first draft of first scene of a new play

ONE

(BRIAN wearing a button up shirt and tie knocks on the
bathroom door.)

TODD
(os)
In a minute!

(BRIAN goes downstage toward the futon where NEAL is
sitting holding a video controller. He is deep in the
throes of a video game.)

BRIAN
You're up already?

NEAL
Up?

BRIAN
Yeah.

NEAL
Oh, no, I didn't go to sleep yet.

BRIAN
Oh.

NEAL
Yeah.

(Pause)

BRIAN
I start a temp job today. I have to wear a tie.

NEAL
Huh. I should get a job.

BRIAN
Yeah. (Pause) Did you have a job before?

NEAL
Huh?

BRIAN
Is this a good game?

NEAL
What?

BRIAN
I've never played it.

NEAL
Oh.

TODD
(os)
I'll be out in a minute!

BRIAN
I'm supposed to wear a tie. I'm a little nervous.
Have you ever . . .?

NEAL
What?

BRIAN
Nothing. (Pause) Neal.

NEAL
What?

BRIAN
Are you going to be around later? After I'm done with
work?

NEAL
I don't know.

BRIAN
I was just thinking.

NEAL
Huh.

BRIAN
Maybe . . .

NEAL
I'm sorry, what?

BRIAN
Nothing. It's just . . . I don't know. It's like .
. . are you happy here?

NEAL
What?

BRIAN
In New York.

NEAL
Oh.

BRIAN
I was just wondering if . . . you know, this is--

NEAL
I need some crackers or something.

(NEAL gets up and exits stage left to the kitchen.
BRIAN walks upstage to stand next to the bathroom
door.)

BRIAN
Todd.

TODD
I know. I know.

BRIAN
I really have to go. I don't want to be late my first
day.

TODD
I know. I swear, I'll be right out.

BRIAN
That's what you keep saying.

TODD
We're best friends, huh?

BRIAN
Yeah, Todd.

TODD
We're always going to be best friends.

BRIAN
Sure.

TODD
Even sometimes if I lock myself in the bathroom, huh
buddy.

BRIAN
Uh huh. I got to go.

TODD
We should have a special best friend language that we
speak that no one can understand.

BRIAN
Yeah, ok.

TODD
I'm serious.

BRIAN
I know you are.

TODD
Remember that time we went bowling?

(NEAL reenters.)

NEAL
Have you seen the crackers?

BRIAN
No.

(NEAL looks at him then re-exits.)

TODD
I ate all the crackers.

BRIAN
Todd! Seriously. I have to go now.

TODD
OK. I had my suit cleaned. You want to see?

BRIAN
Todd!

TODD
Close your eyes.

BRIAN
Todd!

TODD
Are your eyes closed?

BRIAN
(Closing his eyes)
Yes.

TODD
Are they closed?

BRIAN
They're closed.

(TODD opens the door. He stands in a full white
rabbit costume with a place cut out for his face.)

TODD
What do you think?

BRIAN
Very nice. Let's go.

Feb 12 in Costa Mesa, CA

http://www.scr.org/season/06-07season/releases/newscriptrelease.html

Incendiary is the comic tale of a combustible group of
people. Elise is a pyromaniac fire chief. Jake is the
police detective investigating her fires. Carrie is a
therapist who's trying to get a client to quit some
truly destructive behavior, and Gary is leading the
life of a somewhat ineffective corporate spy. As the
smoke begins to billow and the sparks begin to fly,
they're all about to find out that love is the most
incendiary thing.

visual dramaturgy for a new play

part 2 of Zadie Smith article

http://books.guardian.co.uk/review/story/0,,1993767,00.html

SCR

My play Incendiary is going to have a reading at South
Coast Rep Feb 12. They are flying me in for the
reading.

It's part of the Newscripts series and will be the one
hundredth reading in this series which began in '85.

http://www.scr.org/aboutSCR/newscript.html

Here are 97 that were read in past years

http://www.scr.org/aboutSCR/history/nshistory.html

and then add Mat Smart and Brian Tucker earlier this
year and now me. I hope to see you all there for this
historic event.

this morning--snow!

ok, so this isn't actually a photo from this morning but it's almost like that. and it's still snowing.

Got some good news last night. I'll tell you all about it soon.

An open letter

To the people who are searching for reviews of my play
Deflowering Waldo and stumble on my blog instead:

First of all, why do you care? Either you like the
play or you don't. Either you want to do it or you
don't. Why do you care what other people say?

Second, you're not going to find a review of it
online. We performed it in secrecy. At night. You
had to know a special password to get in. And you had
to be able to say it correctly, in Russian. And you
had to pay a lot of money directly to a Swiss bank
account prior to the performance. And we did it in my
basement. And the people who saw it were sworn to
secrecy and could never talk about the experience.
Because we didn't want the riff raff to see the show
and then write an online review.

I hope this information helps.

Sincerely,
Adam

from the Guardian

Fail better

What makes a good writer? Is writing an expression of
self, or, as TS Eliot argued, 'an escape from
personality'? Do novelists have a duty? Do readers?
Why are there so few truly great novels? Zadie Smith
on literature's legacy of honourable failure

http://books.guardian.co.uk/departments/generalfiction/story/0,,1989004,00.html

tuesday 23, 2:30 pm in NYC

I'm having a reading of my new play Searching at
Juilliard.

It's a dark comedy and goes back and forth between our
president plotting to get unlimited terms and 3
soldiers in the desert searching for Osama. There is
also a love triangle in the desert and unrequited love
between Bush and Cheney.

Let me know if you want to go and I'll put you on the
list.

also

http://www.szymkowicznaked.blogspot.com/

Floyd Britchcraft

The voice of God? You be the judge.

http://www.floydbritch.blogspot.com/

frtom Bob Geiger

Speaker Pelosi also confirmed what Bob Cesca wrote in
Tuesday's Huffington Post: That one of the conditions
being placed on the Iraqi government by the White
House is that American oil companies be given first
shot at Iraqi oil and be allowed to keep 75 percent of
the profits.

"In the president's proposal, one of the standards
that he's setting for them to meet is that 75 percent
of the oil production goes to U.S. companies," she
said. "This is stunning -- 75 percent of the
production goes to the U.S. Is this what our kids are
over there for?"

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bob-geiger/pelosi-on-opposing-iraq-e_b_38260.html?view=print

a book of poetry by my high school english teacher

http://www.antrimhousebooks.com/stanizzi.html

in the desert

I'm having a reading of my new political play
Searching at 2:30 at Juilliard on the 23rd. If anyone
wants to come please let me know and I'll put you on
the security list.

bush, sociopath?

http://mrexcitement.blogspot.com/2007/01/bush-is-sociopath-says-psychoanalyst.html