About This Show
This is a festival of staged readings of plays in development for the 2008 Crowded Fire Season.
The Listener, by Liz Duffy Adams
Ms. Adams continues to look at our current world through her sci-fi lens, making today’s pop culture icons and slang words the mythological basis of religion for the very far off future inhabitants of Junk City, Planet Earth. The thing is, the Junk City citizens are the only people left. Everyone else migrated to Nearth (aka: the moon) long ago, declaring the world uninhabitable. In Junk City, rules are rules. You have your title and position in society. You don’t step out of rank. Things get dangerous if you do. So when John, a representative from Nearth, descends upon the small dystopia in his spaceship, things get weird. He’s come to “save” them, but do they need it? Do they want it? Watch your back. John’s in for a scary ride.
Sunday, August 19 @ 7:00 pm
The Marsh, 1062 Valencia St., SF
My Name is Vera Cupido, by Stephanie Fleischmann
Is Death larger than Life? On the eve of the anniversary of the death of her “big love”, Vera Cupido, 23, is drawn back to Key Biscayne from Portugal to mourn the loss of Boubou, who died at 60. As she sifts through the baggage of her heart, Vera’s return voyage is questioned by those who knew Boubou best. Her young infatuation with the deceased is met with suspicion , as her old world philosophy on mourning, love, and sentiment seem suspect in modern Key Biscayne. But are others simply afraid of the truth? Perhaps Vera is a guide towards compassion and understanding inside the struggle of grief. Perhaps she is an imposter. But her mysterious spirit grips each soul she encounters, causing both damage and beauty. In this poetic journey through mourning, the old world collides with the new as we step inside the conflict between the truth and the heart.
Saturday, August 18 @ 7:00 pm
Intersection for the Arts, The Gallery, 446 Valencia St., SF
About the Dogs, by Lizz Edele
The price of perfection is tragedy in this shocking new play by Lizz Edele. In a culture obsessed with excess and flawlessness, a rich suburban family struggles to stay afloat after the death of their college student daughter to anorexia. In the midst of their darkly comic attempts to cope, an uninvited guest appears. Claiming to be a young journalist wanting the inside scoop on the sorority sister she lost, Jane seems at first to offer some relief to the shattered parents. But as she peels away the layers of spectacle, wealth, advantage, and alcohol, Jane clearly has her own agenda. A haunting examination of exploitation, guilt and obsession, Ms. Edele takes an honest look at a crisis controlling many of America’s youth.
Sunday, August 19 @ 3:00 pm
The Marsh, 1062 Valencia St., SF
Untitled, by Erik Ehn
A brand new piece by the playwright who penned the Crowded Fire epic, ‘Maid.
Saturday, August 18 @ 3:00 pm
Intersection for the Arts, The Gallery, 446 Valencia St., SF