"Leonard's Voice" in the Car Plays at Moving Arts

My short play "Leonard's Voice" premiered at Moving Arts "The Car Plays" 2009 event this last weekend. What a great event! Twenty plays in twenty cars -- each performed fifteen times during the course of the evening, to an audience of two people at a time.

This unique site specific theater event was originally created by Paul Nicholai Stein, Moving Arts' former artistic director. It was performed this year at Woodbury University, up in Burbank -- a great location, quiet and spacious, just off I-5. I'm hoping it's going to be a yearly signature event for our company. It's just too much fun not to do it again! Plus I can't stop writing them...


Gearing up! Julie Briggs -- Moving Arts co-founder, actress and LA Stage Alliance staff person -- kindly loaned us her wonderful Oldsmobile to be featured in "Leonard's Voice." Other cars this year included a dilapidated rock band's old black van, a crash test dummy car, a clown car and a car that was "under water." The cars were carefully arranged in rows of five. Audience members bought a ticket for one row -- which was five plays, or approximately an hour's worth of theater.

My director, Darin Anthony, talks to our actors on Wednesday night's dress rehearsal. From left to right: director Darin Anthony, Michael Lorre (Leonard), Helen Slayton Hughes (Leonard's mother) and Stephanie Erb (Leonard's voice). Not pictured, but a wonderful help to this production was our sound designer, Dave Mickey. He rigged up a sound system so the audience could hear the voices in Leonard's head (played by Stephanie Erb, who was talking back and forth with him from a hidden car nearby).



Leonard's head hurts. His mother is con- cerned...








"Have to is have to, Leonard."







My wonderful actors! Michael Lorre, Stephanie Erb and Helen Slayton Hughes.