"Waiting for the Skell" goes to three summer festivals!

One of my new short plays is getting a lot of play this summer.  "Waiting for the Skell" is about a lesbian cop, Terry, and her straight male partner, Pete; on a stake-out, Terry tells Pete about something that is going to affect their relationship, and she's not sure how he's going to take it.

"Waiting for the Skell" is a sequel to my play "Partners," a short comic piece in which Terry brings her work partner, Pete, home to meet her life partner, Val.  "Partners" has been produced a number of times; "Waiting for the Skell" is pretty new, and just had its first production in the Briefs Festival in St. Louis.  (It was very cool, actually -- they did "Partners" in their festival in 2012, and then used the same director and cast when they did "Skell" in 2013.)

Now the play is headed to three new festivals -- Ringwald Theatre's Gay Play Festival in Detroit, Buffalo United Artists' BUA Takes Ten in Buffalo, and LGBTQ Shorts at Georgia State University in Atlanta.  BUA is actually doing *both* Partners and Skell, which is fun.  I'm sending my best wishes to all three productions, and hope they'll send me pictures of all the Terrys and all the Petes.  I love these characters!  They make me laugh.

June 22-24

Gay Play Festival

Ringwald Theater

Detroit, MI

June 22-July 13

BUA Takes Ten

Buffalo United Artists

Buffalo, NY

July 25-28

LGBTQ Shorts

Georgia State University

Atlanta, GA

"Waiting for the Skell" in the 2013 Briefs Festival in St. Louis

Have you ever had characters who wouldn't stop talking to you?  Terry and Pete are like that.  They crack me up.

"Waiting for the Skell" by EM Lewis, directed by Bonnie Taylor for the 2013 Briefs Festival in St. Louis. 

Robert Lee Davis and Wendy Renee Greenwood as cops on a stake out in "Waiting for the Skell," written by EM Lewis and directed by Bonnie Black Taylor

I created Terry and Pete a few years ago for a comic ten-minute play called "Partners," about a lesbian cop who was bringing her work partner -- a gruff, funny, un-PC guy -- home to meet her life partner -- a smart, sassy, strong-minded woman who was none too happy to have to share. It's become one of my most frequently produced ten minute plays, and was done as part of the Briefs Festival in St. Louis last year -- a festival of short plays on LGBT themes, produced by That Uppity Theater Company, in association with Vital Voice Media.

Well, when the fabulous Joan Lipkin, who runs TUTC, called and asked if I had any short plays to submit this year, it spurred me to polish up the next installment in Terry and Pete's partnership -- a stake-out story, called "Waiting for the Skell." In a move that absolutely delighted me, Joan brought back our director (Bonnie Taylor) and cast (Robert Lee David and Wendy Renee Greenwood) from last year. I so wish I could have been there to see it!

KDHX: "In “Waiting for the Skell,” two police officers, one gay, one straight, share an easy companionship and comfortable openness with each other that brought tears to my eyes during the final moments. The bond these actors created in this short play was convincing and effective."

For more information on the Briefs Festival, click here!