Absence Returns to Europe

by Peter Floyd Posted on December 13, 2016

In the fall of 2015, Absence crossed the briny Atlantic and made its European debut (as Fravær) at the Oslo Teater Trikkestallen in Norway.

I’m pleased to announce that the play, a first-person chronicle of one woman’s harrowing experience with dementia, will be returning to that side of the world with two productions going up in February 2017.

The first of these will be put on by Dalateatern, a theater company based in Falun, Sweden.  Under the name Försvinnandet, and translated by Eleanora DeLoughery Nordin, it will be directed by Åsa Edberg and open on Saturday, February 11. After a three-weekend run in Falun, it will be taken on tour throughout Sweden over the spring.

A week after the Falun opening, the play will come to Mantua, in Italy, courtesy of the Teatro Campogalliani. There, it will be called Assenze, with a translation by Antonia Brancati, and directed by Mario Zolin. It will run from February 19 through March 26.

Försvinnandet
Dalateatern
Falun (and elsewhere), Sweden
February 11 – April 5

Assenze
Teatro Campogalliani
Mantua, Italy
February 19 – March 26

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Return of the Naughty Readings

by Peter Floyd Posted on October 31, 2016

In the fall of 2006, when I was but a fledgeling playwright, my short play “Big Eddie” appeared as part of the Image Theater‘s second annual Naughty Readings in Lowell. And what are the Naughty Readings? [I hear you asking.] These are a set of staged readings of short comic plays that deal with matters of sex, interspersed with hilarious and off-color songs. No, it’s not Oh, Calcutta; there’s no nudity, and honestly not much that you wouldn’t hear in a Netflix show. But you probably wouldn’t want to bring your kids.

I’m happy to report that ten years later, both Image Theater and the Naughty Readings are going strong. And I’ll be back in them this year, with my never-before-performed play “Michael Isn’t Yours.”  The readings will be at the Old Court Irish Pub on Saturday, November 12 (yes, one night only). Please come, and leave your pruderies at the door.

Tickets available here

The Naughty Readings 2016
Old Court Irish Pub
 29-31 Central St
Lowell, MA 01852
November 12, 2016

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Writers at Play Showcase 2016

by Peter Floyd Posted on June 23, 2016

WAP 2016_2Writers at Play:

2016 Showcase of New Work

Monday, July 11, 7:30pm. FREE

Boston Playwright’s Theatre

My playwriting group, Writers at Play, will be having its second annual showcase of new works on Monday, July 11, at the Boston Playwrights’ Theatre. We will presenting scenes for the plays we have been working on over the past year, read by professional actors (who have been reading the pieces as they’ve progressed). Please join us for an evening of brand-new, cutting-edge theater!

After by Peter M. Floyd: One of the few remaining people in a post-apocalyptic world, Parker is convinced that there is a conspiracy afoot among the leaders of the community of survivors. Is she right or is she crazy? How about both?

Shaken by Deirdre Girard: Beth’s been living under an assumed name in rural Vermont, finally finding peace and maybe even love, after fleeing Boston eight years earlier in the wake of her imminent arrest for a horrific crime. But when her sister Jasmine unexpectedly shows up armed with a law degree and breakthrough medical research, the two women begin a journey that explores the nature of truth and justice in a biased world — a journey that will change their relationship forever.

The Travellers by Colleen M. Hughes: Bri is seventeen and desperate for adventure. Her wish seems to be coming true when she meets the Traveller, a mysterious woman who can travel through time. But who is the Traveller, and why does she seem to care if Bri patches up her relationship with her mom? A play about the past, present, and future, what happens when you try to change them — and what happens when time starts to fight back.

The Comfort Kills by Michael Towers: Music has always been Brendan’s salvation but with the death of his father, he is unable to write — a condition which puts additional stress on his marriage. Performing in a local dive bar, Brendan meets an unlikely muse who inspires his music and his healing but drives a wedge between him and his wife.

The Kitchen and the Volcano by John Zakrosky, Jr.: A sister and brother may only have one last phone call together before a volcano erupts, destroying their family’s past.

Monday, July 11 at 7:30 PM
Boston Playwrights’ Theatre
949 Commonwealth Ave., Boston

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Boston Marathon 2016

by Peter Floyd Posted on May 2, 2016

May means Mother’s Day, and Mother’s Day means the Boston Theater Marathon: ten solid hours of ten-minute plays, performed at the Boston Center for the Arts. That’s Sunday, May 8, from noon to 10:00 PM at the Boston Center for the Arts. Of course you should go, and take your Mom!

I’ve already written a post about the glories of the BTM, so this time I’ll be succinct: my brand-new play “Evolution” — never before performed — will be in this year’s Marathon, produced by Imaginary Beasts, directed by Matthew Woods, and featuring the acting talent of Joey Pelletier, Joy Campbell, and Noah Simes. The play features a group of creatures who have decided that it’s time to move up the evolutionary latter. But which direction should they go? Bigger, faster, or smarter?

There are plenty of other talented playwrights in the mix, including Stephen Faria, John J King, Ray Arsenault, Patrick Gabridge, Christopher Lockheardt, Ellen Davis Sutherland, Brandon Crose, Rick Park, and Ronan Noone. The complete schedule is here. You can show up for just an hour or two, or prove your stamina by watching the whole thing. (“Evolution” runs in the 8:00 – 9:00 slot, so you’ll want to plan accordingly.)

Tickets may be purchased here.

Boston Theater Marathon XVIII
Boston Center for the Arts
539 Tremont St.
Boston, MA 02116
May 8, 2016

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Absence on the Cape

by Peter Floyd Posted on April 25, 2016

Absence_ButtonAbsence returns to New England with a production this May at the Cotuit Center of the Arts out on Cape Cod. Directed by Robert Brock, the show runs in the Center’s Black Box Theater from Thursday, May 5, through Sunday, May 22. I will be on hand on opening night for a post-show talkback, which will be followed by a reception. So, come and join us!

Helen Bastion is 74 years old, but age has not taken its toll on this matriarch’s will or her need to control her family, from her compliant husband David to her resentful daughter Barb. But when she begins to suffer lapses of memory, her steely facade begins to crumble. As words lose their meaning and reality fragments, Helen’s own sense of self starts to dissolve. Is she truly disappearing, or is she becoming something greater, as the mysterious, mocking figure known as Dr. Bright promises her? Helen struggles desperately to find meaning in an existence that is slowly and inexorably becoming a void.

Order tickets

Written by Peter M. Floyd
Directed by Robert Bock

Cast:
Helen: Elizabeth Liuzzi
David: R. Michael Wresinski
Barb: Bonnie Fairbanks
Samantha: Madison Oakley
Dr. Delane & Ms. Moss: Stacey Locascio
Dr. Bright: Marcus Liuzzi

Cotuit Center for the Arts
4404 Falmouth Rd
Cotuit MA 02635
May 5 – 22, 2016

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The Centipede King Returns to the North Shore

by Peter Floyd Posted on March 31, 2016

Last summer, The Centipede King had a reading up in Newbury, MA. Now, after some revisions, it will return to that territory, with a reading at the Actors Studio of Newburyport, sponsored by the North Shore Reader’s Theater. The reading will take place at 10:00 in the morning of Saturday, April 9, and director Sherry Bonder has assembled a worthy cast. Hope to see you there!

The Centipede King: A Reading
Actors Studio of Newburyport
The Tannery Marketplace
50 Water Street
Newburyport, MA 01950
April 9, 2016

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Best Ten-Minute Plays of 2015 features “Too, Too Solid Flesh”

by Peter Floyd Posted on March 14, 2016

Every year, Smith and Kraus publish a volume of the best ten-minute plays of the 416kksjp38L._SL210_previous year, and I’m pleased to say that for the first time, one of my own plays is included: “Too, Too Solid Flesh,” recent winner of the Peter Honnegar Prize for Best Short Play at the Firehouse Center for the Arts in Newburyport, MA. Further, a monologue from the play (which, in all honestly, is not a monologue at all but rather a series of one character’s lines pulled from the play, with the other characters’ lines excised) is in the S&K volume of the best women’s stage monologues from 2015. Not bad for a play that could well have more uses of the f-word than all of my other plays combined! Seriously, it’s hideously profane. But funny.

So, if you want to produce a three-person play that takes a look at how writers create their own realities, or if you need a hilarious (but, once again, horribly swear-filled) monologue for your next audition, you know where to turn!

To buy The Best Ten-Minute Plays 2015, click here.

To buy The Best Women’s Stage Monologues 2015, click here.

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Winter Festivals

by Peter Floyd Posted on January 4, 2016

It’s a brand-new year, and we all know what that means! Months of snow, cold, and seasonal affective disorder, of  course. Fortunately, there’s a treatment: quality theater to bring a beam of sunshine into the heart of this wretched season. As it so happens, there are three short play festivals in Massachusetts over the next month or so that are sure to cure your winter blues. (Or at least take your mind off them for an hour and a half.) And by an amazing coincidence, I have plays in each of the three festivals!

First up is the New Works Festival presented by Acme Theater Productions of Maynard. This will be my third time here, this time with “The Change,” directed by my good friend Lisa Burdick. Lisa has a play of her own in the festival, as do such luminaries as Patrick Gabridge, Christopher Lockheardt, Rick Park, Cynthia Faith Arsenault, and many others. It runs over two weekends, January 8 and 9, and 15 and 16, at 8:00 each evening, but note that “The Change” is only going to be performed on Friday the 8th and Saturday the 16th.

Acme Theater Productions: New Works Winter Festival 2016
ArtSpace Maynard
61 Summer St.
Maynard, MA 01754
January 8 – 16, 2016

We then move to the North Shore, to the Firehouse Center for the Arts in Newburyport, which will be presenting its New Works Festival later in January. I’m very pleased to announce that my play “Too Too Solid Flesh” has been named the best of the ten-minute plays! It will be directed by Stephen Faria, another good friend of mine who (once again!) has a play of his own in the festival. Other playwrights with short works in the program include Deirdre Girard, R.D. Murphy, Ray Aresenault, and George Smart; there will also be full-length pieces by Alan Brody and Scott Sullivan. The festival will run on January 22, 23, 29 and 30, at 8:00 each night. There will be a different program each evening; “Too Too Solid Flesh” will appear only on the 23rd.

Firehouse Center for the Arts: New Works Festival 2016
Firehouse Center for the Arts
Market Square
Newburyport, MA 01950
January 22 – 30, 2016

Finally we lurch into February, when the Cohasset Dramatic Club (in Cohasset, of course) presents its third annual Briefs, a festival of ten-minute plays, and for the third time in a row they will be presenting a play of mine! I’m particularly pleased this year, as they will be presenting a brand-new piece, “Annunciation.” It will be directed by Lisa Pratt, who is (again!) a good friend of mine, but who breaks the pattern by not actually having written any of the other plays in the festival. Instead, we have such folk as Brandon Crose and Cynthia Faith Arsenault. The festival runs for only two evenings, February 5 and 6.

Cohasset Dramatic Club: Briefs III
Cohasset Town Hall Theater
41 Highland Ave.
Cohasset, MA 02025
February 5 – 6, 2016

I hope you can make it to one (or more!) of these events, and take a break from those winter doldrums.

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ArlingTEN Short Works Festival

by Peter Floyd Posted on November 10, 2015

The Arlington Friends of the Drama are holding a fundraiser in the form of a short play festival on the 20th and 21st of November, and one of the plays will be my own “The Evaluation,” a brand-new play never before performed before an audience. Directing the play is my good friend Vivian Liu-Somers, with whom I have worked in a couple of 24-hour play festivals with the Hovey Players. Other playwrights in the AFD festival include G.L. Horton, Debbie Wiess, Jerry Bisantz, Christopher Lockheardt, Patrick Gabridge, and K.M. Sorenson. Tickets may be reserved by calling (617) 484-3308.

Arlington Friends of the Drama: ArlingTEN Short Works Festival
AFD Theater
22 Academy St.
Arlington, MA 02476
November 20 – 21 2015

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Opening night in Oslo

by Peter Floyd Posted on October 8, 2015

I’m a bit late in posting about this (the past few weeks have been very busy indeed), but better late than never: Two weeks ago, on September 24, Fravær (as Absence is known in Norwegian) had its opening night at the Oslo Nye Trikkestallen. (This version was translated from the English by Cecilie Enersen. She was in touch with me as she made her translation, so it is faithful in both content and spirit to the original.)

And I was there! I’d made the trip to Oslo (this was my first time in Norway) to see the play’s European debut. The Trikkestallen is a small but lively theater that is generally used by the Oslo Nye Teater for children’s shows. In fact, Fravær is the first play for adults to be performed there.

It was, I have to say (and with the understanding that I might be a wee bit biased) a beautiful production. The director, Birgitte Victoria Svednsen, had assembled a first-rate cast, anchored by Marit Østbye is a lovely, nuanced performance as the aging matriarch Helen. The simple set, simultaneously austere and lovely, was designed by Milja Salovaara.

As the playwright, I was welcomed to the theater with warmth and enthusiasm. Several people expressed astonishment that I’d come so far to see the show. As if I’d miss it! I would recommend to any playwright that s/he should see his or her work in a foreign language. When you are divorced with the words of the play, you become connected with its essence, with the emotional ties that connect the characters to one another. (Also, you don’t find yourself constantly thinking, “Wow, that line’s a clinker. Why didn’t I rewrite that?”)

After the performance, there was a reception with Champagne and merriment. Below are a few pictures of me (feeling rather giddy) with the Oslo Nye Teater folks. (For pictures from the production itself, check out the show’s gallery.)

The play runs through October 23rd. Tickets are available here.

Here are some local reviews (in Norwegian, of course):

Aftenposten (rating 5/6)

Dagbladet (rating 5/6)

VG (rating 5/6)

Fravær Party Photo 1
With Cecilie Enersen (translator)
Fravær Party Photo 2
With Marit Østbye (who plays Helen)
Fravær Party Photo 3
With Siri Løkholm Ramberg (dramaturg)
Fravær Party Photo 4
With Birgitte Victoria Svendsen (director)
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