Spake

What's the character breakdown?

3 men and 4 women with doubling, slightly more of each without.

How long is it?

It's a full-length play, 109 pages long.  It plays at 2:10, which includes an intermission.

Has it been produced?  

Yes.  It was first produced by the wonderful folks at Northern Kentucky University as part of their 16th Biennial Y.E.S. Festival in 2013, and by This is Water Theatre in Texas in 2014.  It has also had several readings, including:

  • HotCity Theatre - St. Louis - GreenHouse New Play Festival 2009
  • EBE Ensemble - NYC - "You Fill In The Blank" 2009
  • InkWell Theatre - Washington, D.C. - Inkubator Festival 2009
  • The Hive Theatre - NYC - The Hive Exposed 2012
  • ARTS/West - Athens, OH - The Hodge Podge Play Reading Series 2012

Has it won any awards?  

Yes, the NKU production was named best production in the festival by the League of Cincinnati Theatres, whose members called it "a thought provoking and mystical journey into reincarnation and the power of language."  It also won the EBE Ensemble's "You Fill In The Blank" festival, was named as a finalist for HotCity's GreenHouse New Play Festival and for the Internationalists' (NYC) first annual playwriting contest in 2011, and won an honorable mention for the Ohio State University at Newark's first annual playwriting contest in 2011.

What's it about?  

In a packed Siberian church on a snowy day, a priest is eulogizing a 109-year-old town leader when the roof caves in, killing everyone inside.  Only one speaker of the Ujide language remains: Nicholas, who’s still at college.  His ex-girlfriend Jessica also has languages on the brain: namely finding a wellspring language, an idea that intrigued Ithaca serial killer Edward Rulloff.  The collapse begins an amazing sequence of events involving the untranslated Voynich Manuscript, a spell, the return of Rulloff and Nicholas’ dead sister, and a Tower of Babel reversal.  A few flakes of snow will change the world forever. 

Can I read a sample?  

Of course you can!  You can read it right here.

Any pictures of past productions?  

You can find a bunch of them here.

Has it been published?

Not yet, but I'll always entertain offers.