PLAYS
I took ballet classes from the age of 6 to 15 and transitioned to theater when I was a senior in high school. I won trophies in speech contests which are lost somewhere in Texas and a medal for prose interpretation that I recently found when packing up my mom’s things. I came to New York, the first time, to attend Circle in the Square’s two year actor training program. I did showcases, summer stock and worked a fair amount regionally. Commercially, I was considered “left of center”. I still am not quite sure what that means but believe it to be accurate. Then I fell in love and moved to Chicago where I started working with the Sweat Girls. The first play I wrote was Evelyn Dances, a bridge from acting to writing. Her beginning words were prompted by a 2nd callback for a job I didn't get and the improvisation class that resulted under the guise of lightening up and remembering the fun of it all. The most recent play I've written is How Margaret Got Home. Her journey began long before I was born, and in earnest actuality, when I participated in a writing workshop with Paul Zimmerman. In between these two plays, I moved to New York a second time, more accurately Brooklyn, and that’s the whole story. In a nutshell. Kind of. Because nutshells are very small.
“And when I round the corner, I’ll find Happy Lane and the moon. Right?”
HOW MARGARET GOT HOME
A full length play, with a cast of four women and one man, it is a whimsical, mystical and uncompromising look at the power of healing, the price of honesty and the expansive nature of family. It has been read at Flourish Studios in Chicago and at the Old Stone House in Brooklyn. Everything you wanted to know about the piece as a whole and the first scene is only a click away. A lovely group of characters await. So go on. Just click.
HOW MARGARET GOT HOME
A full length play, with a cast of four women and one man, it is a whimsical, mystical and uncompromising look at the power of healing, the price of honesty and the expansive nature of family. It has been read at Flourish Studios in Chicago and at the Old Stone House in Brooklyn. Everything you wanted to know about the piece as a whole and the first scene is only a click away. A lovely group of characters await. So go on. Just click.
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“I cannot believe my mother-in-law gave them a bear to share.”
EVELYN DANCES A one woman play, around 80 minutes, that takes place on the evening after Evelyn has buried her husband, Larry. It was sponsored in workshop at the University of Oklahoma and produced twice in Chicago, as well as Louisville and San Francisco, where it was nominated for a Bay Area Theatre Critics Award. It was done throughout the 90’s, which is odd to write, but easy to own. I always knew that Evelyn could be played by someone other than me. That would be great to see as I am too old to now play her. Hmmm. |
“Limerence - It’s that state. That being in love with love that you want to last forever.”
CONNECT THE KNOTS A full length play with a cast of seven and a photographer as the main character. Set in Benevolo’s, an Italian eatery, located in the center of a busy city near a police precinct, it’s a play about relationships and how we tangle and untangle our hearts to say hello, goodbye and sometimes, fall in love. It was nominated for the 2005 Mentor Project at Cherry Lane Theatre. |
“Beef causes grief. Veal’s even worse. Cows could be friends, if we’d just make amends.”
COOKING WITH LARD Co-writer of this full length play featuring 15 female characters, played by 4 actors, chronicling a day in the life of Addie’s Diner in central Texas. Loaded with fun, food and fabulous ladies, it was first produced by Lifeline Theatre in Chicago with subsequent performances by White Bird Productions, Bowen Park Theatre, Southwest Communications Associates at the Southfork Hotel in Dallas, as well as the Maverick Players in Midland Texas. |
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“Something twirly. Something spinny.”
HEN LAKE Co-adaptor of the musical play of the children’s book by Mary Jane Auch by the same name. It was produced by Lifeline Theatre’s Children’s series. One of my favorite projects ever. Actors wore chicken costumes, pigeons were puppets and when the author came to see the play, upon Percival the Peacock’s entrance, she clapped her hands in delight and later told us “he was better than I imagined”. Yes. |
“Odysseus was a man in love.”
THE MIGHTY O Based on The Odyssey by Homer, this piece was adapted for White Bird Productions’ Creative Theatrics’ Performance Ensemble. In working with a group of 3rd through 6th graders, scenes were improvised in the fall and then I had the privilege of putting it all together for a spring performance run. An epic and marvelous time was had by all. A wonderful way to get know a classic. |
“Scram. S-C-A-R-M.”
1001 NIGHTS Based on the Arabian Tales, and particularly, the Ali Baba story, this project was adapted for WBP’sCT’s Performance Ensemble the year following The Mighty O. Many students returned for the rip roaring fun of making a play. Capitalizing on the competition of storytelling and improvisation, two teams in a game show setting vie for top prize. Everyone lives to tell another tale. |
Copyright © Cindy D. Hanson - All rights reserved.