K-Blog

Yes, so I've been very, very bad about updating this site.  Well, there hasn't been a whole heck of a lot to update, because I've also been very, very bad about marketing my plays.  Why?  Well, it's partly laziness and partly a slight re-focusing of my attention to a very new and different kind of project... to be discussed later, if necessary.  :-)

 At any rate, the news today is the June 11, 2009 staged reading of my full-length comedy, Whacked.  The reading, directed by Mary Czerwinski, will be produced by the n.u.f.a.n. ensemble in Chicago.  For you Chicago peeps who may be in the know about these things, here's the cast:

Clarissa- Andrea Kravitz
Charlie- Steve Newman
Gina- Britni Tozzi
Frankie- Paul Barile
Greg- John Champion
Yvette- Erin Davidson
Estelle- Laural Reinhart

And, should you be interested in attending... details can be found by clicking that link above.

 It should be an interesting experience - it's the first time that this play will be in the hands of a director/cast/theatre I'm not personally associated with, and they're apparently sending me video and feedback, so I'm curious to see how it goes!  And if I know you and you're going to be there, drop me a line or give me a call to let me know how it goes!

 Sadly, there are no other updates on the production front at the moment.  I've got nothing scheduled, which should leave me plenty of time for writing... ha, ha, ha.  ;-)  But check back; I'm starting to get things rolling again on the submission front, so there may be news in the next few months or so.

 Meanwhile, to Mary and her cast - BREAK LEGS!  I hope it's a lot of fun!

 -k

Hi everyone! Jeez, it's been a long time since I've actually updated!

So the reading of Whacked went pretty well.  In some ways, I found it a frustrating process - I was trying to work around the schedules of seven actors with really strange and interesting conflicts.  In addition, my car's "check engine" light decided to make an unwelcome appearance, leaving me at the mercy of Delaware's notoriously unreliable public transportation system, as well as the generosity of some really wonderful people who were willing to chauffeur me around for rehearsals and stuff.

Anyway, after a fairly frustrating rehearsal process, I was pretty nervous on the night of the reading.  First Draft's staged readings are essentially full productions with script in hand - we do lights and sound and costumes and props and limited set pieces.  In retrospect, there are things I'd have done differently during the process, but ultimately, I think it worked out well enough - the audience seemed to enjoy it, and I managed to make revisions to the script which I was comfortable sending off to Paul Barile and the n.u.f.a.n. ensemble in Chicago.  Fun news from Paul - he's playing Frankie, the serious hitman.  I'm told there's a good chance of a video being available from the reading, and I hope that this will help me make any further revisions to the script so I'll feel more comfortable submitting it to different theatres.

Speaking of submitting, I'm being really, really terrible about it.  I think I need to make a more concentrated effort to do this for myself.  2008 has been a lousy year, submissions-wise.  This, of course, results in few productions, since not very many theatres are pounding down the doors of random unknown playwrights, trying to get a piece of our action.  So while I never, ever make New Year's resolutions, I think I'm going to break that personal rule for 2009.  I'm going to come up with a good resolution regarding play submissions - something practical, that I know I have a chance of sticking with.  Which is why I'm not jumping the gun and posting here that I'll do something silly, like submit a play to a theatre each day of the new year.  Not impossible, but definitely impractical.  The lack of submissions hit home recently when I was trying to figure out which of my scripts to send to the Turnip Theatre Company/American Globe Theatre's annual NYC 15-Minute Play festival.  I love working with the people associated with this company, and both of the experiences I've had with them have been nothing short of fantastic.  So I do try to submit to them every year.  And, just under the deadline, I managed to.  On Thursday, I sent my play Rising to them - keep your fingers crossed.

I do have one definite production lined up in 2009 - on February 27 & 28, my play The Most Offensive Play Ever Written will make its debut at the Wilmington Drama League.  I'll start rehearsals soon - my big holdup right now is that I'm still trying to cast one final role.  But I'm very excited about the actors I've got lined up!

And that's it for now - hopefully I'll have more to report in the new year!  To anyone reading this, have a safe, happy and healthy holiday season.  The world's in turmoil, so be as good to each other as it is in your power to be - we only get one life.  Live it well.  Be kind to others and to yourselves.

Peace,
Kristyn

In March 2008, my full-length comedy, Whacked, is going to have a staged reading by the n.u.f.a.n. emsemble in Chicago.  This is pretty exciting, for a couple of reasons. One, I actually know people in Chicago who I can ask to go check this out for me and tell me how it is, if I can't make it myself.  Two, it's only my second staged reading of one of my full-length plays that's taking place at a theatre I'm not personally connected with.  This is a big thing in the life of a playwright - it's very nice when your home theatre is willing to give up stage time to host a reading or production of one of your plays, but somehow, when strangers appreciate your work, it feels more valid, because you know they don't feel like they have to stage it out of some personal obligation to you.

But I digress.  Whacked is on its way to Chicago next year.  Thrilling, yes.  Exciting, absolutely.  Nerve-wracking... you betcha!  It's my first full-length comedy, and I am not secure with this script.  If you're planning on being a playwright, learn this one lesson at the outset:  writing comedy is hard.  What may seem hilariously funny in your head may fall flat on stage.  I've had it happen with my short comedies, and I worry so much that it will happen with this one too.  I've written three full-length dramas.  And I'm not saying they were easy to write... they had their own set of challenges.  But comedy... comedy has those challenges too, and it has the added annoying element of having to be funny.

Additionally, I wrote the first 80-90 pages of this play in one sitting, one afternoon while I was house-sitting and had nothing better to do than sit and write all day.  It's a wonderful feeling when that happens, when you can get a huge chunk of a play written in such a short time, but this is the most I've ever written at one time, and it scares me a little.

So when I got the news that n.u.f.a.n. wanted to do a staged reading of my play, I approached Matt Casarino and Richard Gaw, the founding members of First Draft Theatre at the Wilmington Drama League to ask if they were willing to allow me to have a staged reading here in Delaware so I could work out some script issues.  The WDL is my home theatre, and I've been pretty deeply involved in First Draft, which is a group designed to help local playwrights develop their work through a series of readings and critiques.  Anyway, Richard and Matt said yes, and now I'm in the process of rehearsing for the staged reading. 

So if you're in Delaware on November 15, come on out to the WDL and check it out.  The reading is followed by a Q&A with me, the cast and the audience.  It's usually a really fun time, and I'm looking forward to hearing the audience's comments, to see if I've hit the ball or struck out with this script.

As the author of such plays as The Raft, The List, The End and Park Bench, it would be dishonest of my not to say that I'm really, really, really bad at coming up with titles for my plays.  My full-length play based on the Terri Schiavo story, which has been in "final draft" stage (or, as much as any play is ever in that stage) for about two years now, still doesn't have a permanent title.  I just can't come up with one.

The other day, I got an e-mail from one of the editors at Brooklyn Publishers, asking if I was willing to re-title my short play, Intervention, which they are publishing this fall.  Their request is perfectly reasonable.  It seems they already have a play in their catalogue called The Intervention and, with nearly identical titles, they were worried that script sales and royalty payments for the two plays might get horribly confused. 

So I was absolutely willing to change the title.  But then the question arose... what the heck do I call this thing now?  I e-mailed Janis back and told her that I would be happy to come up with a new title, and that I'd be in touch the next day.  And then I went home and spent the whole night trying to come up with a new title.

The play is about a romance novelist whose characters get together to try to convince her to quit writing, because she's really bad at it.  It's fluffy.  It's cute.  No need for a deep, provocative title... but I still wanted something somewhat clever.  Someone suggested I just use a synonym for "intervention."  I thought about it, but... nah.

It took me nearly 24 hours to come up with the replacement title.  That's pretty quick, actually, even though I'm not totally happy with the title now.  But I'd thought of this play as Intervention for so long that I'm not sure any other title will ever sit comfortably with me. 

 So, in Brooklyn Publishers' next catalogue, you will be able to purchase a copy of Revolting Characters by Kristyn Leigh Robinson.

Still feels awkward.  Like finding out that your friend Mike who you've known for ten years is actually named Paul.  But for better or worse... that's the new title.  :-)

So in May, I posted that Brooklyn Publishers had sent me two publication offers in one day.  That was very exciting news... but I spoke too soon.  They sent me, in fact, four publication offers that day.  So this fall, you will be able to visit Brooklyn's website and purchase The First Date (which is already available through them), in addition to The End, The Raft, Intervention and Park Bench. 

Right now I'm in the process of scrounging up as many production photos as I can for these plays (and... many thanks to those who helped by donating photos to the cause) for Brooklyn to use in their catalogue.  This process is more involved than it might seem... first I have to locate the pictures, then I have to get written permission from the actors to use them in the catalogue.  It's proving to be stickier in some cases than in others, but I will have some photos to send to them.

Also fairly exciting is the fact that they asked me, last week, if I would be interested in writing a short intro for their ten-minute play catalogue.  Um... yeah.  So I've been very excited about that, in a good-stress way, trying to figure out exactly what to give them.  I hope what I sent them is what they were looking for. 

So anyway - fire up the internet this fall and check out Brooklyn's website and buy some scripts - preferably mine.  ;-)

Other exciting news... Theatre Unleashed in California is in the middle of the run of one of the last royalty-free productions of The End.  I like these guys; every interaction I've had with them has been great.  They're brand-new, so if you live in L.A., go check 'em out and support them.  They got a really good review for this festival, and you can check that out here.  An aside:  This is yet another festival in which my work is appearing alongside that of Mark Harvey Levine... who needs to get himself a website, because I'd link him here because I think you should go read his stuff; each of his plays I've seen has been hilarious.

Upcoming productions... well, not too many, because I've been completely lazy about submissions lately.  The Most Offensive Play Ever Written will be making its debut at the Wilmington Drama League in February 2009.  I don't remember the dates off the top of my head, but if you're in the area, come check it out.  It's a silly play.  But that's the point.  ;-)  The End has one or two productions scheduled on Long Island this summer, I believe. 

And I think that's about all the news that's fit to post right now.  Stay tuned, though!

You know, pretty soon I'm going to be forced to write new short plays, because I won't have any left to send any place.

Got not one, but TWO publication offers from Brooklyn Publishers today.  As you may recall, if you know much about my work, these are the folks who have my play, The First Date, which was the first play I ever had published.  My experiences with them have been nothing but positive, and I'm thrilled to have TWO more plays being published with them.

First, The End.  After receiving a note from Brooklyn's Associate editor asking me whether I'd be willing to remove the testicle references from the script, I happily did so, and today she contacted me to let me know they're mailing out the contract for my signature.  I'm happy this play is being published with Brooklyn, and I'm thrilled beyond words to be able to close the book on it.  I think the script is tight and I'm happy to have it out there. 

And then, surprisingly (to me, at least), Intervention.  I recently told fellow playwright John Shanahan that I thought this play was in dire need of an overhaul.  But hey, if a publisher is willing to put its name on the script, I'm not going to argue.  I guess the script is fine.  People seem to think it's funny.  So what the heck, you know?

 So that's some pretty exciting news from my little corner of the world.  Hope everything's well in yours!

Kristyn

I'm coming up for air to update this page, but things are VERY hectic right now!

On April 14, I took my play The End up to the 14th Annual NYC 15-Minute Play Festival hosted by the American Globe Theatre.  I really cannot say enough about how wonderful these folks are.  They are the most courteous, professional and friendly people you can possibly imagine, which is why I was so thrilled to be able to take part in this festival again.  (I'd been there once before, eons ago, with my play Poisoned.)  So Heather Ferrel, Angela Dalecki, Brian Couch and I headed up to NY for this production.

The day was a ton of fun from beginning to end.  It would be exhausting for me to write the whole thing out, but suffice it to say, the trip was totally worth it.  The play did not advance to the finals, but honestly, I couldn't care less.  I was proud of the performance, and I got to spend a day playing in New York with some incredibly fun people.  You simply cannot ask for more than that.

I had the opportunity to go back up that Friday, April 18, to see Matt Casarino's play, Never Land.  And Matt's a much classier person than I am - I'm going to be a little indignant on his behalf, here.  Whoever that ignorant waste of human life was, in the back of the theatre, laughing at a sound effect like a freaking two-year-old... you were rude and disruptive.  Matt's play went well.  The performance was great.  However, I spent the entire time seething because some moron wouldn't stop laughing inappropriately at a recurring sound effect.  Seriously, if you can't control yourself when you're in a theatre, just get up and leave until you can get it together, instead of ruining the experience for the entire audience.

*deep breath*

Anyway... with the exception of that jerk, it was great to be in New York, and it's always a pleasure for me to watch one of Matt's plays - it's truly a gift to have a close friend who I admire personally and professionally, and I was really happy to be able to be there to see the play.

In other news... production-wise, I've got The Raft coming up as part of Madlab Theatre's Theatre Roulette in May.  I won't be able to see it, but the Madlab peeps seem really cool, and I'm seriously hoping there will be pictures of some kind associated with this production.

 The End is making its (and my) West Coast premiere in Los Angeles in June, at Theatre Unleashed.  This is a new theatre company, and I'm happy that my work is being included in this festival - again, because they seem like a fabulous group.  And again... I'm hoping for pictures.  ;-)

I think that's it - I hope I'm not forgetting any upcoming productions.  I've been a total slug about submitting lately, and I need to fix that.  But first, I'm planning the 75th anniversary celebration of the Wilmington Drama League, which is happening THIS SATURDAY (yikes), so if you're in town... GO TO IT.

Be good!

Kristyn

Well, a little news on the playwriting front...

 The End will not be representing the Wilmington Drama League at the Delaware state one-act festival, although it was apparently a close call.  (We lost by one vote.)  And that's okay, because honestly, with everything else on my plate right now, it would have been very stressful.

The production headed to American Globe in New York is well under way, with a really fun cast who, after only two rehearsals, is doing pretty darn well with this script.  Our performance is on April 14 - if you're in town, come see it!

Tomorrow is opening night for Curtain Call Theatre (Braintree, MA)'s production called "If The Shorts Fit," which will feature three of my short plays, Intervention, The Raft and Vanilla.  I'm looking forward to hearing the feedback, and seeing the DVD, which producer/director Stacey Shanahan has promised to send all the participating playwrights.

And finally, the truly big news... another publication!  The Catharsis is going to be published by Heuer Publishing (www.hitplays.com) in the coming months sometime.  I literally just mailed the contract back to them yesterday.

All in all, not a bad month... and it's the start of a 30-plays-in-30--days submission binge with my fellow playwrights, so hopefully that will get the creative juices flowing!

(Congrats also to fellow playwright John Shanahan, who received a publication contract from Heuer on the same day I did, for his play Bob's Date.)

Whew!  I've never gotten so many productions during a lazy, non-submitting period!  Sometimes I'm just happy that opportunities fall into my lap - if they didn't, my production resume of late would be somewhat bleak.  And actually, it is, but it'd be even bleaker if it weren't for a little help from my friends.

Very soon, folks in Massachusetts will be able to see productions of Intervention and The Raft as part of Curtain Call Theatre's evening of short plays by a few playwrights I know (and know of).  I believe the production is in early March.  Fellow playwright John Shanahan, who hooked me up with this production, can correct me if I'm wrong.  And he will, believe you me.  :-)

Intervention is a fun play, though I think it's probably in need of a rewrite.  It hasn't had stage time in several years, so it's probably due.  The Raft is probably getting far more than its fair share of stage time (this being its eleventh production), but as I've said here before, that's okay by me.  Anyway, if you're in Massachusetts in early March, go check out the production.  I'm told the production's gonna be killer.  :-)

 And now on to the funnest news I have right now... got a call from the American Globe Theatre last week notifying me that The End, the play I'm directing for the Wilmington Drama League's one-act play festival (February 22-23, 2008 at 8:00 p.m., tickets are $8 - GO SEE IT) has been selected to be included in the Globe's collaborative (with Turnip Theatre Company) annual 15-minute play festival.  This is a festival in which I've only participated once before, but I had such a fantastic experience with this theatre that I've been dying to get my feet in the door again.  As it is a self-produced festival (meaning, playwrights are responsible for everything except the venue and the marketing), it's lucky that I happen to be directing the piece at the moment.  That performance will take place sometime in April - but I don't have the exact date yet.

Meanwhile, I'm trying to get started writing again.  I've been having trouble concentrating, but I've started feeling the nagging of a story at the edges of my brain... so hopefully this means what it usually means - that I'm about to start writing again.

The Raft is getting another production!

I know I say this a lot, but I sure do like this play.  It's not terribly brilliant, or even particularly representative of my work as a whole, but it's a cute little comedy that seems to make people laugh - and that's the whole point.

 Plus, this marks my very first Ohio production, so I'm adding another state to the ol' playwriting resume!

Anyway.  Madlab Theatre in Columbus, OH received 999 submissions for its play festival.  Yep, you read that correctly - nine hundred ninety-nine.  They selected nine plays to be in the festival, and The Raft was one of 'em.  So thanks, Andy Batt and the folks at Madlab, for lovin' The Raft just a little.  And if anyone's there to see the production, drop me a line to let me know how it goes.  Oh - it helps if I, like, tell you when it is.  May 4-26, 2008.  Details on their website, I think - if they aren't now, they probably will be.

 Keep sailin', The Raft - someday maybe we'll getcha published!