The Trigger Gene closes

On Saturday, May 28, 2016, we closed the 5-performance run of Rita Kneiss Barkey's The Trigger Gene, to an energetic, full audience at The Crystal Theatre in Missoula.

I feel very lucky to have had this experience, working with a strong, caring group of talented people, almost all of whom I just met (and all of whom I hope to continue working with).  It was a great first theatrical experience in Missoula, and I am very thankful to this group of artists for trusting me and gently demanding the most from me.  I am very proud of the collective work we all did together, and I think the production was a success in many ways.

Sarah (Robin Rose) and Terry (Greg Romero) in The Trigger Gene; Missoula MT.  Photo by Michael Stafford).

Acting in this new play was a really important experience for me personally, forcing me to confront some vulnerabilities I had been able to avoid for some time.  Taking a break from acting for so long, I was surprised to discover how hard it was (all the layers and worlds and intentions and sensitivities involved in a single moment), much harder than I remember, making me wonder if, in previous roles, I'd ever fully appreciated all of the detail and possibilities involved in creating a performance.

I am very happy to have put back in touch with these creative muscles I'd let atrophy a little.  Now exercised, I am curious to keep using them, open again, for the first time in a while, to an expanded view of possibilities.

Big thank yous to the whole Trigger Gene team-- Diane, Diego, Howard, Nathan, Rita, Robin, Shaun, and everyone else who contributed and participated.

--ROMERO

The Trigger Gene

Later this month I will be performing in The Trigger Gene, a new play by Missoula playwright Rita Kneiss Barkey.

This is the first substantial role I've had in a full theatrical production in quite some time-- certainly my most involved performance since my project, Thirty-Three, which was nearly 7 years ago, and one of only a handful of performances in the past 15 years since I graduated college.  This experience has stretched me and humbled me in many ways already, for which I am really grateful. 

 
With help from the good folks of Third Ear Productions, we go into performance at Missoula's Crystal Theater from May 19-21, 27-28, and I am very much looking forward to the continued work on this part, and sharing the play with an audience.

Many thanks to those who are working on this project with me, it has been a very rewarding journey so far.

For more information on the performances, please visit here.

much love,

ROMERO

PLASTIC THINGS in Kingston, Jamaica

It makes me so happy that Of Plastic Things and Butterfly Wings continues to live on, most recently finding new audiences in the excellent waters of the Caribbean.

 Reginald the Blue Crab and Sam the Plastic Water Bottle (Edna Manley College; Kingston, Jamaica).

From March 11-21, 2016, this young audiences play was presented by the Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts at the Dennis Scott Studio Theatre, in Kingston, Jamaica.  I was unable to attend the performances, but the show's director, Pierre LeMaire, tells me that his students had a good experience working on the play, the school audiences enjoyed it, and that it was quite interesting to talk with the students after the show about pollution and recycling.  This is all excellent, and a huge gift.

The Gyres (Edna Manley College; Kingston, Jamaica).

This play is well-journeyed, having been in performance in Philadelphia (with the workshop at Drexel, the Philly Fringe production by Little Fish Theatre Collaborative), several schools in New Jersey (as part of Little Fish Theatre's touring production), Phoenix (thanks to the good folks at Space 55), and internationally in Victoria, British Columbia (Kate Rubin Studio Theatre), and now, Jamaica.  I'm so very grateful for all of these experiences, and continue to be humbled by them.

Reginald, Sam, and Billie the Parrot (Edna Manley College; Kingston, Jamaica).

 

Big thank yous to the Edna Manley College and Pierre LeMaire, and continued thanks to: Cara Blouin and the original, wonderful Drexel ensemble; Chris and Josh Totora of Little Fish for believing in me and commissioning the play; to the wonderful actors in the Fringe production and tour; and to Jon Dorf and YouthPLAYS for publishing the script.

Much love,

ROMERO

PLASTIC THINGS and DELAWARE MUDTUB now up on Amazon

My two published young audiences works, Of Plastic Things and Butterfly Wings and Delaware Mudtub and the Mighty Wampum, are now posted on the Amazon.com website.

Published by YouthPLAYS (and also for sale or licensing options through their website), this additional listing on the market giant Amazon will hopefully extend each of these play's lives in exciting ways, while making it easier to find for those who are looking for them.

For a quick link to the plays on Amazon:

Of Plastic Things and Butterfly Wings

Delaware Mudtub and the Mighty Wampum

Big continued thank yous to YouthPLAYS and to all of the amazing artists and people who originally brought these works to life.

much love,

ROMERO

LULLABY/Goodbye to Drexel

On Wednesday, May 27th, 2015,  three of my students and I shared The Most Beautiful Lullaby You've Ever Heard at Drexel University as an open rehearsal/studio presentation.

This intimate presentation (staged in the dressing room of the URBN Annex Black Box Theatre) was a satisfying way to conclude my six-plus years of teaching and creating at Drexel.  Grateful for the experience to work with these talented, bright students for one final project, we approached this short process (we met for 5 times for a total of 12 hours) as an exercise, exploring the play and its challenges as best we could with the time and space we had to work in.

The Man (Alex Cummiskey), The Narrator (Laura Allan) and The Woman (Lexi Pozonsky).  URBN Annex Green Room, Drexel University; Philadelphia PA.  Photo by John VanZelst.

The process was highly enjoyable, as performers Laura Allan ("The Narrator"), Alex Cummiskey ("The Man"), and Lexi Pozonsky ("The Woman") all proved to be brave, creative, and enthusiastic in their exploration of the play's darker content, in it's non-linear structure, and in it's demanding physicality.  Their bold choices, openness to explore, and thoughtful questions led to further discoveries in a play that I have been working on for over 10 years and through at least half a dozen presentations.  The experience was so enjoyable that I regret only that there wasn't more time available to explore the play further together.

I was also happy to have shared this work with a small, intimate audience of Drexel students, staff, and friends.  It was wonderful to witness the ongoing support these students have for one another, and to share this work with a handful of my own students who I have become very close to.

The Narrator (Laura Allan) and The Woman (Lexi Pozonsky).  Photo by John VanZelst.

Big thank yous to Alex, Laura, and Lexi for their excellent work and the gifts of their time and talent and to all the wonderful spirits who have breathed into this play over the past ten years.  Thank you as well to all the good folks at Drexel, and to all the students whose intelligence, creativity, and sincerity continually inspire me to be the best version of myself.

Much love,

ROMERO

EYE IN THE SKY on YouTube

A few years ago, the wily artists at Audacity Theatre Lab created a project-- an experimental epistolary radio theatre project-- in which they commissioned playwrights around the country to create a radio play based on the following shared prompt:

"For one week in the middle of the summer, a giant eye appears in the sky, over the city.  At the end of seven days, it disappears as suddenly as it originally materialized."

Gathering a wealth of work, and through collaboration with a number of multi-disciplinary artists, Audacity put together several episodes of recordings of these plays.  I feel lucky to have been one of the commissioned playwrights, and to share Episode Two with cool cat Daniel Talbott.

My short work, Goodb(eye) appears roughly four and half minutes into this recording, with some fine voice work by Jeffrey Schmidt and Lydia Mackay.

You can listen to Episode Two HERE.

Big thank yous to the folks at Audacity TheatreLab for putting this project together and for continuing to share our work.

Much love,

ROMERO

DELAWARE MUDTUB Published by YouthPLAYS

While working in the forests and mountains of Idaho, it is somehow fitting that my play, Delaware Mudtub and the Mighty Wampum, went into publication.

Maria Konstantidies as the Old Fox, Tyer Garamella as the Pond, and Katie Croyle as Turtle, as Turtle tells the story of Fox's mother.  Plays & Players, Philadelphia: March 2014.

An interactive, immersive young audiences play, it is now in print thanks to the good people at YouthPLAYS (who also published my previous young audiences work, Of Plastic Things and Butterfly Wings).

Big thank yous to the countless number of excellent artists and people who brought this play to life, and who took such great care in expressing it so wonderfully earlier this year at Plays & Players in Philadelphia.

It is my hope that this opportunity will allow me to share this work with many more people and that the wonderful animals in this play-- Turtle, Fox, Heron, the Otters, Wolf, and Bear-- will continue to live on through the joyful creativity of many more future embodiments.

To visit Delaware Mudtub and the Mighty Wampum at YouthPLAYS, click here.

much love,

ROMERO

STELLAR CELLAR at Charm City Fringe Festival

This week I will be sharing a work, Stellar Cellar, that I've collaborated on with a lovely and talented ensemble of artists for the Charm City Fringe Festival in Baltimore, Maryland.

 Stellar Cellar, as performed at La Petit Salon; November 2013; Baltimore, MD

Scheduled for performance dates on November 5,7,8,9, we will be sharing our work with four audiences at the unique venue, Church and Co. on Falls Road.

This work was originated by Christine Ferrera as a live radio talk show about wine, in which the show's host, Ferrera, traveled deeper into her life of memories and subconscious, echoing through the different wines, taking the audience on a multi-layered wine-tasting experience.

After the piece played numerous places, it was re-imagined to include some of my writing, which introduces a couple of wild animals into the piece (a fox and a bear), adding additional worlds to explore between ground and sky (and beyond).

The full synopsis reads:

Stellar Cellar is a journey through a woman’s subconscious, an evocation of Dionysus and a radio talk show about wine. As the host samples each wine, her memories are conjured: funnel cake and dippin’ dots on the boardwalk, monks in Macedonia, the loss of her virginity in the back of a Honda Civic. Call-in questions, a car salesman from beyond the grave, and a dystopian weather and traffic report move her further into the deep layers of her psyche… until a fox and a bear appear revealing the sorrows of the animals. Expect songs of love, sleep and the apocalypse. 

In all cases, there are some wonderfully talented folks who have created and brought this work to life, and it is a performance that has some size and some lovely theatrical surprises.

The Red Fox and The Great Spirit of the Black Bear, illustrated by Christine Ferrera.

Charm City Fringe Festival Presents: 

STELLAR CELLAR
A radio show about wine leads deep into the forest...

Created & Performed by:
TEMPLE CROCKER
DAN HANRAHAN
CHRISTINE FERRERA
SARAH LLOYD
DANIEL FRIEDMAN
& GREG ROMERO

SHOWS:
11/5 @ 7pm,
11/7 @ 6pm,
11/8 @ 10pm,
11/9 @ 3pm,

AT CHURCH & COMPANY
3647 Falls Road (2nd Floor)
Baltmore, MD 21211

$10 + $3 Festival Button (One-time purchase)

For tickets: https://charmcityfringe.tixato.com/buy/ccf-presents-stellar-cellar

For more info about the Fringe Festival: http://charmcityfringe.com/

Stellar Cellar show page: http://charmcityfringe.com/tickets/2014/9/10/stellar-cellar

More about Stellar Cellar:  http://fiftysevenhundred.org/upcoming-performances/stellar-cellar/

Much love,

ROMERO

Listening in Idaho

Returning to city life after living three months in a National Forest, it is bittersweet to look back through journal entries from my summer working for the Forest Service.  This entry, scrawled in faded pencil on tattered parchment, comes from September 10th, 2014, two days before my assignment ended:

"Reflecting back and remembering some important things before I leave Idaho.  I saw a wolverine and a black bear in the same day-- encountering an aliveneness that I want to always be in touch with.  I climbed a mountain and was humbled to discover how inexpressible it was.

Taken during my hike to Custer Lookout, Salmon-Challis National Forest; Idaho.

And this aliveness and impossible expression is out here, away from the cities, and it is where I want and need to keep connected to.  It is out here that I see the largeness, feel the expansiveness of things, free from the moorings of category, compartments, all creating new understandings.  Because it is out here where things really speak to each other."

Thank you, mountains of Idaho, and all the lovely things that live and breathe with you.

--GR

One of my Plays is Currently Benefitting Animals in Arizona

My short play, The Race, is currently running in Prescott, Arizona, thanks to the good folks at The@trics Theatre.  As bonus, the event, Pet Plays, is a benefit to raise funds for the Yavapai Humane Society.

As someone who LOVES animals, this brings me great joy.

As the poster indicates, there are four performances, running from June 6th - 8th, all taking place at First Congregational Church.  I wish I could be there to see all these pets.

It also brings me great joy that this play, which steps inside of a dog's dreams, also honors two dear friends who I originally wrote the play for -- Ann Taylor and Timothy Verret -- over ten years ago while living in Austin, Texas.  I'm so happy that The Race lives on, and in such a purposeful way.

Big thank yous to The@trics Theatre and best of luck to them and to all the awesome animals receiving love from the Yavapai Humane Society.

much love,

ROMERO

PLASTIC THINGS, Victoria

Of Plastic Things and Butterfly Wings performs tonight in Victoria, British Columbia, thanks to the good folks at Kate Rubin Theatre and Drama Studio.

The studio's Youth Performance Company will present this Theater for Young Audiences work tonight, June 5th, 2013, at 8:00 pm at the Intrepid Theatre Club, and I enjoy thinking about this play (and its characters-- a Plastic Water Bottle, a Blue Crab, a Turtle, a Parrot, all the broken-down objects in The Gyres) being performed by young actors (which will be a first-- previous productions in Philadelphia and Phoenix were performed by adult actors).

Photo from Kate Rubin Studio's Teen Acting Intensive

This performance also marks the first time one of my plays has been produced in Canada, which is a really thrilling new threshold for me.  I'm so happy that my work is living outside of my own country.

This performance is also the first of my plays to ever be licensed through a publishing company, also  thrilling new territory for me, and for that I am grateful to the good folks at YouthPLAYS, Inc.

Big thank yous again to everyone who helped create this work, and to everyone who has made the continued sharing of this work possible.

much love,

ROMERO

P.S. To visit the publication page of Plastic Things, you can visit YouthPLAYS, Inc.

Space 55 Opens PLASTIC THINGS in Phoenix

It has been a good year already for my play Of Plastic Things and Butterfly Wings.  Published earlier this month by YouthPLAYS, this all-ages play opens today, January 26th, in Phoenix, Arizona.

Brought to life for its second production (the premiere by Little Fish Theatre continues to tour the Philadelphia/NJ-area), the good folks of Space 55 have put together an impressive group of artists who will present the work each Saturday and Sunday through February 10th, for nine performances total (2:00 pm and 7:00 pm shows on Saturday, 2:00 pm on Sunday).

This production, directed by the lovely and talented Michelle Kable, will include live music, puppetry (including a shadow-puppet version of "the Gyres"), and will feature a set made of recyclable materials, all in the intimate environment of Space 55's downtown Phoenix home.

For more information about the show, you can visit Space 55's website HERE.

I am grateful to Space 55 for taking on this work, and for continuing and expanding its life.  Big leg-breaking thank yous to director Michelle Kable, and performers Mack Duncan, Ron Foligno, Pina, and Dilcia Yanez.

much love,

ROMERO

PLASTIC THINGS Published by YouthPLAYS

I am completely excited to announce that my play, Of Plastic Things and Butterfly Wings, is now published by YouthPLAYS, Inc., a Los Angeles-based publisher and licensing house.

The Oldest Sea Turtle Who Ever Lived (Josh Totora), Reginald the Blue Crab (Kevin Chick), and Sam the Plastic Water Bottle, from the Little Fish Theatre production; Philadelphia, PA; September 2012.  Photo by Charlotte Leigh.

As my first attempt at writing a theater for young audiences play, this experience, from conception to presentation to publication, has been a thrilling, rewarding journey, introducing me to new collaborators and new audiences.  This project is one of the highlights of a very satisfying body of work.

It is my hope that, in addition to the productions already in progress, the publication of this play will give this work a continued and sustained life, playing out over and over again with audiences and imaginations of all ages.

It is my hope that Sam the Plastic Water Bottle, Reginald the Blue Crab, Billie the Parrot, and The Oldest Sea Turtle Who Ever Lived will get to play together for a very long time.

To visit the Of Plastic Things and Butterfly Wings' publishing page, visit YouthPLAYS here.

Sam's Father (Kevin Chick) and Sam's Mother (Maryruth Stine) caught in The Gyres.  Photo by Charlotte Leigh.

Big congratulations and thank yous to Little Fish Theatre for originally commissioning and trusting me to create this play, and for all of their support during the process.  Also, big congratulations and thank yous to the members of the 2012 Winter Studio at Drexel University, whose creativity and exploration inspired the first draft of Plastic Things.  Big thank yous also to Charlotte Leigh, who, by good fortune, happened to photograph one of our performances.  And huge thank yous to Jonathan Dorf and Ed Shockley of YouthPLAYS, Inc., for believing in this play, and for their generosity during the publishing process.

much love,

ROMERO

BABEL a Finalist for Source Festival

With much enthusiasm, I share news that THE BABEL PROJECT is one of 25 finalists selected for Source Festival, a new works festival in Washington DC.

The Babel ensemble from the 2012 WordBRIDGE Playwrights Lab.  Photo by Phoebe Troiani.

Source Festival, which began in 2008, is one of my favorite new works festivals, as it has a wonderful history of generosity and artistic experiment.  Featuring several different forms of live theatrical works, BABEL is under consideration for one of the three works to be selected in their "full-lengths plays" programming.

Big congratulations to my collaborator, electronic music composer Mike Vernusky, whose work on this piece is completely thrilling.

Congratulations as well to the entire roster of finalists, whose works and bios can be viewed here.

Mike and I both hope to continue working on this project, and to create and sustain a long, unpredictable life for this play and for our relationships with the people who collaborate with us.

Huge thank yous to Source Festival, to the 2012 WordBRIDGE Playwrights Laboratory (whose developmental process was truly excellent, and whose collaborating artists were even more truly excellent), and to the awesome student-ensemble at Drexel University (where we developed a very early version of this work).

much love,

ROMERO

Adam Szymkowicz Interviews Me (with help from my 6-year old nephew)

As part of his ongoing series, playwright Adam Szymkowicz interviewed me recently about playwriting, theater, and my childhood.  Adam was also kind enough to let me get a little loose with his questions, allowing my 6 year-old nephew, Brody, to ask me a few questions as well.

Also-- I let my Mom answer one of the questions, because she had a better answer than me.

You can read the entirety of Adam's interview of me HERE.

Thank you to Adam for reaching out, and to Brody for his fun additions to the project.  Thanks also to my sister Wendy, for helping me out with Brody's questions.  And to my Mom.

Much love,

ROMERO

The Schuylkill River Project

Dear Friends,

I want to clean-up The Schuylkill River.

And this is why:

Fairmount Water Works.  America’s first zoo.  George Washington’s army at Valley Forge during the American Revolutionary War.  Olympian John B. Kelly and Princess Grace of Monaco.  Fairmount Park.  And the Philadelphia Museum of Art.  All of these things have participated deeply with the Schuylkill River-- a site that Charles Dickens once called “wondrous to behold”.

Also-- because 1.75 million Pennsylvania residents drink from the river.

As an artist, it’s a passion of mine to develop a performance project that honors the Schuylkill River. 

But most importantly, I wish to express my LOVE for the Schuylkill.  And my desire, above all, to help the river fully express herself by freeing her from some of the pollutants that blight her beauty and her health, quieting her voice.

In short, I want to turn THIS (before):

The Schuylkill River at 2:30 pm on Saturday, October 6th, 2012.  Photo by Sarah Lloyd.

Into THIS (after):

The Schuylkill River at 3:30 pm on Saturday, October 6, 2012.  Photo by Sarah Lloyd.

The transformation documented in these photos took ONE HOUR.

The contents of those four large garbage bags (which also contain over 120 recyclable objects) took only sixty minutes for Sarah Lloyd and I to collect.

I would love to use time every day cleaning up the river.  Every day making the kind of difference that you see in these photos.  And while every day is not quite possible, it is my goal to work on the river for at least 50 – 60 hours from now until the end of 2012.

And I would love people to help me.

If you're interested, and I hope you are, these are the beginning ways we can care for the Schuylkill together:

• Join me on the river!  As best I can, I will keep this blog site updated about when I am going out on the river.  You can also email me at gregoryromero@yahoo.com, and we can communicate that way.  

• Because I don't have the resources of money, you can donate helpful items.  Most useful: a wagon or wheelbarrow (for hauling trash bags), trash bags (eco-friendly ones if possible), a digital camera (for documenting).  Also useful, especially if a team of volunteers develops: lawn rakes, work gloves, snacks/food, reusable water bottles (non-plastic if possible).  

• Information.  Maybe you know a convenient recycling or trash drop-off near the river?  Maybe you know the right people to reach out to?  Maybe you know specific areas of the river that need the most attention?

• Help me document/archive.  My blog site is simple.  Maybe you can help me present this information better.

• Donate money.  Funds will be used for gathering supplies, providing support for additional volunteers, etc.  Any surplus funds will be used wisely and generously.  You can send money via PayPal to gregoryromero@yahoo.com.  Or you can mail funds to:  Greg Romero, 322 N 39th St, Philadelphia PA 19104.

Of course, the Schuylkill will thank you more than I ever could, but because I believe in gift-exchange, anyone who helps me care for the river, I happily offer the following gifts in return:

• I will happily acknowledge you in any creative project that develops from this work and also keep a running list of acknowledgements here.

• With my finger, I will write your name (and/or a loved one’s, just let me know) into the river, thereby making you part of the river’s stories and history.

•  I will also do my best to photo-document the process, tracking progress of the clean-up with before and after photos, positive developments, etc.  I will post as much as I can to this blog, and will also be happy to email any information to you directly.

Thank you for your care and generosity—I look forward to doing something beautiful and purposeful with you.

Sincerely,

Greg Romero

www.gregromero.blogspot.com

PLASTIC THINGS Plays the Philly Fringe

In September 2012, my all-ages play, Of Plastic Things and Butterfly Wings, ran for seven performances as part of the Philly Fringe Festival, and I couldn't be happier with the experience.

The Oldest Sea Turtle That Ever Lived (Josh Totora), Reginald the Blue Crab (Kevin Chick), and Sam the Plastic Water Bottle (Leslie Nevon Holden).  Photo by Charlotte Jacobson.

Playing before live audiences from September 12 - 16 at the Off-Broad Street Theatre (in the Center City/Rittenhouse area), the play was wonderfully produced by Little Fish Theatre, who also commissioned the play in partnership with Fernbrook Farms Education Center.

I was thrilled by the creative team's imagination, and in their skill and generosity in expressing their highly creative ideas.  Making use of puppets, multiple expressions of size and scale, original live music (played largely on found instruments and on recyclable objects), and audience participation, I found this production to be delightful, surprising, theatrical, purposeful, and really touching-- all things that I hope for with every live performance.

As my first experience creating work for young audiences, I particularly enjoyed the performances which had the most young audience members present.  I had a memorable experience talking with one such audience member after the show, who told me all about everything she saw-- a crab, a pink parrot, a turtle, and a whale-shark (the whale-shark was a surprise to me, which I loved).

I also experienced a wonderful moment when a couple different parents told me that this was the first time their child had seen a play.  Now THAT is awesome.

I also loved seeing several Drexel students in the audience, many of whom helped created this work earlier this year through our exploration in the Winter Studio.

Sam's Father (Kevin Chick) and Sam's Mother (Maryruth Stine) caught in The Gyres.  Photo by Charlotte Jacobson

In general, I am very encouraged to the response to this play-- from its beginning creation in February and March of this year, and from this audiences of the Fringe performances.  I look forward to the play's long life, continuing next with this production's touring performance in late November (to Moorestown Friends School in New Jersey), and with another production run to be created by the fine folks of Space 55 in Phoenix, Arizona, in December.

Big continued thank yous to the Little Fish team for all their excellent work, for believing in me from the beginning, and for creating such a wonderful production that was also completely enjoyable to work on (this team embraced every impossible challenge and, in doing so, made the world way bigger).  Thank yous to Fernbrook Farms.  Thank yous to Drexel University and the Dragons of the Winter Studio.  Thank you, Cara Blouin.  Thank yous to the fine folks of the Off-Broad Street Theatre.  Thank you to Beth Cain, for helping us get the word out about this play.  Thank you to Green Philly Blog for covering the performance.  Thank you to Charlotte Jacobson for the photos.  And big thank yous to all the folks who came out to experience the play.

Much love,

ROMERO

THE BABEL PROJECT and WordBRIDGE 2012

Since its close on June 23rd, I have been meaning to write about my recent profound experiences at the 2012 WordBRIDGE Playwrights Lab.  But I have been unable to find the words.  I have thought of posting some images instead-- photos, dreams, moments, fragments, bits of memory surrounded by music.

These ideas have sparked me, but I have still had trouble igniting expression.  Perhaps I have felt that withholding keeps it sacred.  Or maybe I am too scared to release these memories into the world, for fear of losing them, for fear of the fire dying.

But I know this is a fear that I must confront.  Especially since the memories/fires, I know, are safe there, deep down in the bones.

The BABEL Ensemble creating body sculptures with Resource Artist Jeff Wirth.  
Photo by Phoebe Troiani.

I feel extremely fortunate, however, that Peter Davis has beautifully, eloquently, expressed the WordBRIDGE experience for me, partly through several thoughtful interviews of a number of this year's Lab participants.

It is my hope that you will read Peter's words HERE (in Baltimore's What Weekly Magazine) and see them, as full as they are, as only an introduction to the complete story of WordBRIDGE's generous magic.

Big thank yous to everyone, again, at the 2012 WordBRIDGE Playwrights Lab, for a truly transformational, humbling, life-affirming experience.

Jennifer Culotta (Office Worker 1) and Sarah Lloyd (Office Worker 2).  
Photo by Vincent Culotta.

To that end, the words below now find themselves in the first few pages of THE BABEL PROJECT:
.........................................................

The Babel Project enjoyed a two-week creative journey as part of WordBRIDGE Playwrights Laboratory, Baltimore, Maryland, June 2012.

And for this experience, the authors owe much gratitude.  Not only for the purposeful, deeply insightful, and innovative development of this work, but for the purposeful, insightful, innovative development of its authors as artists and humans.

This journey offered us countless gifts, many of which we will unwrap, continually, and with wonder and deep humility.

The WordBRIDGE creative team for The Babel Project included director Peter Wray, dramaturg George Brant, and stage manager J.D. Sivert.  The performers included Erin Boots, Rena Brault, Rich Buchanan, Jennifer Culotta, Emily Hall, Jamie Johnson, Kat Kaplan, Charles Kartali, Sarah Lloyd, Peyton Lynch, Will Manning, Tanner Medding, Erich Poch, and Michele Vazquez.

Big thank yous as well to the entire 2012 WordBRIDGE Company—you are all magical.

.................................................

much love,

ROMERO

"The Other Room" to be Published by Penn Review

A couple years ago, one of my Creative Writing students handed me a scrap of paper that said, "the other room".  This was the prompt for a piece of writing I was to create for the end-of-semester anthology my students and I were making.

I chose to write a story, rather than a play, just because I thought, being a playwright, a short story might be a more fun challenge.

And, years later, this story, "The Other Room", will be published in the Spring 2012 Penn Review Literary Magazine, a development I never imagined.

Cover art for the 2012 Spring Penn Review

To celebrate, there is a book launch event at 2:00 pm on Saturday, April 28th, at The Rotunda (4014 Walnut St), where I (and other authors) will read our contributions to this volume.  The event is Free, and I hear there will be donuts.

Big thank yous to Penn Review, to the Kelly Writers House (whose ArtsEdge Residency led to this opportunity), and to the student who scrawled "the other room" on that fateful scrap.  Thank you as well to all my students, who provided such fruitful terrain from which to write.

Sincerely,

ROMERO

SCHUYLKILL RIVER to Become a Book-Object

The ending moment of the 37 "Travel Plays" that compose my epic gift-exchange road-trip play, American Potlatch Road-trip, will take on a unique journey as a "book-object" as part of the project, Philos Adelphos Irrealis-- a handmade book collection of alternate historical texts about Philadelphias that never were.

What would happen if the Walt Whitman Bridge stretched over The Schuylkill?

Schuylkill River, which features the characters The Faceless Man, Walt Whitman, The SS United States, and The Walt Whitman Bridge, was originally written for playwright and bon vivant Richard Kotulski during 2008 - 2009.

As these "travel plays" were all about journeys, gift-exchange, and transformation, I am thrilled that this short play will experience all these things through this project, becoming something newly expressive.

I am also thrilled that the launch of this project will take place at Kelly Writers House, which was so generous to me as I was writing The Travel Plays (and also because it means there will be fun snacks there).

_______________________________________

The Kelly Writers House and Creative Ventures present

THE PHILOS ADELPHOS IRREALIS LAUNCH

Friday, April 20, at 2:00 PM in the Arts Café
Kelly Writers House | 3805 Locust Walk
No registration required - this event is free & open to the public

________________________________________

The Creative Ventures series supports creative collaborations across discipline, emphasizing evolution and innovation, convergence, creative process, and imagination.


----------------------------------------------

Big thank yous to the creative folks making this possible, to the Kelly Writers House, and to all the generous people who contributed to the creation of American Potlatch Road-trip: The Travel Plays.

sincerely,

ROMERO