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PLAYS
Practical Anatomy
A
Musical
Practical Anatomy is based on the true
story of William Burke and William Hare, who murdered
at least 16 people between October 1828 and October
1829 in order to sell the bodies to the Edinburgh
College of Surgeons. The action alternates between
Hare's boardinghouse, where the murderers lure
their victims, and the College, where the ambitious
anatomist Dr. Robert Knox is only too happy to
conduct dissections without questioning the source
of the cadavers.
The
script includes language from the transcripts
of Burke's trial, newspapers of the time, Robert
Burns, and Knox himself. The score (which I also
wrote, with Ethan
Balis contributing several songs) is rooted
in the folk tradition and includes several Scottish
folk melodies.
Click
here to hear a sample.
(This song is "Burke's Lament"; Christopher
Prentice sang the part of Burke, Andrea Pakieser
played violin, and Jesse Cryderman recorded and
produced.)
Sansculottes
and the Storefront
Theater produced Practical Anatomy
in January–February 2006. Terry
Selucky directed a wonderful cast: Signal
Ensemble's Joe Stearns and Chris Prentice,
Renee Ann Roy, Amelia Lorenz, Dan Granata, Colleen
McSherry, John Leen, Andrea Klunder, Charles Schoenherr,
Roseanne Clark, and Sansculottes company members
Dan Kerr-Hobert and Michael Barker. The Tribune
called the script "ambitious" and the
music "wonderfully spare." Steadstyle.com
praised the "often haunting"
melodies.
If
you saw the production, I'd
love to know what you thought. I'm revising
now, and very much hope that this won't be the
play's only run.
COLLABORATIVE
SCRIPTS & SKETCH COMEDY
In
2004, with Terry Selucky and C. Mitchell Turner,
I cofounded Sansculottes
Theater Company, a company of writers
devoted to producing original work. With Sansculottes,
I've worked on a number of shows:
Screw
Love II: Fool Me Twice
Another
Evening of Awkward Love Scenes
Written
in collaboration with Sansculottes. Produced by
Sansculottes in February 2006 at Live Bait Theater,
directed by Riley Cooper.
Screw
Love
An
Evening of Awkward Love Scenes
Written
in collaboration with Sansculottes. Produced by
Sansculottes in February 2005 at Frankie J's Methadome,
directed by Terry Selucky.
Patriot
Act III: Rise of the Machines
A
Play about Food, Government, Fear, and Squeezable
Meat
Written
in collaboration with Sansculottes. Produced by
Sansculottes in January–February 2004 at
American Theater Company, directed by Terry Selucky.
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