THE MILKY WAY CABARET Completes Another Journey

Late Saturday evening, November 22nd, Amazing Arnie's life was spared one last time by his daughter, Travlin' Alice, who traveled through 28 years of black holes to stop a bullet before it reached the alcoholic magician's body.

Angela Parsons as Travlin' Alice

After journeying to Dallas, Texas, to watch several of Audacity Theatre Lab's performances of my "time-traveling tragicomedy", THE MILKY WAY CABARET, it is my hope that Arnie will get another shot at his magic acts, that Alice will continue to brave the stars, and that Buzz and Charlotte will keep re-growing their hearts together while staked-out for their next assassination.

Buzz (Tyson Rinehart) and Charlotte (Rhianna Mack)

I learned a lot from this play's second production, thanks to the good work put in by the good folks of Audacity Theatre Lab, and to some good conversations with my own traveling companion (the lovely and talented Megan Slater). This trip taught me that, though the play has its flaws, there are a lot of good things about it-- there is a lot of beauty, pain, imagination, and magic inside of it. And the artists of Audacity did a wonderful job bringing out the play's strengths.

Jeff Swearingen as Amazing Arnie

In addition to the good work, I was moved by the company's hospitality, generosity, and companionship while I was in town. It is these kinds of experiences that make me thrilled to be an artist and feel privileged for the opportunity to share my work.

Big thank yous to Brad McEntire, Ruth Engel, Jeff Swearingen, Jeff Hernandez, Cassidy Crown, Tyson Rinehart, Rhianna Mack, Angela Parsons, Trista Wyly, Jaymes Gregory, Sarah Barnes, and Megan Slater, for a wonderful, memorable journey.

Thank you also to the friends who came out to see the show (you rock, Jason Tremblay and Sheila Doyle), and to Mark Lowry for his thoughtful press coverage of the performance.

Travlin' Alice out in space

As with all of these projects, I loved the experience, and I look forward to the next one.

rock on,

ROMERO

DALLAS to Play at The Shubin Theatre

My project, DALLAS, will be presented for one night, November 24th, 2009, at The Shubin Theatre in Philadelphia as part of Primary Stages, an ongoing developmental forum for new short plays, co-produced by Philadelphia Dramatists Center (PDC) and The Secret Room Theatre.

The play steps inside a 24-hour greasy-spoon diner inside the haunted brain of Clinton J. Hill, the Secret Service Agent who couldn't quite save John F. Kennedy's life.

Clint Hill on the back of the President's limousine, November 22, 1963

The piece, originally written as one of 37 of TRAVEL PLAYS, has become another collaboration between me and electronic music composer Mike Vernusky. Vernusky has created an 11-minute composition that includes a re-creation of the voices of Arlen Specter (voiced by Michael Kranes) and Clinton J. Hill (Cody R. Kirk) from the 1963 Warren Commission hearings after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.

The project finds its performance legs in the shared space between the script, the composition, and the movement/gestural language created by director Ken Kaissar and performers Chris Braak, Porter Eidam, Anabelle Garcia, Felicia Leicht, and Aaron Oster.

The play is one of six short works beginning at 8:00 pm at The Shubin Theatre (4th and Bainbridge).

Big thank yous the collaborative team for their great work on this presentation, to co-producers Todd Holtsberry and Bill Rolleri for putting the project together, to Nick Anselmo and Nan Gilbert at Drexel University, and to Dianna Marino, for who the orginal play, DALLAS, was written.

rock on,

ROMERO

I Breathe Fire More

I am happy to learn that I will continue teaching at Drexel University for both the Winter and Spring terms of 2010. A quarter system, I will teach consecutive 10-week terms, beginning early January through early June.

Hot!

Currently teaching "Dramatic Analysis" (and totally enjoying it), I will have the privilege of teaching two courses each upcoming term: "Theatre History I" and "Theatrical Experience" in the Winter (January-April) and "Theatre History II" and "Theatrical Experience" in the Spring (April-June).

Because I am not a historian, these assignments will add to my own theatrical education, which I am thrilled about. This assignment will force be just as much as a student as the Drexel undergrads, which is something I always hope for/attempt to create while teaching. Together we will make some fun discoveries through thousands of years of studying live events and I look forward to the journey.

rock on,

ROMERO