Thanks to critic Kathy McAuley for her kind and clever writeup of our Allentown table read of The Last Days of Cleopatra.
“It was all over the top – sort of like a party,” actress Sharon Ferry told McAuley. “I liked the sense of fun; it was so spirited, no subtlety, just flat out fun.”
This is my newest comedy. You can find it on NPX: https://newplayexchange.org/users/8897/charlie-barnett
if you would like to read it.
Here is the cast list from last Sunday’s ( Feb 25th) table reading of Breseis.
What a wonderful table full of talent. Breseis is set in a small upstate New York college and features “Bree” who cannot be seen or heard by her awful professor.
I started with the character, Breseis from Homer’s Iliad and somehow ended up with a present day play set in a college. how? I don’t know. Catie Carlisle did a terrific job of being a young student and a magical creature from another time all at once.
Christina Masoni- Valerie Rigbee
Bre – Catie Carlisle
Harrison Robb – Brian MacDonald
Calvin Robb- Brian Lyons-Burke
Richard Geissen – Rich Follett
Lukas- Fletcher Lowe-
Hamilton – Colton Chaney
Tara – Alexandra Sage
James- Gabriel Alejandro
Cameron – Sarah Cushman
Yvonne- Stephanie Elza Yee
Tricia Katie Ganem
Folksinger- Charlie B.
I may have have finally found a place to put my smattering of knowledge of Greek myth. There is a minor character in Homer’s Iliad named Breseis. You might remember her as the war prize of Achilles. She was later seized by Agamemnon, which led to Achilles sulking in his tent and allowing the Trojans to start winning the battle of Troy. Breseis is a pivotal character in the Iliad, but she does not utter a single word, and that struck me. I’m in the middle of writing a new play about her. I’m setting it at a college in upstate New York, and I’m giving her plenty to say.
I’ve written a new comedy called The Spectre Of Death. [Sic.] It’s about a 60-year-old heavy-metal rocker living off the royalties from his one big hit who receives a letter from a 20-year-old woman claiming to be his daughter. Hijinks ensue. I’m pleased to say that Ara Barlieb, the artistic director of The Crowded Kitchen Players in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, has committed to giving this show a three-week run this summer. I know they’ll do a great job with it. The same company premiered my comedy Him and Jim several years ago.