The playwright and actor Sean Christopher Lewis has been in and out of town the past couple weeks.
I've enjoyed sitting with him at Luck Bros. Coffee House every few days as he, Matt Slaybaugh and I write an updated version of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol.
Please hold an evening December 10th-12th — or the afternoon of December 13th — to see this new show. (When I say new, I mean, "still in the oven." We don't know the name of the show, code name: XMAS. But we'll be ready for you.)
Like A Virgin
I've never written a play. I've written short comedy skits and stand-up, but never a dramatic piece. So here I am, giving it a go.
The good news is that Sean and Matt know what they are doing. There is — surprise, surprise — much technique to the process. Example: when we are working together, usually there is a screen open to The Hero's Journey: Summary of the Steps.
I've come across (and breezed over) my share of classic tales — from Beowulf to Star Wars. And I know that the authors applied the structural attributes that Joseph Campbell describes. But I never realized that the writing process could be so directly engineered by application of the standard steps of the hero's journey.
Matt and Sean talk the technical language of theatre. I stumble about — in admiration.
But this post isn't about that.
This Is Your Invitation To More Theatre
This Thursday through Sunday only, come see Killadelphia, an acclaimed one-man show by Sean Christopher Lewis.
From the Available Light website, here's the offer:
In the Summer of 2008, it was often said that Philadelphia had "more bodies than days." The city was in the midst of a murder epidemic that put it on par with some third world countries.
Determined to take an unflinching look at the causes of the crime rate and its effect on the community, playwright Sean Christopher Lewis introduces us to the inmates of Graterford Prison – men employed to beautify the city even as they serve out life sentences.
The voices of the prisoners, their victims, Mayor Nutter, local rappers, conservative talk show hosts, trauma surgeons, and the citizens of the City of Brotherly Love crowd the stage to say their piece.
Played by Lewis, a performer described by the New York Press as “explicitly
authentic”, these voices combine with a shocking document of life in
America’s toughest town. The stunning result is Killadelphia: mixtape of a city.
Killadelphia was featured in the 25th Anniversary Issue of American Theatre magazine. The recent run (like this one, also directed by Matt Slaybaugh) in New York was reviewed on nytheatre.com.
Ticket Information
While Available Light always offers tickets at the door for the strange, beautiful price of "Pay What You Want," this show has a difference.
The theater — Junctionview Studios at 889 Williams Avenue, Columbus — is very small. Fewer than 200 people will be able to see show during the entire run.
Get A Ticket In Advance For This Show
Here's the schedule. You can get advance tickets for these shows (fixed price of $20 — it's "pay what we want," eh? — but still a low, low price for first-rate theatre) by visiting the on-line Available Light ticket office:
Thursday, September 24 @ 8pm w/ TALKBACK
Friday, September 25 @ 7pm
Friday, September 25 @ 9pm w/ TALKBACK
Saturday, September 26 @ 7pm
Saturday, September 26 @ 9pm w/ TALKBACK
Sunday, September 27 @ 2pm
(If you have an Available Light season membership, just call to reserve your tickets — you've already paid for them.)
I'm going to the Thursday (@8) and Saturday (@7) performances. See you there?