual Benefit tonight at ACT, at which the official announcement was made of the line-up for this year’s Best of PlayGround festival (the 12th annual). My play The Boy Who Did Not Listen To His Mother which was inspired by January’s topic “A Cautionary Tale” made the cut. It will share the stage at Thick House in the excellent company of works by some amazing playwrights: Crish Barth, Garret Jon Groenveld, Daniel Heath, Aaron Loeb, Geetha Reddy, and Lauren Yee. Nancy Carlin will direct, and the cast includes Ken Sonkin, B.W. Gonzalez, Carla Pantoja, and Joseph O’Malley. The Festival is always a terrific evening of theater, so come out and support the world’s oldest emerging playwright.

Festival Details:
The 12th Annual Best of PlayGround Festival
May 8-25, 2008
Thu-Sat at 8pm / Sun at 7pm
Thick House
1695 18th Street (off Arkansas Street)
San Francisco

To purchase tickets, call (415) 401-8081 or visit the PlayGround site.